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Family Planning
Sharing a passion for the outdoors means sharing the duties
by Kathryn Allen
Hunting with my husband has always been my favorite way to spend time together. We plan trips, load our packs, wake up early, enjoy a sunrise, laugh, and even fight sometimes. The quality time needed to grow our marriage happens here.
As our family has expanded from two to four, finding time to hunt has become even more challenging. Oftentimes, women often feel they need to sacrifice their hobbies and passions to raise a family, but the outdoors can still be a part of your lives.
My husband and I have made it a reality, with a 3-year-old son and year-old daughter to boot. Here’s how.
Planning ahead is key
We schedule the days when we are free to hunt, figure out who is going to hunt and who is going to watch the children. Often the entire family will drive to the hunting area. The children get to see where Mommy or Daddy is hunting. And during the hunt, my husband and I keep in contact by texting each other for hunt details or updates on the children.
Hunting solo is a quiet retreat where I can sit back and relax, which doesn’t happen very often with young children. There are no deadlines or diapers to change — just you, Creation, and the time to rejuvenate your soul for tomorrow’s responsibilities.
Time spent outdoors is tremendous therapy, even if a hunt doesn’t end with game for the table.
Nature’s lessons
“One of the greatest ways for the next generation to become exposed to the outdoors is through Mom and Dad’s involvement,” said Mark Strand, founder of The School of Outdoor Sports. “The future of our outdoor heritage rests with our kids, and it starts at home.”
According to Strand, fathers and mothers who hunt together feed the passion for the outdoors in their children. Ultimately, children develop their own feelings of tradition rooted in these activities.
“We believe in all the benefits of spending time outdoors, including the real likelihood that kids who spend more time outside do better in school, feel better about themselves, and become stewards of the land as they get older,” said Strand.
It takes a family to raise hunters
Introducing your children to the outdoor lifestyle is a great way to cultivate their future involvement, but don’t force it. We plan to take our son, Tommy, to the turkey blind this spring. But there will be no expectations. When he is tired, we’ll head home. Killing a turkey would be wonderful, but that’s not the goal. Just having Tommy along will be a pleasure and build his passion for the outdoors.
It is important for my husband and I to pass on our legacy and love for the outdoors to the next generation. Part of making that happen is taking time to hunt as a family, but also through our individual outings. It is essential to our personal happiness we don’t sacrifice our passions as our family grows.
We know that a family who hunts together stays together.