Teach Them Well

Sometimes it’s nice to hear a little bit of good news. In a story from last week a boy in Oregon survived getting lost on Mt. Bachelor after losing a ski. The boy had been skiing apparently off regular tracks, and when it got dark, he took several smart steps. He was smart enough to quickly dig a shelter directed to keep the biting wind off himself, then after 3 hours, when he saw that helicopters weren’t able to see him, he located ski trails to follow down the mountain. What helped this average Portland teenager survive for 9 hours (most after dark) on a mountain? He attributes it to things he had seen on his two favorite TV shows, “Man vs. Wild”, and “Survivor Man”. Obviously some simple TV shows are not going to be the end all of information on survival, but it does represent something very important. Teach your kids early, you never know when they’ll need it. Choosing a show that is educational (whether it be survival, or any other kind of education) is the best use of a tv I can think of. Add in some good books, programs such as Boy Scouts, and good old fashioned family time and you can hopefully be much more confident in your kids ability to survive any part of life. Event if they are clueless teen-agers.