Bushcraft Girls and Why Fathers Should Empower Daughters With Self-Reliance Skills and Knowledge of the Great Outdoors

My Father didn't buy my first car. My father didn't throw me an over-the-top birthday party every year. My father didn't buy me every cool, new toy, gadget or outfit that I wanted. My father didn't teach me that the world centered around me. Why? Because my father loved me non-monetarily and in a way that I can never repay. He didn't love me with "stuff," but he did love me enough to want to empower me to always be able to take care of myself no matter what may come my way.

My earliest memories of time with my Dad are of things like teaching me how to catch crawdads and how to use them as bait. I learned to ride a bike with him running behind me (or so I thought). I quickly surmised, as I was gaining speed down a large hill, that he had entrusted my safety a long time ago....with me. My own safety was now in my own hands. I panicked, but somehow I knew that he wanted for me to succeed and that he wanted for me to do it on my own. I mastered that bike that day.

He taught me everything from identifying dangerous snakes to siphoning water in a situation where you can't reach the water. I learned to be strong, brave, but not fearless. I learned respect for mother nature. I learned that the world, my surroundings and circumstances will not adapt to me, but that I must be capable of adapting. I learned the most profound lesson from my Dad that I have ever learned. I learned that I am capable of improvising, adapting and overcoming stressful or even frightening situations and that I am strong enough to not only rely on my own will and tenacity, but strong enough for others to lean on as well. And, all of the most important "stuff" that my Dad taught me, he taught me in the great outdoors.

I can't thank my father enough for being such a profound influence in my life and for being strong mentally in a way that I deeply admire and have forever sought to be like. For all of those long hours I spent climbing and hanging out in trees, thinking about exploring the world, and considering all of the possibilities in every landscape I encountered, thank you Dad.

Fathers who do outdoor activities like hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, shooting, archery, exploring and especially  bush-crafting and survival skills, have a remarkable ability to pass on a legacy that is simple, yet enduring to their precious daughters.....empowerment. You have, within your grasp, the ability to teach your girls to master their surroundings via shelter building, fire-crafting, hunting, fishing, trapping, foraging, knot-tying, cordage making, water purifying, and knife skills. The moment you strap that kit or backpack onto your girl and begin to show her all that you know....you are forever changing her in a way that will empower her to go out and take on the world.

As you raise your "bushcraft girl," you are increasing her odds of success in life. You are showing her that she is strong, capable, confidant and worthy of conquering her surroundings even when those surroundings don't always play by the rules. If you invest the time, the dedication, and the love into your daughters, your daughters will flourish. Your "bushcraft girl" will be less likely to be taken advantage of by others, less likely to compromise her dreams, and less likely to devalue herself. But, most importantly, you leave a legacy with your girl that will last a lifetime and beyond. Raise your daughters to be strong and  independent. Give them a solid foundation in the great outdoors instead of gadgets. Love them enough to empower them with real life skills.

I will be forever grateful that my father raised a bushcraft girl.

Read more and comment at breadandcountry.blogspot.com

Emergency Preparedness For Beginners

Preparing for disasters, emergencies and catastrophic events is a philosophy that is slowly becoming more mainstream and gaining in popularity. So, you've been reading the world news in the newspaper, watching the survivor shows, looking over prepper blogs and have decided that maybe it's a good idea to delve into emergency preparedness and take the potential dangers in the world a little more seriously.

Apocalyptic endings are not required for something terrible to occur that yanks the proverbial carpet out from under your feet with one momentary event. Although none of us can know for certain that things will ever be that dark in our lifetime, what we can know is that our odds of our current state of circumstances (the world as you know it) are at risk of change on any given day. Any traumatic change in your circumstance can equate to "the end of the world AS you know it." 

While emergency preparedness is gaining mainstream steam and popularity, it is producing a wide array of philosophies, beliefs and opinions and a phenomenal amount of information available in all types of media.

 Here is a list of just "some" of the things that people prepare for:

Meteors 

Pandemics

Political Collapse

Electromagnet Pulse (EMP)

Economic Collapse

Job Loss

Severe Weather

Death, Divorce, Illness, disability and Health Issues

Natural Disasters

Man-Made Disasters

Terrorism

Civil Unrest

Nuclear Attacks

Power Outages

Water Shortages

Over-Population

Bio-Terrorism

Riots

Again, that is not an all-inclusive list. But, it gives you an idea of how many things could go wrong. And, don't forget the possibility of a combination of the above list which is which is also a possibility.  For example, Hurricane Katrina is frequently cited as an example of how a natural disaster came together to meet up with a man-made structural disaster to culminate in riots, civil unrest, water shortages, power outages and many more devastating problems.

Another example of a possible scenario that affects multiple categories from the above list is also from our history. In 1918, an H1N1 flu spread like wildfire throughout the world. The epicenter was eventually pegged as a town in Kansas where soldiers were stationed. The soldiers likely spread the virus back to the states from travel abroad and from living in very close confinement together. That pandemic killed as many as 100 million people around the globe. Now, almost 100 years later, we are even more globally connected than ever before.

The current increased travel and modern, global interconnection makes the entire world extremely vulnerable to pandemics and we would lose a lot more lives today than what we did then. There are more of us today as populations have exploded in the last 100 years and we are more connected and living in closer quarters globally to each other.

One epicenter can globally infect the entire world. There is a huge risk from bio-terrorism as well. But, a pandemic would cripple our economy as no one could or would go to work. Trucks would not be able to transport food and supplies. The shelves would all be empty in stores in 2-3 days at best. And, eventually, if long-term enough, this scenario could domino into an economic collapse and then obviously you would no longer have electricity or a McDonald's to go to.

So, the question that arises time and time again is "how do I decide what I should be preparing for?"

First, get together with your family or your like-minded friends or your group and create a "priority list." Prioritize all of the emergencies, disasters and catastrophic events that you, as a group, believe are the most likely scenarios. The idea is to eventually be prepared for whatever tomorrow may bring. But, when you are starting out it is best to confine your philosophy to one or two areas so that you can keep your focus and begin prepping. Once you are feeling amply prepared in one category, you can begin to move through the other ones as well. 

Meet regularly with your group and evaluate the current state of circumstances again. Remember to keep your list fluid, because things change and as things change, you need to be able to improvise and adapt. It's a good idea to re-order your list as circumstances dictate. Next, you might consider placing different people in charge of different duties. Part of meeting to re-evaluate your list, is to discuss the changing state of things. So, your team needs to follow the world news, national news, local news, weather alerts, world economy, national economy and local economy, online CDC (Center's For Disease Control) and WHO (World Health Organization) research and anything else that you can think of as a group. 

Once you've determined your priorities, begin preparing three lists. One list of the "absolutely necessary" items, one list of the "it would be a good idea to have" items and one list of the "you'd really like to have" items and begin prepping. You might label the lists "Alive," "Survive" and "Thrive," or you can label them however your group decides. 

Having an idea of your group's philosophies on the most likely scenario, gives your group a direction of travel, a vision and a mission. Preparing is wise even if all that you are preparing for is for the possibility of losing your job or having a health issue. As always, continue to read, research, plan and prepare.

Preparedness utilizes our higher end thinking capacity, we know that it is something we should be doing. The ability that we, as humans, have to plan ahead and imagine "what ifs" has protected us and kept us out of harm's way for eons. If you've ever played Chess, Stratego or even Battleship, you've used these thinking skills. The ability to imagine that bad "stuff"  happens and that it's possible that "this stuff" could happen to you and then having a plan in place is part of being human.

Survival skills and a survival mindset will naturally lead you to preparing in terms of both skills and supplies. We can hope for the best as we prepare for the worst and we can live happily in the now knowing that we're prepared....just in case.  Empowerment!

Empowering Your Children for Life Through Emergency Preparedness

Engaging children in an overall family plan for emergencies actually helps them mentally prepare for life. The act of being a part of a team, planning, implementing and practicing for various emergencies, helps children to feel empowered. Empowerment helps change the course of their lives in a positive manner.  No matter where you live, there is something you could prepare for with your family. Some examples are tornadoes, mud slides, earthquakes, hurricanes, tidal waves, floods, ice storms and blizzards.

There is always something that you could do to be more prepared. What would that look like for your family?

Maybe you are already preparing your family for emergency, disaster or catastrophe, but if you are not actively preparing your children and including them in your plans, you are not as prepared as you might think. Including the kiddos in all of your prepping and planning can create a knowledge base that empowers them to aid in overcoming stress in the event of an actual emergency.

Children need structure and predictability to thrive and feel safe. If an emergency strikes and you are the only one in the family that has been preparing, the child's traumatic experience of the events and stress hormone levels will be exponential in comparison to yours. Emergencies are not predictable or structured. But, you can help your family to "feel" as though the emergency had structure by planning, discussing, preparing and practicing.

Keep in mind the important steps that are involved in preparing and prepping your children. Children love to have input. Allow the kids a voice, some choices and explore their thoughts on possible scenarios and what they think they would do in those events. Very young children should not partake in discussions that might frighten them as they do not have a developed sense of "possibility" and may take every conversation far too literally and feel afraid. Always adapt to the child and find new and interesting ways to involve them without scaring them.

The first step is to prepare yourself, your spouse (if you have one) and your children to begin to actively prepare for whatever emergency may come your way. A great way to do this is to begin to host weekly or bi-weekly or even monthly family meetings and set up an emergency committee. Kids love serving on committees and feeling as though their input is valuable. Keep the topics and discussion age and maturity level appropriate. Remember not to frighten the children as the goal is to empower via education and preparation.  Keep discussions to just the monthly meetings and the rest of the time just do regular, fun, family things.

The meetings can unfold organically. Allow them to grow and change with your family. Assign important tasks and duties to the children and teens according to their individual ages and maturity levels. Assigning a tween or teen the task of monitoring weather is something they will likely enjoy and take on with great pride. There is a lot of information on the internet about meteorology, weather related books and even videos the family can explore to begin to understand weather and weather patterns. Invest in a weather radio (everyone should have one) and teach the kids how to use it. Let the kids help gather and pack emergency weather and power outage supplies to keep in a portable kit somewhere in the house. Kids can help with kit building, strategic planning, problem solving and all sorts of other activities.

If handled correctly, the kids will find all of the activities as empowering and comforting and possibly even fun. They will see their family as a supportive "unit" that is prepared should they need to be. If handled incorrectly, the kids will be stressing about "what ifs." What you want to accomplish is a lot of dialogue regarding the need to be prepared so that the family is empowered to handle any events more efficiently. Discuss how savings accounts are just insurance for the future in the same way that an emergency storm kit or basic survival kit is an insurance plan for "possible" life events.

While you are trying to keep it real, keep it light and keep it interesting and fun.

Spend time focusing on skill-building activities with the kids and the teens from pitching tents, to eating a meal that you prepared over an outdoor cook pit. Keep on practicing and find ways to make it a fun part of your family's activities. Education and knowledge and practice empowers children to better handle stress in the event of real emergencies. All of these steps can help remove fears, increase confidence and engage learning and curiosity.

Family preparedness should be a team mission. Continue discussing, exploring and answering questions and keep them involved.

Once your entire family is on board you can know that you are all much more likely to keep level heads under intense stress and be more equipped to survive situations that may arise.

Knowledge is power so, share your knowledge with your children and empower them as well.