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10 Survival Skills Every 12 Year Old Should Know

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If your twelve year old was lost and alone, would he/she have the survival skills to be able to take care of themselves and siblings/friends until they could get to help, or until help reached them?

10 Survival Skills Every Child Should Know-- Does your child know these basic life skills? It's about time that he or she did (and frankly - all of us!) // Mom with a PREP

Would your idea of survival skills be different if you lived in an urban area versus living on a homestead in the middle of nowhere? Would they be able to take care of themselves after school if you can’t be home with them?

After viewing the video from ” data-ldtx_powertrust=”4″ data-ldtx_trust=”1″ data-ldtx_power=”4″>SNOmultimedia on what his top ” data-ldtx_powertrust=”4″ data-ldtx_trust=”1″ data-ldtx_power=”4″>5 survival skills are for kids, I wanted to expand on that to 10 Survival Skills every 12 year old should know – the Mom with a Prep version – and be sure to check out this version by Jennifer from Are We Crazy Or What!? ” data-ldtx_powertrust=”0″ data-ldtx_trust=”0″ data-ldtx_power=”1″>Are We Crazy Or What!?

I’ll admit – my skills are probably skewed to my kids. We live in a highly developed suburban area so the kids are familiar with where they are. There aren’t wild spaces to explore. We don’t travel a lot, so the likelihood of crashing a plane into a remote backwoods lake is pretty slim.

Survival Skills are Needed at Home

HOWEVER, those incidents can happen close to home – where they are involved in a car accident, they get lost on a field trip, they are left home alone for an extended time, they are separated from us because of a natural disaster, etc. So the list is developed for our particular concerns for our kids, but can translate to kids everywhere.

We’re also assuming they already know ” data-ldtx_powertrust=”0″ data-ldtx_trust=”0″ data-ldtx_power=”0″>how to ride a bike, how to dial 9-11, how to swim, and know their emergency phone numbers. Surviving in the environment they are in is a more likely situation than being lost in the Appalachian mountains, alone. And for us, some life skills are important because they are valid survival skills. So remember, it’s our list based off our circumstances and life experiences, your list will probably be a bit different.

10 Survival Skills Every 12 Year Old Should Know:

Stay Calm | Don’t Panic

One of the most basic of survival skills is not to panic. In panic-mode, we make big mistakes, we get confused, we get scared, we do stupid things. Think how much more scared a child would be – do they know how to control that panic and make good decisions?

Situational Awareness

If ever your child is caught in an active shooter situation, a mob experience or being chased by the neighborhood bully or bad guy, does your child know how to decide if they should run, hide or fightback?

  • Does she spend all of her time on her phone texting her friends instead of paying attention to what’s going on around her?
  • Does your son pay attention to where you are driving, especially in areas he’s not familiar with, so he has some sense of where he is if he had to go bring help?
  • Do they understand the places that are dangerous for them to go, the things that are dangerous for them to do, the people that are dangerous to be with?

At some point, every child needs to understand that what happens in his or her surroundings has a direct impact on them – they can’t continually act as if nothing bad ever happens. Bad stuff happens, and they need to become aware of how to handle it.

• You might also be interested in: ” data-ldtx_powertrust=”0″ data-ldtx_trust=”0″ data-ldtx_power=”0″>10 Basic Safety Tips for Women

First Aid Skills

Can your child stop bleeding, perform CPR, use a splint, or treat a burn? This might be the time to enroll them in a ” data-ldtx_powertrust=”30″ data-ldtx_trust=”6″ data-ldtx_power=”5″>Red Cross CPR/First Aid class, grab the ” data-ldtx_powertrust=”0″ data-ldtx_trust=”0″ data-ldtx_power=”0″>Boy Scout Book for First Aid or other ways to make sure that they can perform these most basic of First Aid skills by the time they are twelve.

• You might also be interested in: ” data-ldtx_powertrust=”0″ data-ldtx_trust=”0″ data-ldtx_power=”0″>10 First Aid Skills Every Parent Should Know

Fire Arm Safety

Whether for self-defense, hunting, or sensible gun safety, by the age of twelve, all kids should know how to handle a firearm. I’m sure many will be concerned, but in my mind, a child who knows how to use a gun safely is actually a child who is less likely to be accidentally shot, less likely to shoot someone else because he or she is messing around, and less likely to be blindsided if ever the need did arise to defend his family or provide food if the time came. A child who knows and understands a gun will also be more likely to know NOT to touch a firearm if they are presented the opportunity and will run for grown up help. If you would like to find a safe environment to teach  your child about the safe use of firearms, you can enroll in ” data-ldtx_powertrust=”20″ data-ldtx_trust=”4″ data-ldtx_power=”5″>4H or take an ” data-ldtx_powertrust=”12″ data-ldtx_trust=”3″ data-ldtx_power=”4″>Appleseed course!

Kitchen Self Reliance

Can your daughter open a can of food from the pantry without an electric can opener ” data-ldtx_powertrust=”15″ data-ldtx_trust=”3″ data-ldtx_power=”5″>(bonus if they can do this!) ? Does he know how to work the stove and oven? Do they know how to prepare a basic cut of meat safely? Know safe, basic knife skills? Do they know how to harvest (and plant) from the garden and prepare a dish? Could they fish (and prepare it) or hunt? Do they understand what water is safe to drink?

Self-Defense

Does your child understand how to defend themselves if attacked? Can they use basic defense moves against an adult to try to save themselves? Do they understand when it’s time to fight and when it’s time to run? Have they taken any self-defense classes or taken martial arts training?

• You might also be interested in: ” data-ldtx_powertrust=”1″ data-ldtx_trust=”1″ data-ldtx_power=”1″>10 Reason to Teach  Your Kids Martial Arts

Navigation

Does your child know how to find out where they are? Can they get themselves home if they ride a little too far on their bike? Do they understand the basic principles of using a compass or reading  a map? Do they understand how to find their location at night by the stars….or tell their location during the day by shadows? Can they find their way home from church without a GPS? And respectively – do they understand how to use the GPS on your phone? Do they know the major streets where they live, major arteries near their house, major landmarks in their area?

• More reading: ” data-ldtx_powertrust=”0″ data-ldtx_trust=”0″ data-ldtx_power=”0″>20 Awesome Survival Books for Kids

Work with Tools

” data-ldtx_powertrust=”0″ data-ldtx_trust=”0″ data-ldtx_power=”0″>Does your twelve year old know how to use a knife, hammer, screw driver, and saw? Do they understand how to put a basic structure together? Can they do so safely? Basic building skills can give them a better understanding how to make shelter in the case of an emergency, step in to help storm-proof a house during a storm, and have skills that get them further in life.

• You might also be interested in:  ” data-ldtx_powertrust=”0″ data-ldtx_trust=”0″ data-ldtx_power=”0″>Survivor Kid: A Practical Guide to Wilderness Survival

Stay Warm

Building a shelter from nothing, using clothes to bundle up, blocking off entrances with blankets, starting a fire – does your child understand the basics of doing these things and why staying warm and dry are so important?

• Learn More: ” data-ldtx_powertrust=”0″ data-ldtx_trust=”0″ data-ldtx_power=”0″>How to Dress in Extreme Weather

Get Help

Besides knowing who to ask in a situation where they are lost – and look for the community helpers and moms, do your children know how to leave clues if they are lost and trying to find their way home, do they know how to signal for help?

• Further reading: ” data-ldtx_powertrust=”0″ data-ldtx_trust=”0″ data-ldtx_power=”0″>Willy Whitefeather’s Outdoor Survival Book for Kids

Are These Survival Skills You Know?

Most importantly – do YOU know how to do all of these things? Have you taught your child? Make that a priority with the coming summer…learn a new skill a week…practice them together – BE PREPARED! If you have suggestions or your own list, put your list in the comments – we’d all love to learn more!

And remember…if you create an emergency bag for your child … ” data-ldtx_powertrust=”0″ data-ldtx_trust=”0″ data-ldtx_power=”0″>make sure they KNOW how to use what’s inside!

Other Links to check out for Survival Skills for your kids:

” data-ldtx_powertrust=”0″ data-ldtx_trust=”0″ data-ldtx_power=”0″>Preparedness Gift Ideas for the Kitchen to help you gift the gift of preparedness to your family and friends for Christmas, birthdays, weddings and more!

10 Survival Skills Every Child Should Know-- Does your child know these basic life skills? It's about time that he or she did (and frankly - all of us!) // Mom with a PREP

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