My son (9) wanted to share this ...

Hiyall,
My son and I thought this would be fun to share. It's a PBS kid's show called Arthur and this episode highlights preparedness in a very positive way. Or to quote my son, "Hey Mom, I've never seen people like us on PBS before. Neat!"
One grumble point.. It's the immigrant family next door that has to show preparedness awareness to the Read's. The depiction of Americans as clueless by the MSM is a completely different topic, though.... Overall it's still a much more positiive portrayal than we usually see on TV.
PBS "Arthur" Episode - The Blackout pt. 1
PBS "Arthur" Episode - The Blackout pt. 2
or you can view it at
PBS Kids

I thought it might even be a good way to introduce the idea to kids. (Although I would hope people already have.)
Enjoy!
god bless,
~pre

Tell your son thanks. We have a responsibility to be prepared. I used to think it was because an evil monster government was going to try to do me and mine harm. Now, I believe it is because there will be many friends and family that might need help had not prepared. Unfortunately, I don't know what I am preparing for...

I would assume that you have, but please consider:

Compass
Flint
Tent(s)
clean water
knowledge of medicinal herbs in the cause of an absence of medical help

reply to post by preparanoid


The scary part about this is that it is trying to prepare the children mentally for what many have been trying to tell themselves will never happen.

reply to post by SpiritoftheNightSky


I think your right there.

Obviously its going to depend on the situation but whatever happens I don't think it will be easy for children to accept.

With this in mind one of the best things you can do is teach your children survival but in a fun way. So take them for walks in the woods, let them practice building dens, show them fire lighting skills.

It can't do any harm! Then if SitX does occur at least they will have some basic skills and thus won't need to learn them under pressure.

Originally posted by Chemley
Tell your son thanks. We have a responsibility to be prepared. I used to think it was because an evil monster government was going to try to do me and mine harm. Now, I believe it is because there will be many friends and family that might need help had not prepared. Unfortunately, I don't know what I am preparing for...

I would assume that you have, but please consider:

Compass
Flint
Tent(s)
clean water
knowledge of medicinal herbs in the cause of an absence of medical help

I guess I always had some stuff put back. I was raised in the country so we always canned, had a pantry, etc. I'm with you in knowing that a lot of my family and friends won't have anything, so I store for them too. It is hard to not know what we are preparing for.
I tend to prepare for a bug-in type stuation. I figure if it gets bad enough to bugout it'll be a whole nother set of skills and needs. For me it would be easier to prepare for something that was going to happen on x day (like y2k for example). Now I know stuff will happen but not when so I worry about doing enough and getting enough in time. Of course, that's when I'm not thinking 'Maybe nothing will happen'. Honestly though, even if nothing happens in my lifetime my son will still be able to use the stuff we store, so it's all good. Still, there is that human tendency to want to know...
Oh, my son says "you're sure welcome!" =)
gb,
~pre

Originally posted by SpiritoftheNightSky
reply to post by preparanoid

 

The scary part about this is that it is trying to prepare the children mentally for what many have been trying to tell themselves will never happen.

I agree completely! It's not so rough now, but when my son was younger I used to constantly worry about the line between teaching and scaring him to death. In the end I decided to tell him what could happen but not make it a constant focus.

For example, when we go shopping he knows that rice is 'in case bad stuff happens' but he also knows the Fruity Cheerios are for now and fun. So he spends a little time reminded of storage and a LOT of time anticipating snacks when we get home!=) In short, I give him child size portions of preparedness balanced with fun. I hope it works!
gb
~pre
(Of course, in 15 years I may hear "Mom, you scared me to death with this stuff as a kid." Ya never know...LOL)

Originally posted by Death_Kron
reply to post by SpiritoftheNightSky

 

I think your right there.

Obviously its going to depend on the situation but whatever happens I don't think it will be easy for children to accept.

With this in mind one of the best things you can do is teach your children survival but in a fun way. So take them for walks in the woods, let them practice building dens, show them fire lighting skills.

It can't do any harm! Then if SitX does occur at least they will have some basic skills and thus won't need to learn them under pressure.

DeathKron
Great suggestions! Going camping and on nature walks are one of the things my son and I do. It'll be hard for kids. Sometimes, though, I think kids natural resilience will be a great asset. Adults worrying about everything at once can be given a boost a lot of times by watching kids handle things and staying optimistic. That said, if the kids dont have skills to help them cope it'll be much harder for them to bounce back.
This is a thought I had at one point. Most kids find a way to eat if they are hungry and say, Mom is sick.. Expand that to a Sit-X. Kids will still have that ability. Now, who will eat and survive better..a 5 year old that can use a can opener when he is scrounging, or one that can't? It's not just the outdoor skills the kids need. It's the 'what if Mom isn't there' skills. A lot of this stuff you can teach without even going into the bad days coming stuff that can scare kids. Of course, you do want to explain it to them as soon as you feel they are ready, but they don't -have- to know that to learn to use a can opener. =)
I have a feeling those of us thinking ahead like this do pretty doggone well teaching our kids!
gb
~pre

reply to post by preparanoid

excellent thread here preparanoid
If SitX came about, prep would be everything to try and survive.
It scares me how utterly dependent we, as a species, are on electricity.
A major solar storm, that could wipe out the grid for up to a decade, is always a terrifying possibility.
How would we cope---and how would our children cope. ??
Yes, you can certainly try and teach them basic or even more advanced survival skills, but the emerging new world would be a pretty scary place.
I don't think anything could prepare them for the anarchy and panic that would ensue.
The looting, the infrastructure complete melt down.
It would be survival of the fittest and most well prepared---but maybe we've had it far too easy for far too long ??
COULD we adapt---do without our even most basic neccessities ??
Everything we use is reliant on power--take that away and we are back to a very primitive state of affairs.
Lets pray SitX never happens--but I suppose the odds are inevitable it will at some stage.

Hi,
Thanks for your sharing your thoughts and worries. I think it's impossible to be a parent and not worry about what will happen when TSHTF. When, not if. My son is 9 now, but he is young for 9. I realized a while back that because I worry about sitx I've tried to give him as much time as I could being a lttle boy. I hope it hasn't been a mistake. Now I realize that may make transitioning to the harder after-world that much more stressful for him. But I also don't know how to tighten and toughen him (and myself) up. I know I have to figure it out soon, though.
I'm not quite as worried about dependency on electricity as you are, I think. Wait, I should rephrase...
I'm not as worried about it for me and mine. I do agree most folks are pretty clueless about how dependent they are and wouldn't know what to do without it. I've always had a stock up sort of mind, be ready, long before I knew anyone else was thinking the same. The older I get, the more I watch people in general, the more I realize how dependent and clueless most are. That said though, people do adapt and children handle changes and challenges that often would crush an adults spirit.
We went through an ice storm several years ago in my area. My son was almost 5. We were out of power for 17 days. Not just us, but everyone in our area. According to the MSM over a half million people here were without power for over 2 weeks. That area included the biggest town in the Ozarks: Springfield, MO population: 100,000+. There wasn't any rioting. The only looting here was done by a few gas stations raising gas prices radically once they got power back. I know and expect that in some SitX scenarios and in some areas people would loot and riot, etc. Places like New Orleans after Katrina for example. Here, during that ice storm, people didn't. It might have helped that it was freezing out or maybe it was that even Springfield is small in terms of a city. People helped other folks out. It was good to see.
The bad part was the complete unpreparedness I saw in so many cases. People near me out here in the country that I would have sworn would have been more self-reliant simply weren't in a lot of cases. It was an eye-opener. Still, people made do, helped the clueless types.... My 5 year old didn't have any problems at all really. I don't say that to brag. It just wasn't traumatic for us. I had food and supplies. We used candles when necessary. But mostly what we did was start functioning more on nature's schedule. going to sleep shortly after dark, waking up with sunrise. In some ways it was pretty pleasant, honestly. Electric was down. So were phones. All the noise of modern living was absent. It was paper and scissors, glue and crayons, home made play dough, quiet reading. In short, we had a blast! =) But we were ready for an emergency.
My son did really well, also. I was so proud of him. We had about 10 minutes of tears over PBSKids being off and then he decided getting messy with play dough was much more fun. If I had to guess, I would say I didn't seem stressed so he didn't get worried. Whatever went through his little head, he definitely was a trooper. Anyhow, that's why the lack of electricity isn't a stress point for me personally. The chaos that might result from other people freaking over lack of power, though.... that's a concern.
I guess I have to believe we will adapt, especially the children. It won't be pretty. Kids won't get to be kids nearly as much as they do now. But maybe that will give them more joy during the quiet times in between the trouble.
god bless,
prep
p.s. In some ways I think growing up via the stresses of day to day survival seem less awful to me than kids growing up to fast now via the filth spewed at them daily in the 'culture' in the country today. Growing up because of the need to survive is a ...clean? ...real? reason the mature. Doubt that makes any sense... but I do have that thought sometimes.

Originally posted by Death_Kron
Obviously its going to depend on the situation but whatever happens I don't think it will be easy for children to accept.

Not true. Children can adapt and become used to more adverse conditions than adults may be able to.

A child growing up in an enviornment will see that enviornment as normal. Where as an adult knows it isn't, the child doesn't know any better. They are a product of the enviornment.

It is called conditioning, and I believe if prepared, the younger people are more capable of adapting than the adults who are set in their ways. Adults are not as flexible because they have preconvieved notions of how things should be.

Problems grow expotenially considering, most people are perpetuating thier own self ignorance via these "preconceived" notions. This self ignorance is a mind trap or trick people play on themselves. To feel in control or more so.

Denial doesn't make some thing not true.
It only blinds you to that which others can see.

Refusing to believe some thing doesn't mean one has to be unreceptive to the idea. Keep and open mind and consider that your perception is only a piece of a bigger puzzle. One that some one elses peice compliments the other.

Is this not why we are all here, on ATS building upon the community we are a part of?

Before dismissing anothers input, be sure to have an open mind towards them as you would have them to yourself.

Survival, it is a state of mind. You either have decided to do so, or not.

reply to post by preparanoid
"One grumble point.. It's the immigrant family next door that has to show preparedness awareness to the Read's."

What's that point supposed to mean? Were all in this boat together and if the immigrant family next door has something to teach us so what. Is that something else you teach your (9) year old? That immigrants next door don't have anything to teach us. Get over yourself.

Originally posted by kenton1234
reply to post by preparanoid
"One grumble point.. It's the immigrant family next door that has to show preparedness awareness to the Read's."

 

What's that point supposed to mean? Were all in this boat together and if the immigrant family next door has something to teach us so what. Is that something else you teach your (9) year old? That immigrants next door don't have anything to teach us. Get over yourself.

Hi Kenton,
You asked 'Whats that point supposed to mean?'
How bout that it saddens me that so many Americans are clueless about being prepared? That I -can't- go to my next door neighbors and express my concerns about the state of the country without them thinking I'm a 'survivalist' nut?
You're right. We are all in this together. I need to learn from any and everyone I can learn from. That would be why when I wanted my son to learn about guns, I taught him some... and then had my Israeli brother-in-law continue his lessons because he was more skilled than I. You see, I realized the immigrant -in my family- had something to teach us, my son and myself. So I asked, and learned. Although, I do admit to being envious of his skills. =)
Communities of like minded people will be how we make it through if TSHTF. I know this. I just wish there were more people next door who did.
Here is a thought for you to ponder, perhaps...
It's easier to be in a boat together when we don't make assumptions about other people and push them out of the boat before getting to know them.
gb,
~prep

p.s. At least if I need to get over myself I won't be to terribly hard. I'm only 4'11" =)

Now thats one smart and informed kid you got thier

reply to post by ziggy1706


Aw thanks!=) He is a good kid.
The other day we went shopping and bought our normal storage rice and storage beans, etc. along with our regular food. My Mom came by as we were putting stuff up and says, "You know you have rice at the (her) house if you were out." (I get stuff for their pantry, too, sometimes.) And my son says, in this lowered voice (the 'you don't tell everyone what you have' voice), "Gramma, this for storing rice." She said, "Oooh, I see..." and just looked at me and raised an eyebrow. She knows I stock up but I don't think she realized how aware he was of it. I was -sooo- proud of him! It was just a neat little moment.
thanks for commenting!=)
gb,
~prep