If you enjoy the outdoors and are a frequent hiker, you may decide it is time to bring your children along for the fun. There are many hiking safety tips you will need to follow before treking out onto the mountain to begin your adventure.

Incorporating your children into your fitness schedule is easier than one may think. With products like jogger strollers and kid bike seats you can still spend time with your children, maintain your level of fitness, and be a positive example of fitness for your children.

The one downfall with these products is that you are the only one doing the exercise. Did you know that the percentage of U.S. children who are overweight has tripled in the last twenty years? Did you know that 43% of adolescents watch more than two hours of television each day? Did you know that children who are obese at age six have a 50% chance of being obese for life and that number increases to 75% for those who are obese at thirteen?

It turns out that those days on the trails in college were some of the best spent of those four years. At least I learned something useful.

With family hiking everyone can be active. If you have never stepped foot on a trail, you will need to make some preparations. But if, like myself, you were a hiker in the past, your biggest challenge will be the alteration of your hiking expectations. You are not going to go as far or as fast, but you will be surprised at how enjoyable it still is. In fact, in many ways it is more rewarding because you can experience nature through the eyes of your child. A child sees nature differently than an adult, not simply because it is new and exciting, but because they are literally closer to the ground. Each little pebble, insect, leaf, and wildflower is right there to see and touch and smell. And they will stop to see and touch and smell them all which is precisely why your expectations must match your own child’s ability and personality.

One necessity you must consider prior to your hike is a family discussion on safety. Establish some rules such as staying on the trail, how to read the trail/tree markings, staying in sight of an adult, or assigning a hiking buddy. For children who are able to venture a bit on their own, the Hug-A-Tree program suggests giving each child a plastic whistle to blow in case they feel that they may be lost.

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