6 Things To Consider Before Letting Your Toddler Hike On Their Own

We went on a family hike a few days ago to Chaco Canyon. We were planning on hiking about 8 miles. But this hike did not end up like we had planned.

Our two-year old loves to hike! When we arrived at the visitors center she was so excited. She has her own backpack that we got her from Mexico. So when we got out of the car she said, “I need my backpack so I can go hike!” We explained that this wasn’t the place we were hiking and we were just getting a map. After some more explaining and convincing we got her to leave her back pack and go in.

We got our map and headed to the trail. We get out, and again our little one say’s, “I need my backpack so I can go hike!” She was ready, and determined! She then said, “I need my flashlight and baby doll too.” I looked at my husband with that look of, well what should we do?? So we left our child carrier in the car and she took off on her own two feet.

So if you are considering letting your toddler hike, here are some things to think about before you decide to change your plans.

Your Time-Frame

If you have somewhere to be or are limited on time, then letting your toddler hike is probably not the best option. I talked about getting on the trail late in this previous post. If we would have let our girl hike on that trip we would have had to spend the night on the trail. We went about a mile and it took us about 2 hrs. So if you are planning on going further than that you may need the whole day.

You Are No Longer In Charge

Your toddler is now the leader. You have to go at their pace. All our coaxing and bribing did not speed her up. She would run for a ways then stop and say, “whats this?” She would walk a little, then go climb some rocks. She would take 10 steps forward and then 20 steps back. It was a constant battle of “lets keep going.”

Patience Is A Must

For all of the reasons above. Have you ever watched the movie Up? We often quote the part where the dogs get so easily distracted, one says “squirrel” and they all lose focus. Well that is our girl, and I would say most toddlers. Trying to keep them on task is a constant job. This is why patience is a must. We wanted to keep moving forward and she wanted to explore and touch every rock and bush. Or just take a break to feed her baby doll. haha So if your patience has already been tested for the day then maybe it’s not the best time for your toddler to hike.

Be Prepared To Carry Everything

About 20 ft down the trail we were wondering if we should have let her bring her back pack. She had to take it off, get her baby doll, and flashlight out. Put them back in or leave them on a rock. We had to laugh at one point because she was carrying her backpack and had the baby doll in one hand and the flashlight in the other. Eventually it came to the point of her daddy or I carrying it all.

Make Sure You Bring Lots Of Snacks

Be prepared. It must be the bazillion steps that they take while hiking. But it seems like a monster comes alive that needs to eat everything! So make sure you eat before, during, and after the hike.

Great Way to Collect Rocks!

If you are in need of some more rocks in your pockets, car, and house then let your toddler hike. When our girl would stop she would pick up a rock or two and put it in her backpack. Those rocks have since ended up in our car and living room. It was fun watching her explore and learn new things though.

Usually we want to put some miles in so we let her out of her pack at the very end and let her finish the hike. It was fun to change it up this time to let her do the whole hike. It was about a mile and she did a great job! She actually probably hiked more than that with all the distractions and forwards and backwards she did. It was a blast and a great experience for us all.

Your Turn

What experiences good or bad have you had hiking with a toddler?

P.S.   As always we just have to share how grateful we are for our Marketing business that has made our adventures possible! We are in control of our schedule and are free to work pretty much anywhere. The income is on a steady incline and we couldn’t be happier! Come register and watch a FREE workshop to learn more about what we do. Or feel free to check out our Facebook fan page Adam & Paige Schofield.