18 Fun Activity Ideas for Young Children

MmmHmm...

Once upon a time, in a land of idealism and disillusionment, I implemented a no television rule.

Happily ever after, you wonder?

 It lasted about a day and then my kids drove me to the brink of insanity. So yeah, you know the rest of the story.

 Shout out to PBS kids!

We really do try to limit television unless it's a special movie night or a road trip. Yes, yes, You've heard all of the reasons why it's important for kids to have limited screen time so I'll spare you the soapbox lecture.  I get that it can be difficult to keep the television off, (especially when I need to accomplish something for once). That's why when I first implemented the no TV rule, I physically removed it and hid the thing in the basement. No joke. 

So what do we do instead of watching TV? Here are some of our favorite ideas to get you started.

1.) Have the kids help make food.

It will take you longer. Don't attempt this perfect Mom O' the Year move when company is coming over and expect stellar results. That being said, one of the biggest reasons I was turning the TV on was to make a meal. We had to eat right? It was very difficult to cook with a tiny person asking a million questions and sticking tiny fingers in my prep food.
I eventually wised up and realized that it was a learning opportunity for them. I started finding ways they could help me and it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Sometimes it actually helps. I'm still waiting for that magical age where I can sit back and direct them like Apprentice Mickey Mouse in Fantasia. You know what I'm talking about.

Examples:
Cutting soft foods-  I bought my oldest a set of plastic kid knives a while back and now they both help me cut soft foods.
Measuring - I'm proud to say my five-year-old can read a recipe now!
Bringing ingredients from the pantry- This is my three-year-olds favorite job. She has about a 50% accuracy rating but she works so hard.
Stirring
Watching the timer-  Muwhaha. Yeah. Sometimes I'm a mean mom. But it teaches time concepts!
Washing the mixing bowls
Wiping up spills

2.) Make bubble mountains.

 It goes like this: Pour about a cup of water into your mixer and a few squirts of dish soap, affix your whisk attachment and push the "high" button. Make as many bubble mountains as desired. Give them mountains on flat cookie pans, big mixing bowls, under the bed containers or whatever you come up with. I also give them funnels and measuring cups. Sometimes we add food coloring. Unicorn Bubble Mountains!!  Afterward, we get out the mops and have a clean floor!

3.)  Play active games.

 Examples:

Red light, Green light

Simon says

Follow the leader

Run and touch (run and touch something RED, YELLOW, POLKA-DOTTED, THAT MAKES NOISE, etc...)

4.)  Pull out the art supplies.

Give them washable crayons, markers, and paper. My girls can draw for days.

Have them make cards to send to Grandma and Grandpa, cousins, teachers, friends, neighbors...

5.)  Have a parts box.

What am I talking about? I have a box (our old drawer organizers) of weird parts including pipe cleaners, large wooden beads, small containers, googly eyes, pom poms, small sticks, popsicle sticks, rubber bands, buttons, wine corks, paperclips and even some neat rocks we've collected. They go to town with this open-ended stuff.

6.)  Have a Playdough box.

Same theory as the parts box. Playdough, rolling pin, cookie cutters, glitter, sprinkles, etc... You get the idea. We even combine the parts box and playdough box when the playdough is getting old and greyish. You know what I'm talking about. 

7.)  Go outside.

But it's raining/cloudy/snowing/kinda hot...Our ancestors would laugh at you.

8.)  Trick them into cleaning your house! 

 Sometimes I tell them to pretend the table is a whale and he's drying out! Then I give them dishcloths and tell them to "Save the Whale!!!" Another fun one is to give them white dishcloths and tell them whoever has the dirtiest cloth after 5 minutes wins. (Bathrooms are off limits.) Something I do to get them to clean their rooms up is to tell them that the floor is slowly turning into hot lava! Save the toys! They strangely love this and sometimes play on their own. The only limit is your creativity, people. 

9.) Play, Hide the Clip. 

I hide a red bag clip all over the house for them to find. It's great because I can clip it anywhere. It keeps them occupied for a long time and they love it. You can use any type of clip or just color a clothespin with a marker. You can also do this with a stuffed animal or some other object depending on their finding skills. 

10.)  Pillowfort.

Especially good on bedsheets day when the bed and pillows are in chaos anyway.

11.)  Puzzles:

The dollar tree has a bunch of puzzles to choose from. I load up and don't feel guilty about it. "Oh, the puppy ate three pieces?" I'm not losing any sleep.

12.) Board games: 

We fill a lot of time with games. I remember I couldn't wait until my oldest daughter was old enough to count because it would open up a world of possibilities for board games. We have acquired and played a lot of games and have a few decided favorites. Here they are in no particular order:

Richard Scarry's BusyTown Eye found it! 
This game is great because its cooperative and even the little ones can join in. The premise is that everyone needs to make it to the picnic before the pigs eat all of the food! Everyone's favorite part is when we draw a search card. Then we have until the egg timer runs out to locate as many items on the card that we can. It's also neat because the board is huge. It unfolds to take up about a 2 foot by 6-foot space on the floor. The kids love that's a giant game.

Mancala
This is a great beginner strategy game and it really helps kids focus counting things one at a time. It also reinforces the left to right concept that is important for reading and writing. This one contains small parts though so it's a good game for after the little ones are asleep.

Race to the Treasure
This is another cooperative game. We love cooperative games. It combines strategy and luck to get to the treasure before the ogre. I love that it teaches basic graphing skills.

Memory 

Hiss

Connect 4

13.)  Play Hide and Seek.

14.) The floor is hot lava! 

This is especially good coupled with pillow forts.

15.) Have a puppet show.

Anything can be a puppet really. Barbies regularly star in our puppet shows. My youngest recently asked me why all of the stuffed animals sound like me when they talk! HAHAHAHA! She'll figure it out soon, I hope!

16.) Sing songs.

Our Favs:
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes
Down by the Bay
5 Little Spotted Frogs
The Alphabet
Baby Balooga
Days of the week song
Months of the year song
...and who could forget Let It Go.     


17.) Read some books!

18.)  Make a scavenger hunt with a map.


19.)  Play "Mommy's locked herself in the pantry with all of the cookies."
This one is actually a bonus, but it's too much fun to leave out. It teaches them valuable skills like lock picking and active listening. Don't forget a flashlight if your light switch is on the outside of your pantry AND your kids are smart.

If all else fails and they're getting grouchy or rambunctious I offer them the option of cleaning, taking a nap or playing quietly.  Guess which one they choose?

Works. Every. Single. Time.

My Unorthodox Solution to Power Struggles

Mommy/Kid Role Swap

Since the dawn of time, parents have been struggling with defiant offspring. If you're reading this, chances are, you're no stranger to the stubborn "no", the eye roll, or my personal favorite, the squinty-eyed "try and make me" look. Little rascals...

My kids, especially my 5-year-old, had been more defiant than usual. When talking with other moms, it seems to be a theme. Maybe I was just noticing it because it's summertime and we're together more, but we'd been having a lot of trouble. There have been too many arguments and too much whining over getting ready to go places, cleaning rooms, baths, toothbrush time...You get the idea.

 My excitement over a summer with my children was slowly turning to dread. I was worried that this problem behavior was going to continue to increase and threaten our happy time together. We love summer and we have so many fun vacations and activities planned! We didn't have time for any nonsense.

My first inclination was to become more strict. Isn't that what you're supposed to do when your kids act out? Set firm boundaries and stick to them. That's what all the parenting books say. 

And I still stand by most of that advice, but in this case, it just wasn't working. 

I decided something else must be causing our trouble. My kids hadn't tested boundaries like this before. Things had been escalating and no one was happy. 

After a day of canceling an outing because my oldest daughter wouldn't get ready, I wanted to talk things out with her.

I had told her, "I've asked you for the last 20 minutes to brush your hair and put on your shoes. If you don't get ready in the next 5 minutes we are not going". I set a timer. She watched me do it. She sat on the floor next to her shoes and hairbrush and watched the time run out.

So I canceled the playdate.

Problem solved. The next time I asked her to get ready, she would. I was sure of it.

Except, it wasn't. She didn't. It happened again. 

When I told her later that I had set a boundary and asked her if she knew I was serious, she said, "I know Mommy. I just didn't want to do what you said again. You always tell me what to do."

Are your kids feeling caged in? 

I gave her some spiel about how I'm the mommy and she's a little girl and sometimes little girls just have to listen to their mommies so things go smoothly. She nodded. She understood. She said she understood that we're a family and we're always trying to work together. She said she understood it was important that she brushes her hair and wears shoes when she goes outside. She's a smart, loving girl. So what was the problem?

It took me a whole day to process what she had told me.

"I know Mommy, I just didn't want to do what you said again. You always tell me what to do."

It wasn't that she didn't want to go. It wasn't that she didn't think she was part of the team. It wasn't that she's morally opposed to hairbrushes or shoes. She felt too pushed around. She was beginning to think of me not as a reasonable, loving Mom but as a female Genghis Khan. 

Iiiiii get a little bit Genghis Khan...

Holy Mike Snow, It's true. I do tell her what to do A LOT. But I'm the Mom. That's my job right? Isn't it a mom's job to order kids around and yell at them when they don't do exactly what we want? Wait a minute. That doesn't sound quite right. It IS my job to keep her safe while she's learning how the world works. It IS my job to model love, respect, self-discipline and to help her navigate the world. But the tyranny? I hadn't thought about it. I'm so glad she finally said something.

I mean, I give her some autonomy. I let her pick out her own clothes, brush her hair, decide what she eats for breakfast, simple chores, etc... But I hadn't given her much extra autonomy since she was about 3 years old. She's capable of doing so much more now...Like 2 years worth.

With the stress of a busy summer, more playdates, and more traveling, she was feeling pushed around. I thought I might be onto something. So the next day after talking to her, I decided something had to give and I tried a different approach.

I'm not sure where the idea came from. It definitely wasn't premeditated. I like to think all of the good parenting advice I've ever received is buried somewhere in my brain and jumps up into my consciousness when desperately needed.

It just sort of hit me while I was trying to clean. Both girls were talking at the same time, wanting separate things from me. I think it came from a place of desperation as much as from a place of hope.

I said "You know what girls? Today, we can do a mommy/kids swap. You two can be the mommy. You're in charge and, as long as you stay safe, I have to do what you tell me to do. What do you think?"

They were immediately thrilled at the idea. They sort of stood there for a moment looking at me until they decided that they were going to take over the sweeping I had been previously engaged in. My 5-year-old took the broom and my three-year-old took the dustpan. With the coordination of The Three Stooges missing Curly, my girls managed to sweep the entire kitchen and family room. 

And do you know what? They actually did a pretty good job. It was passable. I was pretty impressed.
I thought "Well, that was fun. Now they'll probably go back to playing". I figured they would miss the structure of having Mom around and get frustrated at their lack of ability. I mean, the two of them are constantly begging me to do things for them. That's because they can't do things themselves right? (Wrong. More on this later.)

But they didn't. After sweeping, they then decided all of the Legos needed to be picked up and the puzzle that had been sitting on the table for a day and a half and the Tinker Toys should be picked up and put away too. 

At this point, I was taking photographs and videos as evidence to show my husband over dinner.
After giving the downstairs a thorough cleaning, they decided to go out and play on the swingset. I was ordered to push my youngest.

It was hot. After about 15 minutes I wanted to stop. Then I remembered, I was the kid.

I had to obey, otherwise, I was "being bad".  Never ever, will I use that term again. I already knew not to from reading parenting books but I was guilty of letting it slip out of desperation. 

I thought about all of the times the girls had complained of being hot and I simply told them to deal with it. It was usually something along the lines of "I know you're hot. I am too. There are lots of times you will be hot in your life. It's not that bad. Here, drink some water."

I realized I didn't want to be talked to in that manner. I thought about how crappy it would sound coming from another adult. It was demeaning. It minimized feelings and it really didn't help. I need to remember that even though my girls are still maturing, they absolutely deserve to be treated with respect, especially when I expect respect from them.

So, I told myself to deal with it and kept pushing.

Then they wanted to jump on the trampoline.

Then they wanted to play dolls.

I didn't want to play dolls. I didn't want to play house and be the dad...again. And I really didn't want to "play dog", which involved crawling around on the floor, barking.

It was annoying a few times. I kept thinking about how much my girls do what I ask of them, even when I know they don't want to, with no complaints. I thought about the number of times they obey me vs. the number of times they don't.  It's actually a pretty good ratio.

I have really great kids. I mean I have REALLY FANTASTIC kids. 

I think they're nicer than I am.

Our day wrapped up with a ton of book reading which was fun for us both. I would call my little parenting experiment a success. I think they got a lot out of being in charge for a day. The girls went through the whole bedtime routine without tantrums and went to sleep without two trips into our bedroom. They had to make a lot of decisions and I was delighted to see how good they are at problem-solving. I loved watching them negotiate and it was so nice to say, "You're in charge" when they asked me to solve a problem for them.  I'm going to do my best to adopt that attitude a lot more in the future. 

I'm so glad that my daughter was able to tell me what was bothering her and that I was able to listen. I'm going to try my best to give her more control over her life. Because living a life under a tyrant is no fun, even if the tyrant loves you very much.  Hopefully, we'll meet a need for autonomy that wasn't previously being met. If not, I'm sure I'll get a reminder next time we have to go somewhere in a hurry.

Tips on how to stop being the "Late Mom".

 Image Source: FreeImages.com/melanie kuipers

Oh boy, this one hits close to home. I used to always be the late Mom. I come from a long lineage of late Moms. There was actually a random family that started to save us a seat in church because they knew we were going to be 10 minutes late every Sunday. There is something to be said for consistency. So embarrassing!
I hate being late. Truly hate it.  I have always hated it and just never found a way to change. But I knew I could change. I just needed to dig in and do it. I read up on the psychology behind being chronically late and I found ways to cure myself of the disease. (Don't get me wrong though, I'm still late from time to time when I'm feeling nostalgic for it.)
Here are my hard-earned tips. 

Prep Work:

Explain the game plan.

Explain what to expect the next day to your kids. This goes a long way. I didn't realize how much I was just barking orders at my kiddos and they didn't even know we needed to go somewhere! Well no wonder they didn't want to get ready. Ready for what Mom? Remember, they're good kids and they're on your team. They will help you be on time if they know and understand what's going on.

Get baths/showers the night before. 

Have kids pick out their clothes and pack their bags the night before, right before they get in bed.

Pack food.

Pack non-perishable snacks and juice boxes or water bottles in the car in case you're running late but the kids are hungry. Throw some bibs in for good measure.

Don't forget the gas tank.

If I see it's getting near the quarter-of-a-tank line, I just go ahead and fill-up on my way home. When I know I have to be somewhere early the next day, I make sure not to put it off, even if I'm feeling lazy. I tell myself that I will be happy I did it tomorrow morning.

Image source: FreeImages.com/Tory Byrne

On the day of:

Do not turn on the TV!

Give yourself extra travel time.
GPS is the best. Mine allows me to see exactly how long it will take me to get anywhere using real-time traffic conditions. But here's a little something "a friend of mine" always forgets; you can't teleport yourself and your kids directly from your car, in the far corner of the parking lot, into your desired destination, three stories up. And very few venues allow you to actually drive your car into the building. I don't know about you but just unbuckling the car seats and extricating the kids adds an extra few minutes for us. So use your GPS to see when you need to leave and add 10 to 15 minutes. I know you know this step already. Wouldn't you know it, actually doing it works!  

Give direct "Mom Orders". 

Give orders on an individual basis.  What am I talking about? It goes like this: 

[Child's name], (squat down, get on their level and make eye-contact) "I want you to ..." Then give clear and simple instructions in 3 steps or less. 

This will cut so much time off the "getting ready to go" phase.

Do not look at your phone other than to check the time.

Cute cat videos will be the end of all productivity!

Set an alarm and keep hitting snooze.

Set it for 30 minutes before you have to go and continue to hit the snooze button so that you can mark the 10 minute intervals. You'll be shocked at how quickly 10 minutes will pass.


On the last 10 minute snooze alarm give the potty-time last call.
Let them know this is their last chance to use the bathroom for X number of minutes. This also counts for our four-legged friends. I let our puppy out and crate her during last-call.

What not to do:

Don't give up sleep. You need your sleep. You don't get enough of it as it is. I don't know you, but I feel comfortable saying so.  It's the biggest parenting cliche and we still haven't solved the no sleep issue. I'll say it again. Don't give up sleep.

Don't yell at your kids. It makes them flustered and feel like they're bad children.  They end up internalizing it and over time, it can become part of their self-identity. Only yell at your kids if you want to convey to them that they are bad children. (Never a good thing.) Or if they're in danger, then of course, yell your head off.

Don't forget that no one cares about this issue as much as you do. You're your own worst critic and your biggest champion.

 That's it. That's all I did to change my bad habit. I promise that you can do it. If I was able to break my life-long history of being late, then you can too! If you follow all of these rules, you might just end up being the first one there! No speeding involved!

Mommy Shortcuts

I'd like to share with you a list of my own personal mommy life-hacks. These are little things that help me save time and "mom" with better outcomes. So, without further ado:

Have a dinner candle.

This one is a shortcut to a nice dinner. It takes a lot of the annoyances out of dinner time. Have you ever noticed how kids can make dinner time last an eternity when they don't want to eat their green beans? We have a dinner candle that we light and everyone has to be in their seats while it is lit. We give a five-minute warning before blowing it out. Whoever has cleaned their plate when the dinner candle goes out gets dessert if we're having it. They tend to hurry up and finish eating even when we don't have dessert because we have given them a time frame and goal.

Format your requests correctly.

When giving a direct mom order, don't yell a bunch of stuff into the air, aimed in their general direction. This never works for me. To save time, give it in this format:  [child's name], (make eye-contact) I want you to... Then give simple, clear instructions on how to do it. If it's more than 3 steps, make it less or don't be upset when it isn't followed.  When we're getting ready to go somewhere and I remember to use this, it cuts so much time off. I will talk about it more in my next post on how to end the "late mom" streak.

Pick up legos and beads with the vacuum.

WHAT?! Is this woman crazy? Put a thin sock or thick pair of tights on the end of the hose and suck them up quickly. Then empty them into the appropriate container. So easy. I actually keep a sock twist tied to the vacuum.  Use this technique to vacuum small pieces out of floor air vents as well. Crisis averted.

Always try to give them two choices.

Kids like to feel that they have some safe control over their lives. I'm sure you know that issuing a bunch of demands to a toddler is usually a disaster. That's ok though. We want kids to grow up to be independent and to be capable of making their own decisions.  Help them practice their decision-making skills by giving 2 appropriate choices when you want them to do something.

Example:  You want them to get dressed. 

You could say "please get dressed" a million times then go storming in, pick out their clothes and dress them in a hurry because you're late now. OR, you could say, "Which shirt will you put on? Your red one or your yellow?"  Kids are smart. Mine know where their shirts are kept. When I remember to word it this way, they go searching for their favorite shirt and emerge a few minutes later with it on backward, but so proud. I stick matching pants inside each shirt so that when they pull out a shirt, they have the pants decision already taken care of. It's a twofer.

Don't forget about sticker charts.

We use sticker charts for so many different things at our house. They work so well. They save time by serving as a physical reminder to do whatever it is the chart is for. We currently have a sticker chart for reading lists, bed making, after meal tooth brushing and potty training. 

Have a go-bag for in the car.

When we're getting ready to pull out of the driveway, I love to waste lots of time going back into the house for things I forgot to pack. 

It's the best.

It's good to have some extra supplies in the car in case you forget something or get into a pinch. It's better to have your stash in one organized location in the car, preferably in a bag for easy portability.  Here is a list of what I keep in our bag:

wipes

extra hair ties and clips (if applicable)

a hairbrush

nail clippers

an extra pair of socks for each child

extra diapers

a small first aid kit
sunscreen
bug spray

a few bottles of water

nonperishable snacks
toothbrushes
toothpaste that doesn't need to be spit out

crayons and a coloring book for each kid

and I keep a blanket in the bottom of the bag 

Streamline your entryway.

Save precious load-up time. Keep kid shoes in a cute basket right next to the door. Get 2 command strips and hang their coat right above the shoe basket. Hang their hat right above that. Keep gloves inside coat pockets. You can go a step further by sticking adhesive velcro inside the pockets to keep gloves from falling out.  When the warm weather returns, pull the hooks down. No muss, no fuss. 

Get a citrus peeler.

This one is so random. But we eat a ton of oranges and it used to take me FOREVER to peel an orange for each kid. My 4-year-old can't get them started easily and my 2-year-old would get too impatient and just start gnawing on it, peel or no peel. Now I just hand them each an orange and a peeler. DONE. They're really cheap. I paid a whole dollar for ours.

Play a drinking game.

No not that kind! When my girls are sick it can sometimes be difficult to keep them hydrated. I used to sit next to them half of the day and beg them to drink. Now, I keep a dry erase maker by the bed and draw a line on the outside of their cup marking the level of the liquid. Then I ask them how far they think they can drink before I draw the next line. I act astonished at how much they can drink. "SO BIG!"

Make a quick hot pad or cool pack.

Fill an old tube sock with dried rice and tie a knot in the end. Microwave it for 10 seconds. It will hold heat and soothe ouchie ears or sore muscles. You can add lavender or tea tree oil to the rice as well. For a cool pack, stick a clean, wet sponge in the freezer. It will get cold quickly and won't leave a drippy mess everywhere for you to clean when it defrosts.

Fiber gummies.

Avoid days of worrying about minor constipation.

 Transient tummy troubles? Potential poo problems? Have a gummy honey! (But don't abuse these!)

Avoid overdosing or underdosing meds with a chart.

Draw a day-of-the-week chart, for the duration of the prescription, on the back of your child's medicine bottle and remember to check off the doses as you give them. 

 Quick Extras:

Put an egg timer in the bathroom to time toothbrushing and proper handwashing.

Most large stores give free cookies to keep little ones happy while parents shop.

Toss finger puppets in your purse for check-out time distraction.




These are my favorite quick Mommy shortcuts that have truly helped me to save time and sanity. I hope you find one or two helpful!

What about you? What are your best Mommy time-saving tricks?

Hiking with Small Children...Successfully

We're an outdoorsy type of family. And that means WE LOVE HIKING! We even take family vacations with the in-laws centered around hiking. My husband and I have been hikers for a very long time but when we added kids to the equation, it was a whole 'nother ballgame. We've learned some things along the way and I'm happy to say we have it down to a science. Here are my biggest tips for successful outdoor adventuring with the littles.

Take small hikes to build endurance first.
Please don't jump in with a 3 mile hike. Make sure you give little kids time to acclimate to the whole hiking shebang if they aren't used to it. When you're two years old it might seem overwhelming and crazy to walk endlessly on a narrow path when there is SO MUCH stuff to distract you. The more practice hiking you do at the park before the big day, the better. They will know the ropes and will build up endurance. That being said...

Assume you will have to carry them some of the way.
Forget the stroller. Unless you're hiking on a paved trail, it will be more hassle than it's worth. We've passed parents carrying both the baby and stroller on trails before. No judgment, just empathy. Pack that carrier, Mom and Dad. We have an Ergo and actually hide it until its needed. If I wear it around my waist to save space in the pack, the whining starts earlier, haha.

Don't buy anyone new shoes for the hike.
Nothing is worse than a two-hour hike in new shoes. That's an exaggeration. I can think of a lot of things that are worse (war, famine, injustice, misspelled rants about exes on facebook) but blisters are no fun. Remember those small hikes at the park? Those would be the time to break in those super cool Keens.

Bring an extra pair of socks for everyone.  If you think there might be any water along the trail, it's always wise to have an extra pair for your puddle jumpers. If it's summer, I just put them in waterproof hiking shoes.

Make it fun!  Sing funny songs together, take pictures along the way, point things out and explain
them, keep your eyes peeled for critters, bring binoculars, take a nature journal and make a sketching stop, take turns being trail leader...You get the idea. If you go with the attitude that you're on a fun-filled adventure, they will totally see it as a fun-filled adventure (until they're teenagers).


Pack enough water and snacks they like to eat.
All of that hiking is hard work. It's going to work up an appetite and make them thirsty. We typically pack a full water bottle per person for hikes under 4 hours. We pack fruit but also pack food that might fall into the questionable category under ordinary circumstances. Examples: trail mix loaded with chocolate chips, protein bars, yogurt covered raisins. I figure, if we're going to spike their insulin levels, it might as well be when they can use that extra glucose for energy. One of our hiking  family friends has even dubbed Twizzlers their official hiking snack for their family.
Snacks can also come in handy if a bad case of the "ARE WE THERE YETS?" kicks in. Yes, this one might border on bribery. Okay, It's bribery. Remember when I didn't judge the guy carrying a stroller on a trail like a noob? How about returning the favor.

Layer clothing.
We like to hike in the mountains and on any given day there can be a huge temperature differential at the top. In the Summer we stick fleeces in our packs. In the Spring and Fall, we wear a water-wicking base layer (not cotton), long sleeves, pants and a coat. It's easier to remove clothing if you get too hot than it is to grow fur if you're cold and didn't bring your coat like Mom told you to.

Plan for bugs. 
Hats and tall socks are great for tick season. Wear bug repellant during the mosquito season. We have a few DEET-free bug sprays and I can attest that you do not need DEET in your bug repellant for it to be effective. Check everyone, including dogs, for ticks after you finish your hike.

Plan on not having a potty.
You might get lucky and pick a trailhead with running water, but don't count on it. Whatever this means for your family, plan accordingly.

Give everyone a small whistle.
This is especially important if you're hiking with a big group and there are some who lag behind. No one wants it to happen, but occasionally hikers can get separated or kids can wander off while grown-ups are looking at maps, etc... It makes me feel better knowing that even my two-year-old can blow her whistle if she would need to. The girls each have a "survival" bracelet we made from paracord. Survival is in parentheses because it would really only hold enough cord for some extra shoelaces. But hey, you never know when you'll need new shoelaces! We hook their whistles to their bracelets. They think it's neat.

And last but not least...

DO NOT GO OFF OF THE TRAIL.
Yes, this one should be common sense but I wanted to include it anyway. Why? Let me list a few reasons:
1)Rattlesnakes have been known to hang out in some pretty well-trodden areas.
2) Poisonous plants. Poison ivy can ruin your summer.
3) There is potential to become very lost.
4) Here's a fun one...Sinkholes. Yeah. It happened. Luckily we didn't have kids with us.

The last few bullet points seem a bit extreme but like I said, we've been hiking for years now and none of us have ever actually been in a dangerous situation. Common sense and a little planning go a long way to ensure you will have a great outdoor adventure.

I believe I took this in Yosemite. Just look at that crystal clear water.

Happy trails to you!