10 Survival Skills Every Young Boy Should Know

Parenting includes teaching you children survival skills for life.  This can be as little as how to keep their hands clean, and as big as how to kill a deer and dress it to cook for meals.  As your sons begin to grow up, it's time to instill in them some basic survival skills for their future.

Survival Skills are a must for every child.  Get started teaching these Top 10 Survival Skills Every Young Boy Should Know today!

There are so many potential reasons you could want your young boys to learn these basic survival skills.  Hopefully, they will not need them for an emergency.  However, it is always best to have knowledge ahead of time to stay prepared for any instance they are needed.

10 Survival Skills Every Young Boy Should Know

How to use the bathroom: This may seem funny, but properly showing a young boy how to go number 1 and number 2 in the wild is important. Finding items to wipe with is always the biggest concern, next would be teaching them to bury their poop.  This may seem gross or unnecessary, but it is a great skill even for us when camping as a family.

How to camp out in the wilderness: You may have taken your boys on a camping trip, which is great, but real camping in the wild means you have nothing man made. They’ll need to know how to gather sticks, leaves, and whatever else they can find to keep themselves warm. You can even teach them how to build their own shelter!  This is one of my boys' favorite activities every spring/summer.

How to start a fire: This is one of the biggest survival skills a young boy should know just in case they get stranded. The smoke from a fire can signal for help and it can also help keep them warm on a cold night.  They should learn not just how to properly arrange kindling and wood, but also how to start a fire without any tools like matches or flint.

How to hunt and eat in the wild: Remember that survival skills aren’t always known, they are usually taught. Teach your young boy how to hunt for food in the wild. Help them know what they should and shouldn’t eat.  For younger boys the best option is to teach them how to fish.  As they get older you can cover things like edible plants and even how to hunt large game or build a trap for small game.

How to cook in the wild: It is one thing to know how to hunt in the wild, but properly cooking food is also important. This is a survival skill that should definitely be handed down to any young boy.  Teach about basic cooking techniques, but also safe handling procedures if you are out in the wild without soap available for cleaning easily.

Staying safe from predators: Unfortunately, if someone is lost in the woods in certain parts of the United States, they may come into contact with some type of predator. Teach your young boy to stay aware of their surroundings, look for tracks of any potential wildlife, and if you do see wildlife stay calm, don’t run.

Know how to handle hygiene: Trying to keep moist areas dry is important if lost in the wilderness, you don’t want to have any bacteria growing on your body, which could lead to an infection.  Basic bathing, drying, and of course, sanitation methods, when you are not near traditional soap and water is important.

Which water is safe to drink: An important survival skill in the wilderness that every young boy should know is which water is safe to drink! You can get really sick from drinking water that’s not clean.  Teach them that when possible try to boil it or filter it in some way.  You may even want to show them how to use a water filter straw or another device.

Which way is which: A big battle when someone is lost is trying to find which way is which. Remember that the sun sets in the west and rises in the east. The main idea would be to get to a road as soon as possible.  You also want to teach how to read a map and use a compass in this lesson of survival skills.

Getting the attention of HELP: The main goal when a young boy is lost in the woods or by himself would be to get help as soon as possible. Experts say that yelling in a low tone instead of a high pitch is one way to let someone hear you if they know you are close by. You can also try to reflect sunlight in the direction of the helicopter if you hear one overhead.

Teaching survival skills to your children is part of your job as a parent.  I focused on boys since that is what I have, but these same survival skills and tips are very important for girls as well as adults.  Take the time to work on these in small increments until you are sure your children are equipped with the survival skills they need for any emergency.

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Survival Skills are a must for every child.  Get started teaching these Top 10 Survival Skills Every Young Boy Should Know today!

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2 Comments

    1. As I said in the post, “Teaching survival skills to your children is part of your job as a parent. I focused on boys since that is what I have, but these same survival skills and tips are very important for girls as well as adults.”