The Hiking Family
John Furnem
Hiking is an increasingly growing family activity, many parents
report that hiking with their children creates a sort of
communal task that everyone has to achieve, and that family
bonds are stronger then ever due to this family activity.
The challenge of the hike combined with the effect that the
time the family spends together is in the outdoors with a kind
of “mission” is great for creating stronger relationships and
trust between family members, especially among siblings.
Hiking is a great way to get exercise, experience the outdoors
and spend time with your loved ones. The wilderness is
jammed-pack full of scenes and animals you may never have had
the options to see before. You can do things the good
old-fashioned route, or you can take an already made trail.
Either way, there is a lot to be experienced with nature. The
natural environment provides the perfect setting for quality
family time.
Much has been said about the effect that hiking has on the
mental and spiritual side, the psychological significance of
the modern man against the force of nature, all this becomes
even more important when thinking about a family unit
performing the hike.
Hiking can even be a spiritual process as we are all a part of
nature, and if you can see this, you’ll discover there are many
small wonders you haven’t even noticed yet. The spectacular
colors you can see when you are hiking are breathtaking.
Everything from flowers to the autumn leaves. Some hiking
expeditions are more strenuous than others. So it depends on
your physical side just how much you want to endure. If you
just want a friendly walk without much effort, you may want to
stay on a state park trail.
If you are thinking about trying the hiking for your family,
you should try and make everyone a part of the team, even in
the preparation phase, try and have a family meeting, decide
what food you want to take with you, how many stops you want to
take, what are the goals of the hike and more issues that you do
not want to leave for the final moment. You can also try and
create a sense of challenge by setting a clear goal (reaching
the top of a hill, overlooking some nice view, or just starting
a trail and finishing it), and plan a moderate celebration once
you are successful.
What is awesome when you are hiking is if you can find places
that are high up in the air. This gives you the options of
looking down upon a vast amount of land, more importantly is
that you can use this to show your kids how the effort has paid
off, and teach them an important lesson about effort. Remember,
a picture is worth a thousand words. Imagine what could be said
about the ones you take when you find something that just stands
out.
Once you have had a few hikes with your family you may want to
consider becoming more professional, again – you can use every
step to increase the “togetherness” and the family bonding
process, you can discuss what equipment you need, assign a
research task to family members and have a second meeting after
a few days to agree on the budget and spending and go get your
hiking equipment, the only thing you need to remember is that
you can not get better equipment for one member only, you can
set to phase, the adult equipment phase and the kids hiking
equipment phase, but try not to get new things to only one of
your children, this may create jealousy.
Join the adventure and go hiking with your family, you will be
surprised how much it can bring into your own family cell. Good
Hiking!
About The Author: John Furnem specializes in work psychology,
stress relief and time management, John uses many innovative
techniques to help individuals and families to perform better,
John publishes Hiking advice on
http://www.hiking.travelzupa.com/
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