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THE ART OF DISTRACTION

So, if you're lucky, you'll have children whose little faces light up at the prospect of a bush adventure, keen as mustard with a go-get-em attitude; happy to weather a little rain or heat or flies or leeches in the name of adventure.

Or, you'll have one like that, and one like Holly who, faced with the prospect of such an adventure, will flop face down in tears on the carpet in front of the TV, yelling 'I hate bushwalking!'.

But don't dismay! Put on that fake positive smile, the one you save for important visitors at work, and try some of these ideas


BUSHWALKING BOREDOM BUSTERS FOR KIDS WHO JUST AREN'T INTO IT 


  • What does your kid like? Are they a crafty type or a sporty type? Do they love ball games, are they a fidgeter, would they rather be drawing or reading? Are they a stats or numbers kid? Market the idea to them in a way that they are more likely to respond to. For me that means letting Holly pack her own snacks as she is remarkably like a labrador when it comes to food rewards. She also likes making up silly stories, playing 'grannies' with a walking stick, or trying to stab me with serrated banksia leaves.  For Ty, I'll let him wear my Garmin occasionally so that he can track our distance and elevation. He's up for any track that involves a rocky scramble; he likes the visceral experience of climbing up, down, jumping, being on all fours, 'avoiding the lava'...
  • Wherever possible, bring a mate! Bringing a (carefully selected) friend along for the kids will keep them so busy you will most likely be able to get a little further than you expected before the whining starts. Note that the volume of said whining is directly proportionate to the number of kids in attendance. Bring earplugs. And 3 times more food than you think you'll need. 
  • Research where you're going and get the kids involved. Show them pictures, look up the weather together, talk about the huge chocolate milkshakes you'll have afterwards. What kind of animals do you think you'll spot? Can they help you navigate the old school way with a paper map? 
  • Sing or play I-spy (although I-spy can cause more stress and fights if you have a kid who can't spell yet or who picks something beginning with 'tree'. Adjust to make it age appropriate. How many green things can you see? Can you find an orange rock?)
  • Play photographers - if you have an old digital camera kicking around; the kind everyone bought when smart phone cameras were still shit, then make a big deal of letting the kids use their own camera. Lesson learned - make sure you still have the USB cable to avoid tears afterwards when they want to look at all their pretty photos on the computer. 
  • Take a small notepad and pencil - get the kids to tally how many different bird calls they hear, how many different seed pods they can spot. Can they outline a cool serrated ziggy-zaggy banksia leaf? How about tracing a scribblybark?
  • Stick swordfights (the trick is moving on to a different game before someone takes an eye out)
What would you add to this list? I'd love to hear your ideas in the comments!

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