Preparing Family for the Outdoors

posted by Stacie on July 28, 2016 // Comments Off

Preparing Family for the Outdoors

We love spending time outside as a family. We bike, hike, camp and spend time outside virtually every single day. I think that there something so refreshing about being outside and having fun. Since our plans include so much outside time, we have to take measures to protect ourselves. In addition, our entire backyard is woods with some hiking trails and a waterfall. It is really nice but we pretty much cannot go outside without making sure we are protected from bugs. Preparing Family for the Outdoors is something that is important to us all. One of the things that I feel my husband and I are tasked with is educating our children and teaching them life skills. We teach them manners. We are teaching them responsible behavior and how to take proper care of themselves once they move from home. Last week, we sent all three kids off to camp for the week. This meant a lot of packing, planning and shopping on our part to make certain that each kid had everything needed for a successful week of camp. Shortly after the kids began camp, I realized that my children had NO CLUE how to prepare themselves for the outdoors. This was the perfect teaching moment because as a vigilant mom, I want nothing more than everyone to be prepared and protected so no one gets injured. This means more fun for us all, right? Preparing Family for the Outdoors is not an easy task but it can be done.

Preparing Family for the Outdoors

My tips for preparing my family to spend time outdoors, include the following:

Have a plan in place. No matter where we go outside, we always have a plan in place. I know where my kids will be at all times and they know how to contact myself and my husband no matter where they are. These are things that we go over with them many times per week so they never forgot. We even quiz them on our phone numbers and they each have a phone or walkie-talkies with them at all times.
Stay together. No plan is perfect, but we rely on the buddy system to keep tabs on each other while enjoying the outdoors. We use the same system when the kids play in the neighborhood and whenever we travel.
Hydrate. I cannot stress this enough. For the past five years, I have a water bottle with me at all times. I drink about 80 ounces of water a day and the only way that I can do this is by keeping water with me. My kids understand that importance of hydrating and they know exactly why they need to be drinking water constantly.
Safeguard yourself from the sun with sunscreen. We keep waterproof sunscreen at hand at all times in several different forms including spray, lotion and sticks. Make certain to reapply as needed as the general rule of thumb is every 90 minutes to 2 hours.
Protect yourself from mosquitoes by using OFF!® personal repellent This is one of the most often over looked tips in my opinion. Here in Georgia, insect repellent is just as important as sunscreen and in fact, my family rarely leaves the house without both. We make sure to use and reapply according to label instructions.

OFF!® knows the importance of using personal mosquito repellents – whether on a vacation or staycation. We use OFF!® personal repellents in our family in our everyday life during mosquito season, which sometimes is year round here in Georgia, depending on the weather.

About OFF!® products

I was happy to learn that OFF!® personal repellents are supported by 60 years of pest expertise through the SC Johnson Entomology Research Center. It's the world's largest privately held urban entomology research center. OFF!® products have trusted and effective active ingredients including DEET and Picaridin. Did you know many insects, including adult female mosquitoes, are attracted to people by the odor of the carbon dioxide (CO₂) gas that they exhale? These active ingredients make it difficult for them to recognize humans as a source of food. The World Health Organization and the CDC have declared DEET effective in repelling mosquitoes, including the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which may carry the Zika virus and dengue fever virus.