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Hanging out by the campfire with a beer and good company is one of the most enjoyable things to do while camping. That being said if you have kids it can also be one of the most stressful things to do at camp.
Kids love to do anything they can with fire, they like to roast mallows or burn sticks or anything else they think may be fun to burn. This is not a bad thing, but at the same time it is important that we teach our kids about fire.
One of the first things we teach our kids is the dangers of fire. I like to start with the basics about fire then ease my way into the bigger things. Kids need to learn that fire can hurt or how easily it can cause a massive wildfire.
Here are the things I teach my kids so that they know how to be safe with a campfire:
- First we make sure that campfires are allowed
- Campfires must be in a pit with rocks or some other non flammable barrier
- Check what is flammable around your fire pit, including what is above it.
- There should be nothing flammable near by
- Keep a water source nearby
- If kids are playing with sticks or roasting mallows, make sure that they do not pull them out of the fire while hot/on fire
- Make sure we fully put our the fire before going to bed
- Never leave a fire unattended.
Once we feel that our kids can be safe around a fire it is important that they know how to start a fire (without gasoline as fun as that is). I like to teach my kids how to start a fire with lighters/matches and we have been working on how to start one with flint and steel. (we use these survival bracelets as practice)
This is the basics of how I teach my kids to start a fire:
- Make sure we have the proper fire pit
- Gather all materials needed for a good fire. (kindling, twigs, logs, etc.)
- We then place the sticks in a tee-pee shape that is hollow
- Place your kindling or other form of fire starter (if you don’t want to find some you can buy some right here)
- light the kindling and what it catch the outer sticks.
- Once fire has a good flame it is time to place bigger sticks
- Finally it is time to add your actual fire wood.
Kids are going to play with fire at some point in their lives, if they are anything like I was they will play with it a lot. It is important to me that my kids learn about fire and how to be safe with it, just they way I was taught when I was growing up.
Get outside and have a campfire!
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