Holidays in the Pyrenees: what mountain equipment do your children need?
If we are going to go on family trips to the mountains, it is necessary to have a good mountain equipment for children. Mountaineering and even climbing can be done by families with children. It is a rewarding activity that challenges children, broadens their knowledge and helps them develop with positive reinforcement.
But safety must be our main guide in the mountains, especially if we go out with children.
Preparing for the mountain trip in advance
Thinking ahead is to prevent unforeseen events. Unexpected situations can always occur in the mountains, whether it is a sudden change in the weather, a fall, running out of water, not having mobile phone coverage when we need it or being cut off. For this reason, it is essential to be prepared for risky situations.
An ideal place to enjoy with your family is the Pyrenees. For its great natural beauty, with its rivers flowing down the high mountains or its forests of beech, black pine and fir trees, which give colour to the routes. For its villages completely integrated in the mountains, offering places to rest, traditions and culture. It is a magical place to go with your children.
Children can and should be equipped like adults, always with items of clothing that help them to walk comfortably. If they are infants or very young, they should be in baby carriers suitable for trekking
.
1. Children, if they are not too young, should carry his own backpack. With enough water and some energy food, such as cereal bars or similar, nuts and chocolate. The backpack should not weigh too much, but in this way they will feel that they are responsible like adults.
2. The clothing must be adapted to the routes that have been planned. When going with children, the routes will be age-appropriate, both in length and difficulty. Children should be equipped with clothing and trekking boots (make sure they haven't outgrown their boots and that their socks don't rub against them), a hat and sun protection, as the sun can burn in the mountains. Warm clothes and a windbreaker, both in case it gets cold and in case the wind suddenly blows (in the mountains the weather sometimes changes suddenly).
3. Adults must also carry a first aid kitmap, compass and GPS
. You should be cautious, even if the route is of little difficulty. It is never superfluous and they are elements that do not weigh and do not increase the load of a backpack.
4. Mobile phones should be charged and it is a good idea to add an external battery to recharge them if necessary.
5. You should bring camping equipment necessary for the tour:
- A whistle, which can be useful if you want to signal your position,
- A multi-purpose nylon rope, torch and knife,
- Tissues to replace toilet paper,
- Rubbish bags (we must protect the environment and educate children to preserve it).
/ Photo: Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Anything that can help us at any given moment is not a bad thing, as long as it is not an unnecessary burden.
A piece of advice: children should be involved, in their own way, in the planning of the routes and hikes. Check what the weather is going to be like in the mountains, prepare the backpack the day before, go over the route, how long it will take, the special places we are going to see and enjoy. In this way, the children become committed and feel part of the activity.
Mountain getaways and holidays are a highly recommended leisure experience for children, remember the mountain equipment for children because it is essential. These outings teach responsibility, children learn to plan, to foresee dangers, to be responsible and to enjoy nature. A real challenge for them.
READ ALSO:
