Talking to young adult daughter about being prepared

inteliprep - July 25, 2020

Advice

So my brothers and I have embraced being prepared, as this year has convinced us of the plausibilty of events or chains of events occuring that could lead to scenarios that would require hunkering down and/or bugging out.  We have enjoyed talking about how we will respond to different things, what we’ve purchased, stuff we already have that we’ll share at our vacation home, I mean, bug out location….  

My question is have any of you men or women talked with your young adult daughters about being prepared and what were some tips you would provide?  I’m pretty ok with talking about the basics of being prepared with her as I’ve already talked about financial preparedness and currently addressing having her vehicle “prepared” since she just bought her first used car, ie, the fix a flat, first aid kit, etc, etc.  So I’m wanting to go the next level.  How will we meet up, where, why are we even talking about that (she lives 40-50min from me and closer to urban)… “Here daughter, here’s your go bag….  ummm, why do I need this…”  

Now she isn’t stupid or completely helpless, and I think she’d be open to the next level, but she is a thinker and may or may not see the need.  I’m just looking for thoughts from people (guys and women) who have had this converstation with their young adult daughters.

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Being prepared is a spectrum.  Having extra canned goods to full bugout bag and ‘vacation’ home.  If she’s heard any of your discussions with your brothers/her uncles, she may feel this is a but much and something that crazy ‘old’ men do.  Because you know, Dad is ‘old’ regardless.  I grew up a as the youngest daughter in a more rural setting not far from a county seat town which had some preparedness in the culture as real winters that closed the entire county a few times.  So the preparedness was really for self sufficiency and economy which is how I started.  When I got my first used car at 18, my Dad ensured I knew a few basic things which also helped my confidence:  You say you’ve done this – so did you actually have her DO these things with you?  That made all the difference for me as we also got to changing the oil and the brake linings – neither of which I do now, but it has helped greatly to be knowledgable for all those mechanics that try to fool a ‘little lady’.  So some of this has also been helpful for self protection.   As has been stated on a different forum, this pandemic has created an opportunity to share with others as the preparedness has proven itself.  So you could start there and ask her what likely scenarios she would face. The key is to get her engaged and truly listen.  Your concern and interest is clear to me, but you will do best if you remember she’s an adult like any of your other friends that makes her own decisions who happens to also be your precious daughter.    Communication plans and bugging out may be a bit too far on the spectrum, but anything is a start.  

There is another forum where female specific prepping concerns gets discussed: https://theprepared.com/forum/thread/single-female-prepper-resources/. 

 

Great thoughts Alicia!  They have a way of reminding you they’re adults!  will definately be doing steps at a time.  

 

My kids are still pretty young but it sounds like you’re going about it the right way by making it relatable. Once my kids are old enough, I had planned to use as many obvious examples so that they see preparedness as more common sense than something “weird” or whatever. And it helps that they’re exposed to some of it at an early age. 

Would love to see other people’s thoughts who have older kids.

 

Jay, 

Going camping as she grew up was a good way to talk about being prepared, for camping and things that could go wrong; plus starting fires, not drinking the water, climbing stuff, etc.  She was much more interested in that stuff than me showing her car stuff…. lol.

 

I’m the father of three girls — ages 11, 8, and 7. I definitely talk to them about preparedness, and COVID has been a really powerful demostration of the importance of the preparedness stuff I’ve been working with them on.

My oldest is into the outdoors, wilderness survival, camping, shooting, etc. So it has been pretty easy to get her into prepping. She has her own bug-out bag that she’s into, and she knows what’s in it and how to use the stuff (ferro rod and the like).

My middle child is very gear-centric. So while she’s not into the outdoors, she likes the aesthetics of some of the bags, blades, and so on. I don’t know that she’ll ever be a “prepper” per se, but she pays some amount of attention when prepping topics come up. Also, she loved testing the ferro rods for our review, and she likes to shoot and do some other outdoors-adjacent things (like ride horses, or play soccer), so maybe there’s hope.

My youngest daughter likes fire and ferro rods, and likes the outdoors in theory but not so much in practice. It’s still not clear to me how much into prepping she’ll be as she gets older.

My wife was not personally a prepper before all this COVID stuff started, but she was glad I was and was supportive. Now I’d say she’s basically a prepper. She’s fully on-board with stocking up and making time for prepping-related activities, having her own bug-out bag, making prepping-related plans, and so on.

So in general, I’ve tried to find a way into prepping for them that suits where they’re at and what they’re into. So for my oldest, she’s easy because she gets it as “thing that dad does that I, too, am into.” For my middle, she gets excited by holding a Gransfors Bruks Wildlife hatchet, or a nice wood-handled knife, or by starting a fire. And for my youngest, she likes whatever her older sisters are into. My wife doesn’t care so much about gear or camping, but she likes knowing her family is secure and that there’s “a plan” if things go sideways.

Anyway, hopefully some of this is relevant to adult daughters 🙂

 

hilarious that your middle one loves the hatchet!

 

Yeah, she’s very into aesthetics, art, drawing, and the like. So of course she went straight to the one hatchet on my wall that has won design awards 🙂