Taking you kids hunting, question?

[flightattendant100]

Nintendo DS works for Colton. Just make sure sound is off. Once he starts gettin' into seeing game he may pay attention to that instead and the hunts wont seem so long for him.Good luck and enjoy the time together.

[wabi]

I've had my son tagging along since he was old enough to walk. (my wife worked when he was small)
I don't think you can keep a kid quiet, alert, & inactive for long!
Many times I nudged him, whispered deer and he was suddenly awake and 100% focused on the critter in front of the blind.

He's 12 now, and he passed hunter education and got his license this year, so I'll find out if that helps his attention span any.
(he did get a deer with the muzzleloader and Ohio's apprentice license last year, but I planned that hunt so it was less than 20 minutes in the blind before he had a shot)

Best advice I can offer is to plan short hunts. I always patterned the deer with a trail cam and tried to keep hunts as short as possible.
If you can arrive, get set up and have deer coming in within 20-30 minutes it really helps keep them in the mood to stay (and stay awake).

[ohioexocetfan]

I agree with Wabi.... I have only been taking my kids on short afternoon hunts. We run out behind the house for that last golden hour and it seems to work. My oldest son got his first crossbow buck near his 7th birthday. His younger brother got his at 8. They are now 11 and 9 and they have about 6 between them. Another thing that really helps is sitting on the ground in turkey outfits (leaf suits) and using a 13-23" bi-pod (both for crossbow and muzzleloader). One more thing... early season hunts a Thermacell is a must. My oldest used to go nuts from mosquitos until we purchased one of those to take along. Good luck. Nothing better than taking kids afield!!!

[Masboy]

I have three boys and one girl and they have all been with me doing or watching me since they were baby's because there mother worked evening shift and one thing I learned for sure is they have a very shot attention Span when there younger and only got longer with age.my daughter is now sixteen and still has a short attention Span when it comes to hunting but can play video games for hours.all she wants to do is stay inside on the computer and play games.it will come with time. good luck!

[VixChix]

My boy (7 yrs old) has been out with me a few times. I'd say 60-90 mins is about the max.

Then he started telling me he didn't like hunting

He loves being outdoors and he always wants to help with animals we harvest so I asked him what part of hunting he didn't like. He said he didn't like the sitting still and being quiet. Can't really blame him. So I stopped trying to take him out.

I want him to continue to enjoy being out in the woods on his own terms. He enjoys shooting his pellet rifle and .22 every chance he gets. He's certainly not an anti-hunter. I'm pretty sure eventually he'll enjoy hunting with us too - but for now, we won't press the issue.

[diesel]

My son and daughter both like to read and or will bring the DS. Son is 16 and daughter is 14. My daughter is much better at setting still than my son. But they both really like to hunt and I like to have them with me so if they want to bring a book or the DS that is fine but me.

[rayman]

Robert just turned 9 and I have been taking him for short evening hunts and tag-along squirrel hunts since he was 5 or 6. I concur with most that has been said. Try to plan for shorter hunts, though last year he did ok over 2 hours if the bugs weren't bad. Let him take his DS, but I make him quit playing for the last 20-30 minutes because it lights up his face. It scared a buck away that I was just about to shoot a couple of years ago. I figure when he starts taking a rifle or xbow to the stand, it will be time to leave the DS at home. He has been shooting various firearms with me since his 8th bday, and he thinks my Excal is the coolest, but I'm just not quite comfortable with his level of concentration yet. Its not a race and I am more conserned with developing his skills. He loves to shoot my little 22 mag marlin, but he's not that good of a shot yet. It will come. It's also important to me that he knows to pitch in on the work aspect of it too.

I also learned last year that if a kid gets the hick-ups while sitting in the stand with you, telling him to STOP HICKUPING just makes it worse.

[flightattendant100]

During spring turkey season and on a couple of hunts to try and pop a hog this summer, Colton kinda had the "light come on". He was much more interested in spooting game and got to trying to be the first to spot it.I think this is a real step forward for him in his hunting. He passed the Hunter Safety Education class and now is legal to hunt by himself, but we are not there yet. Two, three years maybe, but not right now.I'll really be happy hunter when he gets big enough to open and close the gates at the lease for me ( he is as big as a minute, even though he's nearly eleven) lol.

[Pydpiper]

Good on ya for taking him in the first place!
My son, 10 now, has never had a problem sitting still, he can do 8 hours in a stand without saying a word, does the same thing when fishing..Weird.
Oldest daughter, 8, she likes to sit and sew. She won't do a raised stand, so she gets the hunts in the blind. All her hunting related sewing ideas come to her in the blind, but at home it is all about making clothes for her and her sister. That keeps her very quiet and occupied, but not for as long as her brother.
Youngest, 5, by far the toughest. She brings her DS, and drawing stuff, another gal fit only for a blind. We recently started loading movies on to our phones or streaming her favorite shows from the internet, that has afforded a whole lot more hunting time with her on board. Problem is the headphones, when she does have something to say it comes out like every other person who is the only one in the room with headphones on, very loud! I just got in the habit of reaching over every now and then and doing the "shhh" sign before she has a chance to say anything, so far, working like a charm.
I have had some of the deepest conversations and learned more about my kids lives chatting in a blind than I ever have over dinner conversation.
Whatever you decide to do, keep doing it!

[Bullzeye]

That's a great pic Piper. My youngest daughter plays a deer hunting game on her I-pad when we are in our blind, reads readers Digest and any other books she needs to read for school. As like Piper we have some great conversations in that blind and solve everything but world peace lol and I always bring candy so we can have contests who can open up the wrappers the quietest .