| Tired and Stronger

Hiking with young children is a challenge. If they are too young, you carry them all day.

If they are old enough to do all the walking, the challenge is attitude.

So, if you love hiking, how do you train your child to, not just endure the activity, but to love it like you do?

In less than twelve months I went on two separate hikes with my grandchildren. The two hikes were very different in the outcome.

The first one was filled with crying and screaming and wanting to go home.

The second was full of fun, excitement and new things to see around every corner… with only a few tears now and then. Now age will factor into the change of attitude to some degree.

But you can’t assume that will happen, especially if the child finds that complaining and crying gets him what he wants… to be carried.

 

 

What was the difference?

Both hikes were a little difficult. Both hikes were several hours each. Both hikes were surrounded
by beauty. Both hikes started out with a good attitude.

The first hike quickly became difficult because some adults in the group began to have negative attitudes. The trails were a bit narrow and steep. When an adult sees only the problems, the children will see the same.

Children learn more by our example than they do by our words. We need to be very careful how we approach challenges, our mistakes or those of others. Our children are watching… and learning.

My grandson, who was 3 ½ years old at the time, quickly adopted the negative attitude about the hike. I tried to help him see the beauty around us, but he would only try for a few minutes, then back to crying. Soon he would not stop crying. He kept saying he was too tired, it was too hard and he just wanted to sit.

This reflected a continuous complaint by some of the adults in the group. That negative attitude became impossible to fight against. The result? A half day hike with a crying child.

Now, had he focused all the energy spent on crying, on walking, he could have run the entire way! The next morning the hike was shorter and easier, but the same complaints remained and again crying rang through the trees.

Nine months later we took another hike. Once again, we started out with a good attitude, but soon the early morning hours, the wait for breakfast and the speed of the walk started to take its toll.

It looked like we were in for another morning of crying. But rather than continue to allow the crying and choosing to carry him, we all as a group exhibited a delight in our surroundings and the excitement of the adventure.

We ate breakfast, fed the dogs and fish we saw then started into the hard part of the hike. This time we talked about something of interest to the little boy; growing stronger. We started talking about how exercise makes us very tired, but as we were getting tired, we were getting stronger; tired and stronger, tired and stronger, tired and stronger.

Soon that four year old was almost running up the path. Stairs were not a problem, just another way to get stronger and challenge grandma! Flowers, butterflies, boats, clouds, bamboo, there were so many things to see and enjoy!

Yes, he tripped and fell down a few times which produced tears. Yes, he got a bit tired and wanted to sit at the next bench and have a snack. But he was always ready to get back up and keep going.

The next morning, he was thrilled to jump out of bed and do it again. What a difference from the first hike.

 

 

Yes, he was a little older, but had we persisted in a negative attitude, so would he. Guiding him by getting involved in helping him refocus on aspects of interest to him, as well as what we wanted him to learn to enjoy, transformed the experience. And by the end of the trip we were all tired and stronger… and a lot happier!