Getting the Family Involved

I read a lot of blogs.

It seems there is a common theme underlying all of them, at best our spouses tolerate our incessant prepping, at worst, they think we're nuts.

Which is why I thought I'd take a chance to talk about getting your significant other on board.

Now, as I see it there are two key rules to going about this:

A: Don't let them know that what you are really doing is constructive.
B: Make it seem like you are giving in to HER ideas of fun.

Now, those of you that have been married for quite some time have mastered both of these skills. They are the same ones that you use to get her to see the movie you want, and to pick what to watch on TV. But for those of you that haven't figured out deceit is the key to a happy marriage, I'll fill you in on the tricks of the trade.

To rule A: my wife has it in her head that if you are working, you're not relaxing. She just doesn't get how I find canning "fun". However, she does see running, camping, and fishing as fun, and all of these things can teach, and reinforce skills.

To rule B: you've got to tailor your efforts to her interests, i.e. my wife likes medical things... so going to the local community college and getting her basic EMT cert was a fun pass-time for her.

As for bringing kids in to the fold, that raises a whole new set of challenges.

I've found the best way to do it, is to form every lesson as a game of sorts, to make sure to reward and reinforce good performance, and finally that repetition is KEY. Kids are quick learners, but while any skill not practiced is perishable, this holds especially true for kids.

Some of the things I've learned that work really well are camping, and fishing. My wife and kid both love to camp and fish. This gives you a chance to practice building shelter, making fire, cooking, and a host of other bush-craft techniques.

As for rewarding your children, well I wanted mine to learn to use a compass and map to get around, he wanted to get a GPS for when we went Geocaching. I told him that he couldn't have a GPS until he could use a map and compass, so we got him a compass, and I taught him how to use it, we used Geocache coordinates and the maps to find the best route in to an area, and then used the map to get in the general area. Once there I let him use my GPS to find the actual cache. Once he had proven to me that he could do this effectively, we got him a GPS for his birthday. To keep the skill sharp, we still use a paper map to plan our Geocaching trips.

This works at all levels, they learn the rules of knife safety, they get a Swiss Army Knife, etc. etc. As long as you keep it appropriate to what your kid can do, and how old they act, there is no limit to they way this can be applied.

As for physical fitness, it can be more of a tight-rope. My wife gets discouraged easily, but my kid is like me, competitive to a fault. So when I go rowing with the wife, I have to make sure that what we do varies between easy for her, so it's fun, and just a bit above her skill level, so she gets better. With my kid, on the other hand it's usually a game of making sure we don't challenge each other in to a fix that we can't get out of.

But just as important as making sure your family gets the skills they need, is ensuring they have the mindset to use them.

As much as I joke about her, my wife is a wonderful woman, and intelligent beyond belief. It didn't take any real effort for me to convince her that should something bad happen no one is going to come rescue us. She sees the general inability of the average person to pour water out of a boot that has the instructions printed on the bottom. Additionally, she works in a logistics field, so she understands just how fragile the supply chains of food, fuel, and water into our major population centers are. Combine those two things with her solid (un)common sense and she sees how quickly things will go to Hell in a hand basket in the event something goes down. Couple that with her maternal instinct and she's willing to do whatever she has to to protect herself, and her family.

As for my kid, well, he's a chip off the old paranoid block, likes to play outside, and enjoys knowing how to do things no one in their right mind knows how to do, so getting him on board was cake.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, preps and gear are great, but without the skills you need, the mindset to employ those skills, you're boned. Nothing keeps you motivated better than having people the you are responsible for and more importantly, to. It is imperative that you get your family on board with your preperations if you've not already done so.

Jimmy P - Out