Kids Can Survive In the Wild: A Summary

 

An example of a readymade shelter, the root-ball of this downed tree will block the downslope, nighttime breezes.  Picture by Author

Author’s Note: I chanced upon this article in an almost 30-year-old edition of Scouting magazine, while I was combing through Google Books.  I had never read it before, however I had read many of the ideas that the author wrote about in this article, in other, later, works.  It is a well-written article, chock full of great ideas and I hope that you enjoy my summary of it.

 

Title page of the article “Kids Can Survive In the Wild” by Steve Scarano

Did you know that about ²/₃ of lost people are between the ages of 10 and 19 and that 95.9% of lost people are found alive by searchers and that most people are found within two to three days?  Do you know what to teach your kids or grandkids so that they are among the 95.9% that are found alive?  Do you like about the general topic of survival in the wilderness?

If your answers to the first two questions was “no” and your answer to the last question was “yes”, then you should read “Kids Can Survive In the Wild” by Steve Scarano.  It was originally printed in the Family Safe magazine, before being reprinted in October 1989 edition of Scouting magazine (the article can be found HERE). 

To help your children, or for that matter, anyone, survive a wilderness emergency, first you have to realize that a wilderness emergency can happen to anyone, anywhere, since as survival expert Gene Fears quoted in the article, a “wilderness emergency” is when “a person suddenly loses those things he relies upon for comfort”.  Second, you have to remember that your greatest survival tool is a positive mental attitude, and as a later quote by Gene Fear in the article stated, “Survival is 80 percent attitude, 10 percent equipment and 10 percent skill”.

“Survival is 80 percent attitude…”

In the past, I have written about how I have taught children that you are never “lost” during a wilderness emergency, rather you are “misplaced”, because misplaced things are eventually found and lost things stay lost.  Being lost is scary and since most of the art of survival is keeping a positive mental attitude and not giving into your fears, the distinction between being “lost” or just being “misplaced” can mean life or death.  A quote in the article by Gene Fear, supported this, when he noted that, “A human being will act, feel, and perform in accordance with what he imagines to be true about himself, his environment, and his situation.” 

“Survival is…10 percent equipment…”

Every child, and for that matter, anyone who ventures in to the wilderness, should always carry a bare-bones survival kit, which includes a plastic trash bag to act as a shelter; a pea-less whistle on a lanyard and a metal or plastic mirror, or a piece of aluminum foil, for signaling; some high energy foods and a canteen of water.  Additionally, the author recommended that, for those children who are old enough to use them safely, the survival kit should include a pocketknife and waterproof matches.

“Survival is…10 percent skills…”

If a child knows what to do in a wilderness emergency and believes that he or she can survive, then their chances of being among the 95.9% of those found alive, increases.  Help children develop a positive survival attitude by asking them to imagine being “misplaced”, quiz them on what they would do and teach them what to do in a wilderness emergency, based on the suggestions found in this article.  Teach them about S.T.O.P., which stands for Stop, sit down, stay put; Think; Orient and organize yourself; Plan and put your plan into action.  Anyone who carries a survival kit should learn to use everything in the kit and should regularly practice using them.  Teach children how to find and use a ready-made shelter, build a bough bed and how to use the plastic bags in their survival kit as a shelter.  Also, teach them how to signal for help and what to do if they hear scary noises.

I hope that this summary of “Kids Can Survive In the Wild”, by Steve Scarano, will help you prepare your children, or grandchildren, for the possibility that they might be “misplaced” in the woods someday and what to do if they are, so that they can be among the 95.9% of people who experience a wilderness emergency and emerge alive.

Besides the information found in the article “Kids Can Survive In the Wild”, by Steve Scarano, which can be found (HERE), you might find the following links useful.

You Are Never Lost, Only Misplaced… (HERE)

The Ace of Spades: “Survival Basics” (HERE)

Making an Emergency Bough Bed (HERE)

Building An Emergency Bough Bed, video (HERE)

Using your poncho or a trash bag as an Emergency Shelter (HERE)

Emergency Trash Bag Shelter, video (HERE)