*Before you read please note that I am speaking in general, I am from Ohio and I know the extent of our terrain and the way we do things may not be the same as someone in the far west for example. That being said I hope you enjoy and would LOVE your feedback! I have listed some core values that I believe to be important in our every day lives, and how these values are met by raising our son in the outdoors. These core values shape us into the person we are today, and through the years seem to be dwindling to say the least.*
Responsibility : He will know and understand that any weapon
can harm or kill if not handled responsibly. Example : Respect the gun and the power it
contains. He will be taught to always have the safety on and to constantly
check to make sure the safety is on. Never take the safety off unless he is
secure and ready to shoot with his target in CLEAR sight. NEVER by any means
point a gun/bow at anyone for ANY reason (real or fake).
The list goes on and on. Teaching our son
safety early, he will gain responsibility as he grows and if he lacks then that privilege will be taken away. Raising him in the outdoors will also
teach him responsibility when growing a garden, raising animals, harvesting
animals (clean shot), not littering, containing a camp fire, etc. Responsibility cannot be taught through pressing buttons on a screen.
Exercise : Playing outdoors has a constant involvement of
movement and imagination! Playing tag, building forts, and going on a “cave
excursion” are some of the MANY possibilities. As soon as the sun comes up he
is ready to go outside and play. He thinks it’s an adventure every time he goes
with us to check cams or look for sheds.
Health : Plain and simple, he will be healthy! Eating what
the good Lord has given him, the grocery store of the outdoors! No
preservatives or hormones addedJ
Respect : Our son will know respect and right from wrong
when being raised in the outdoors. Respect his elders and take their advice
when sitting by a campfire sharing stories. Respect the animals and know that
they provide him with meat. Poaching is disrespectful and lazy; playing by the
book will still give him what he needs and a greater challenge! Also, only
harvesting what he needs. There are always bag limits but why take 5 whitetail
deer and 2 toms when your family only needs 2 whitetail deer and 1 tom? He will
understand conservation but sometimes the area in which you live may not need
the full bag limit taken. However, if it does he will have the respect for
others to donate the meat to those in need and not waste it.
Another point of respect is that of the
environment, take care of it and it will take care of you!
Life Cycle & Learning : This is a big plus as a parent!
As a three year old he understands the difference between something that is
sleeping and something that is dead. This may sound harsh to some, but lets
face it, every organism on this earth has a life cycle, which inevitably ends
in death. He will understand that when he puts in the hard work to harvest an
animal, that it is dead and will provide him with food, and the gut pile will
provide scavengers with food… and well you know the circle of life. He gets to
learn this HANDS ON! He gets to learn characteristics of different species:
insects have 6 legs, mammals breathe with lungs, fish breathe with gills, worms
live in the ground, deer use their antlers to mark their territory, turkeys
gobble to locate, squirrels eat nuts and use their tails to balance, birds lay eggs, plants grow from a seed, need I go
on? He can see and hear this right in front of him in their natural
environment.. how amazing is that?
Patience : In order to hunt or live “simple” you have to
have patience. By raising our son in the outdoors he will learn this value. He
will have to be patient to kill that mature buck during the rut. He will have
to be patient to hunt that big doe for extra meat. He will have to be patient
to hunt that big ‘ole sharp-eyed gobbler in the spring. Everything in life
takes patience, something you do not learn from a computer or video game.
Provider :
No matter
what, our son will be able to provide for his family. He will know the land and
have the ability to grow/build from it. He will be able to feed his family meat
from the woods, fish from the creek, and vegetables from the garden. He may not
always have a grocery store to go to, or enough money to buy the food that he needs. Without the knowledge listed above, how will you survive or provide for
your family? I am not saying that he will never go to a store, but if ever that weren't an option he will be able to provide by other means.
Protector : “Country boy can survive” He will have the
knowledge to operate and manage guns, bows, and muzzleloaders. If at any time
he would need to protect himself, family, or friends from danger he will be
capable. Plain, simple, and to the point.
Hard Work : He will learn that hard work pays off, do not
expect anything in life to be handed to you. Scouting, checking trail cams, setting/moving
stands, scent control, etc. if he wants to harvest that mature buck or smart
doe. Managing his land to keep the wildlife healthy and coming back for years
upon years. A garden in itself can be all year with daily work and attention.
He may have to travel further down the creek to catch the fish he needs, this
takes a canoe/kayak or plenty of walking. However, the enjoyment/appreciation
of catching that fish or harvesting that deer makes it all worth it in the end.
Plus, who doesn’t love the serenity and beauty of the outdoors?
God, Purpose, Tranquility : God created Earth and life for a purpose. We have carnivores, omnivores, and herbivores. We have predators and prey. There is a circle of life. There is no denying this whether you believe in God or not. The point of this is that during some point of his life he will be faced with people with differing opinions, such as "anti-hunters". By him understanding the statements above he will be able to defend his way of life in a calm realistic manner knowing that everyone will have an opinion. Being a hypocrite is
different than having an opinion, and he will understand that as long as what he is doing is fulfilling his life and family, then he is doing what he was put on this Earth to do. No one can ever take that from him. He is the MAN the outdoors has made him.
Disclaimer : As I am raising him in such a way, my son will always have a choice to continue his journey in the outdoors or pursue something else. However, I will be proud of the MAN he will become because he is being instilled with these core values at such a young age. There is a difference!
All in all every aspect listed ties into one another. I
could write a book on every detail, but hopefully I summarized it well enoughJ Raising our son in the
outdoors is our decision and is how we were raised as well. I am not putting
down any other way of raising children, however we were not designed to be
placed in front of a TV/computer/ipad/xbox, inside, and sitting on a couch. Just
being outside opens a child’s imagination and runs out that energy!
Britnioutdoortradition
