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NR Preppers guide pt2 - NorthernRaider - 18 November 2011
Joining the Dots
I have been contemplating various trends and events that are so prominent in much of the media lately, and I am looking at the OVERALL information it provides.
Issues such as White Flight phenomena has almost become a white exodus in some parts (It would be more aptly named Middle Class Flight), The increase in gated Residential Communities continues unabated for the rich and powerful, The huge amount of subterranean building going on with the Iceberg Housing phenomena is so big now the authorise are expressing concern. The huge sudden growth in the professional classes no longer putting Chelsea post codes as THE most important criteria in their lifestyle choice, now replaced with having self-sufficient smallholdings them ҠEmbraceâ€Â†renewable energy and self-sufficiency as far away from the conurbations as possible.
I note in the glossy Sunday supplement magazines the huge interest in building SECURE, Self Sufficient, Self-Sustaining ECO homes. Today a wind turbine and a well have more credibility than a BMW badge on your car.
I note designer homes incorporating both 240vc AC and 12 v DC power systems in their plans. I notice a huge increase in demand for 12 volt electrical appliances, far more than is needed just to satisfy the caravan market.
I note that sales of wood, coal and multi fuel stoves in the UK have more than doubled in three years and in some areas there is up to a 6 week wait for installation of stoves. In other regions demand for firewood is outstripping supply.
I note that whilst the odious semiretired middle classes and professionals complain bitterly about the building of wind farms in their neighbourhoods that it is that very same section of society that is investing in both wind / solar and other renewables for themselves.
I note that sales of 4x4 vehicles has moved away from the Chelsea tractor pseudo off roaders and is now focusing more on 4x4s than can function well off road, I also note a huge massive exponential increase in the numbers of people investing, buying or building their own expedition camper vehicles.
I found out only this morning that people keeping Chickens, Rabbits, Goats and miniature pigs are growing hugely in numbers in the UK.
I read that more and more families are making huge sacrifices to send their children away to summer and school holiday camps to avoid them ending up as victims of ethnic gangs in our cities. These same youngsters are being encouraged to attend camps that specialise in wilderness survival skills, animal husbandry skills, Horse riding skills, camping skills, shooting, fishery and archery skills. (Yup I’m one of those parents myself)
I notice friends living in similar rural areas to myself (I’m in rural Co Durham) especially in Wales and the South West report that the surge in people buying holiday cottages they only used in the school holidays are now finding that many families are now moving in permanently.
Reasons commonly given in PUBLIC such as downsizing and better environment for the children usually become more frank in PRIVATE. Getting away from crime ridden cities, no faith in the quality of supermarket foods, loss of community identity in cities, fear of terrorism, concerns about ever more extremist government and more aggressive policing, feeling isolated and vulnerable in city areas they once felt at home in etc. Then of course the main one that has come to dominant many forums in recent years,IE the negative aspects of mass immigration to the UK that has divided many communities !!!.
I also see a huge increase in the number of vocational and leisure courses for people interested in growing their own food, making charcoal, animal husbandry, making bio diesel, building your own eco home etc etc.
After digesting that lot I looked at other influential items such as the appalling state of the economy, the huge tax burden the ever declining numbers of tax payer’s face, the huge tax bill the last Labour government has left for our children. The dreadful effect of the recent immigration wave has had on the integrity of the British national psyche. The continued appeasement by the PTB of the extremist members of the Muslim community. The present government’s obsession with giving away billions in Aid money and EU membership money we don’t have (£24 billion a year). The huge wave of gang violence and ethnic unrest in most UK cities and the almost certain collapse of the welfare state and the civil unrest that will surely follow. The spectacular collapse of the Euro and the divisions in the EU are also of great note.
Lots and lots on individual issues that when looked at together make me think that
(A)The rich and influential can see what coming and are taking steps to mitigate the effects on themselves.
(B)The educated and enlighten are losing faith in both the food supply chain and the utility supply system
©The professional classes are turning the back in the city centres and fleeing to the suburbs or the countryside
(D)The ruling classes have lost control over how we control and manage our own nation
(E)The next generation are realising that the traditional skills and professions such as ship building, coal mining, car building, electronics etc are gone from these shores for at least the next 50 years and the skills involved in self -sufficiency are the way ahead.
Big society is dying, small traditional rural communities are flourishing, and those big, rich, powerful, well informed and influential people can read the writing on the wall. THEY those who actually created most of our nation’s problems are moving to or building themselves redoubts and pulling to the drawbridges part way at least.
So Ladies and Gentleman if you agree even in part with my appraisal which side of the drawbridge are you going to be standing on if the whole lot falls apart ?
YOUR HOME AS A RETREAT
For financial reasons most modern houses were not built with Preppers in mind, very few houses have chimneys/flues that can be easily opened up so that a wood/coal fire be installed in a crisis. This would be needed to provide sufficient space for cooking as well as providing heat. Many older houses that had coal fired back boilers had them ripped out years ago, those that did have such structures usually had them in one of the living rooms which is far from ideal.
The ideal location for a large chimney / fireplace structure would be in the kitchen. It would not be an easy task to build or alter the structure of most modern houses to accept a chimney and fire place. And even more problems are created by the small size of most modern kitchens and the weakness in some properties flooring making it difficult to fit in an Aga or Rayburn type stove, and we have not even yet considered the costs involved. (1)
Most modern houses now have direct feed water supplies to supply a combination boiler, shower etc with little or no facility to store any reasonable amounts of water. (2)
Electricity supplies are supplied by the national grid to 99 % of properties and it’s been that way for over fifty years, local suppliers / generators of electricity are extinct in the UK you will need to develop a local micro generation scheme. (3)
Gardens in properties have been reducing in size on new developments since the late 1950s; it would be almost impossible to use a modern garden to provide sufficient food to feed a family. (4)
Most modern properties have very limited storage space in them, next to none but the most expensive have more than 4 bedrooms, a loft or cellar. (5)
Options available
If you have decided that you must stay in a town or city, and that your home is going to be your retreat then your options are limited and on a sliding scale of viability/sustainability. Remember the higher the population density the higher the risk is of epidemic and pestilence, Can you at least move out of the city/town centre to the suburbs?
Your first choice would be to buy an old Victorian / Edwardian house that has a cellar, large enclosed rear garden with a kitchen that can be returned to its original format, these buildings usually have a large cellar that can be used for storing food, water and equipment in large amounts it can also be used for a shelter/ hidey hole if the doorway is concealed. (During a crisis it’s still best to disappear by living low key in the cellar until things quieten down). A lot of Victorian gardens were designed with self-sufficiency in mind, outhouses for keeping fowl and rabbits in, grain / coal stores, big useful greenhouses fed by the heat from decaying compost in a pit alongside. The high wall provided shelter to the plants and provided a security screen to prying eyes, a lot of the gardens had quite a reasonable selection of fruit trees in them as well.
Don't forget to buy property that's well above the flood plain but near enough to water that it can be pumped or transported to your house, gravity fed supplies are best. Treat all water for purity. Coastal towns of which most were developed during Victorian times offer some excellent potential with access to good property plus salt and fresh water products (and life giving salt itself)
After that it’s a sliding scale of size / type of house up to the early sixties types that had lofts and attics that were convertible, had big enough gardens to supply basic nutritional support supplemented from other sources like allotments.
Post 1960s unless you could afford to invest in properties with large gardens / grounds most would require extensive investment and effort to be made usable and sustainable.
One other option that may fit your criteria would be to buy a large property and grounds in partnership with someone else (another family) with whom you can work with and live alongside.
Apartment dwellers need to be on the top floor of south facing property with a flat roof so they can set up a roof top garden, build wind turbines and solar systems, and collect all the rainwater by diverting the down pipes into water tanks in a secure location.
(1) If you have a chimney that can be opened up you could often fit a cast iron coal / wood stove of the type that can be found at your local Machine Mart. No chimney? Another possibility would be to get the stove plus a vent kit allowing you to route the chimney out of a window using a heat proof board to replace the glass. At least you will have heat and a source to cook on. Lastly you could fit a stove in your garage or outbuilding and do your cooking there.
Cooking outside is not really feasible in the UK for climatic as well as security reasons.
(2) If you are in the predicament listed above with your water supply then you need to find a place like an outhouse, loft or cellar and reinforce the floor, after that you need to tie in a take-off pipe from your cold water feed, and run it to some large covered insulated water tanks via a ball cock valve. The tanks need to be as big as you can afford to get, this is going to be your drinking water source so you need lots of it. If the tanks are kept full from the day of installation they will need to be drained off every three months and the system flushed and sterilised before refilling.
Outside the house every roof and gully (garage, shed, greenhouse etc) ideally would benefit from having its guttering feed the rainwater into storage butts, this is your supply for washing your clothes and watering your crops and flushing the toilet if it’s still in use and you have not gone onto cesspit waste disposal. (Don’t forget to turn off the water supply feed to your house during a crisis in case the supply has become tainted.)
(3) You need to consider installing solar panels where you can with deep cycle storage batteries and the associated paraphernalia to power 12v DC equipment (available from caravan outfitters). Wind and water power need to be looked into along with storing very large amounts of wood /coal/peat etc for cooking and heating, You will also need to get some paraffin lanterns, wicks, spare glasses and as much paraffin as you can afford to buy and store, (a paraffin greenhouse heater would be nice as well )
(4) You need to look at getting a secure allotment or access to some secure land for growing extra food stuffs, Green houses are a must as are cloches etc for growing food stuffs, your garage can be converted into a secure rabbit and chicken coop, don't forget they need food as well. (Grow your crops in informal clusters so not as to attract attention to your house being habited, make the planting look as though it’s just natural plant growth spreading about an abandoned garden)
(5) You may need to set aside a room in the house for storing your supplies and equipment in that no one outside the family ever gets to see. Consider having an outbuilding built or an existing structure adapted to keep food / water/ kit/ fuel /grain etc in, it must be very secure to be of any use.
The object of the exercise is to first survive the original crisis, then to stay clean, warm, well fed and healthy for as long as possible (min 6 months) then be in a position to team up with other healthy survivors get on rebuilding your lives and hopefully your communities. Never ever get yourself evacuated for political or policing reasons, Environmental and military reasons are another ball game altogether.
Don't become a refugee relying on the good will and charity of other already overwhelmed communities or government agencies. Your safest place is usually your home on familiar territory it gives you the advantage being on home ground. Never give up the option to bug out safely if all goes to hell and back.
RETREAT LOGIC
"Stay or Go"
When is the right time to head for your retreat or safe haven is a question I am frequently asked, This brings into question the entire concept of retreating because everyone has their own views on "when to go (or stay) and Why ?"
My view is that most of us are not rich enough to afford a full scale totally self-sufficient retreat, Yes most of us have somewhere to go if the XXXX hits the fan, and I am sure that you could survive for months on your own, but what about your dependants?
Can they and would they wish to rough it for months in a strange environment away from the familiarity of home? They may have the physical strength but what about the mental and emotional strength?
What about you? How long can you survive? What will you do if you become incapacitated for any reason? I believe most people will need support from others in time no matter how good their survival skills and plans are.
When are you going to go? What will be the trigger for you to uproot your family and resources to your designated retreat? What will you do if someone else who outnumbers and out guns you and has already taken possession of your sanctuary? What if you cannot get to your site in time before events overtake you?
All of these questions must be addressed and answers found NOW.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Yes I do understand you have important commitments to work, schooling, housing and finances etc but all of your efforts will be wasted if some political or natural event causes your premature demise because you were not ready or able to react in time.
So when is the right time to go to a location that will maximise your chances of survival without creating the added burden of severe emotional trauma?
The answer is now! You need to make your home your first level of safety and security. You must assess your community for threats, hazards and useful resources, especially if you live in very high areas of population density. Are you close enough to receive support from other survivalists with whom you have mutual support agreements? Or friends to whom you can turn to if needed
If you are unhappy with your results then it’s time to try and move house as soon as possible.
Have you have wondered why many survivalist families move to north western states in America / Canada or Yorkshire, Cumbria, Durham and Northumberland in the UK. It’s not just that the areas are more rural and have lower levels of population density. The cost of living is less and properties are cheaper and there is more choice for your money. I agree that salaries are lower away from the big cities but so are the living costs. What some people are now doing is working from home, some transfer within companies, some people have sufficient skills to enable you to diversify in your choice of work, and some of you can live off the profits from the sale of your current homes.
A certain percentage of you will not be able to do any of the above so you must develop contacts in the area you intend to retreat to (perhaps you can rent holiday cottages to become more familiar with area of your choice).
You will still need a hidey hole to bug out to if everything goes to hell and back but it won’t need to be as highly equipped as a full scale retreat. You may even be able to get away with a set of caches near your new home if they are well chosen and well sited.
This will not be the answer to everyone's wishes but does give a valid alternative to the purchase and running of two homes and it could if planned properly put you closer to other survivalists who can and will support each other when needed.
About Laying Low (bugging in)
In general in the UK many members of our community are now focusing their efforts on bugging in, IE living full time in the locality of their Bug Out Location, such as (wisely) moving out of the cities, bypassing the burbs and moving lock stock and barrel to a small rural community. They normally still maintain the capability of bugging out if forced to by retaining BOBS, Caches, BOVs etc but they focus primarily on prepping their normal home to be their retreat.
The British preppers are now assessing the growing problems of (A) being able to bug out successfully and (B) finding a secure and safe BO Location when they do bug out.
Gross overcrowding and overpopulation in many areas combined with a road system that is even on a normal day close to gridlock for at least 6 hours each day. They note that even a single vehicle accident such as a car and caravan overturning can lead to massive tailbacks and localised gridlock for hours, especially as the police of today appear to thrive on closing roads often for 24 hours to investigate every possible fact of the accident. Indeed we all know of cases where entire regions have become gridlocked because of a small accident, or road works, or bank holiday traffic, or ½ inch of snow or sporting event or the dreaded farmer accidentally tipping an overloaded trailer full of hay bales onto the road. Heck up here the three main north south roads became gridlocked one day recently because of a herd of horses got onto one of the roads.
Consider also our unpredictable climate there is a 3 in 4 chance it will be bad weather to content with as well (Cold, Wet, Windy or even all three).
We also consider the problem of bugging out during a crisis if 20 million unprepared and panic stricken people decide to flee the towns and head to the hills.
Consider for one moment if the riots of August 2011 spread to every city and large town and the violent unrest continued for a week. Our police and military could never hope to contain it, this could see millions trying to escape the fires and looting.
Consider the implications also that as well as you trying to cope with 20 million evacuees but also perhaps the public transport systems are not working either because the train, tube and bus drivers are among the 20 million heading out of town as fast as they can.
Consider also the fact that if mass panic did occur and the 20 plus millions did decide to flee how many of them are equipped to do so? How many of them will have enough food and fuel and more importantly how many out of say 20 million refugees have a destination to go to where they will be welcome.
Consider also the government, regional and local authorities along with the military will not want 20 million souls plus a few hundred preppers clogging the roads and paths and exhausting the immediate fuel stocks within hours.
Those considerations among other are making many preppers choose to relocate now and attempt to adopt “The Good Lifeâ€Â.
(Yes I know there is equally as many preppers with the most wonderful and varied reasons why they just cannot move right now, I’ve given up trying to reason with them and now just encourage them to become very capable urban preppers)
So where does this leave us folks who have relocated to the shires and perhaps what issues do we need to consider?
In the short term if rural preppers are to survive the initial crisis and the immediate aftermath I think we are all in agreement that not being discovered by the authorities or raiders will feature highly for the first few weeks. This in itself will give us some interesting issues to overcome.
We are living and surviving in our rural retreat, we need to stay warm, stay clean, and stay healthy, stay motivated, stay alert, stay secure and stay fed. That is a lot to deal with if the world around us is unravelling.
I see problems with running central heating because boilers (furnaces in American) need power as well as gas, and nearly all modern CH systems have noisy vent systems which on a quiet day or night can be heard from hundreds of yards.
I see problems with wood burning and multi fuel stoves if we use them during the day because even bone dry wood and supposedly smokeless fuel both smoke until they are up to operating temperature, not to mention the smell of burning wood and coal can be detected for over a mile.
I can see problems with lighting if very strong blackout protocols are not in place, I don’t think lined curtains will be sufficient, shutters and boards probably will need to be in place at least before dusk.
I see problems with concealing larger livestock and keeping all livestock both quiet and secure in the initial post collapse period
I see noise from firearms may persuade SOME more cautious types to avoid your area of operations, but equally I foresee other bolder and possibly better armed people being attracted by the gunshot.
I see people noticing wind turbines more if they are actually turning and are more likely to investigate them, I feel turbines may need to only be turned on after dark, and ideally lowered out of sight during the day.
Water wheels and water turbines are noisy, they can be more easily concealed than wind turbines but they will need very good noise suppression measures.
If you are using motor vehicles and animals for transport or patrolling you are going to have to be very careful you don’t leave a trail of hoof prints or tyre marked mud heading back to your retreat. Indeed you don’t really want the sound of a 4x4 engine heading repeatedly back to the place you live in. Once the societal collapse has settled down engine noise will become far more apparent.
Folks even the good lady wife boiling up cabbage could be the cause of your discovery as the smells of many cooked meats and veg travel long distances, and the hungrier the refugee the most sensitive their noses are.
Your stockpile of firewood or coal will need to be well hidden at all times as will the parking arrangements for your BOV. Aerials for radios will need to be lowered during the day or well hidden.
In the short term at least noise reduction protocols will need to be very strongly kept in place, especially at night. In time after the die offs and rage has subsided you will gradually be able to relax and start rebuilding and hopefully enjoy a long and fruitful life.
FLOOD PROTECTION
Not all of us can afford to move home to locations that are the most beneficial to survivalists, many of us have to compromise over one or more preferred attributes.
While in many cases we can move within a given area to locations that are more rural, more secure, more remote, more defendable, more sustainable etc, but very often because of work or family or other commitments we are unable to move more than a short distance. One problem that can occur is that because of these restrictions you are unable to move to ground high enough to avoid the risk from flooding.
Of course if you are planning on moving to a property on higher ground it is generally accepted that you buy a property at least 30 feet above the maximum recorded flood height for that area. We need to allow for rising water levels not only due to the possible failure of water pumping stations, but also because of global warming increasing sea levels and triggering more sudden flash flooding.
So if you are stuck in a position where the risk from occasional flooding is unavoidable you need to try to reduce the risks to your home or retreat.
Starting from your boundary line consider these options
Can you raise a levee or earth berm around the perimeter of your home or house?
Can you build a brick / stone or concrete garden wall that is strong enough to hold back at least two feet of floodwater (you would need to be able seal off the gates during a period of high risk.
Can you make your water proofed gates outward opening so that the more the water pushes against them the tighter the seal is made.
Can you create a run off gully or soak away to help the water to rapidly drain away? (Not into your neighbour’s garden)
Can your car be moved to higher ground but still be close enough if you have to bug out?
Moving in from your boundary can you fit one way flap valves to your waste water and toilet outflow pipes to prevent water and waste backing up into your home.
Can your construct or obtain covers to seal off the air bricks in your walls and to seal off any gaps surrounding utility pipes and cables where they enter your home.
Can you obtain or make a shuttering board to seal off your front and back doors (and French or Patio doors)
Can you have your gas and electrical distribution boards moved to a much higher position in the wall?
Can you arrange for the upstairs section of your homes power grid to be isolatable from the downstairs (If you can and your D/Board is not immersed in the flood you may be able to keep the power on upstairs during the flood)
Can you apply a water proof rendering to the outside of your home (only worthwhile in places where flood risks are high and frequent.
Ensure the gap around all windows is well sealed with a quality silicone sealant.
SAFE STORING THE CONTENTS OF YOUR HOME
It is wise to pre plan where exactly you are going to move your possessions when a flood warning is issued.
For example can the design of your furniture allow for you to simply be able to lift the TV/ VCR, Sat system/ PC / music center onto higher shelving in the same room.
In my house the PC can be lifted straight up onto the top shelf of my desk to a height of 4 ft 6 inches, my TV / VCR can be lifted straight up to a height of 6 ft. My book collection is in a portable bookcase that can easily be carried upstairs.
(March 2005 my precious books now live upstairs in my office)
In the kitchen you need to allow space on the work surfaces (that’s 3 feet up at least) to move your white goods (fridge/ freezer/ washer/ drier/ dishwasher etc) up onto if you get enough warning.
The only thing I cannot easily move is the carpets, sofas and an aquarium.
Do keep all your personal documents including your insurance policies in a water and fireproof box upstairs.
Keep your BOB bags close at hand but off the ground (at least three feet) and preferably stored in waterproof bags
Keep a good selection of waterproof zip lock bags to store your valuables in.
Be ready to get out quick at all times , never get into a position where as the water becomes so high or so fast moving you cannot safely escape without endangering your lives.
If you are wealthy enough to be able to afford a boat/dinghy/ inflatable of some sort, ensure that you have the skill and competence to use it in a flood, it is nothing at all like a jaunt around the local lake. Boats in the hands of the inexperienced can be more of a health hazard than a life saver.
Another prudent step is to keep a role of heavy duty water proof plastic garden refuse bags; these can be used to pack belongings into if you decide you must move everything out of the house. (for example there may be a risk of the house collapsing.)
Another use for plastic bags is if the flood water is likely to stay for a long time it may be wise to pack away clothing and other belongings to prevent them from getting damp or mildewed.
Don’t forget to make sure everyone in the houses has decent knee high waterproof Wellingtons available and the head of the house may decide to keep a pair of waders as well.
I would also add the proviso that if you choose to live on a beach front development then get a house that is elevated on stilts in case of Tsunamis and storm surges, this won’t save you from rare monster waves but it could save you from the more nasty deluges of the type that decimated SE Asia in 2004.
WARNING
********************** The moment problems occur with flood water leaving the normal boundaries of the local water ways, you MUST assume that the water supply is tainted and boil or chemically treat all drinking and cooking water.******
Chances
Some of our community have a somewhat romantic idea on how they are going to survive after TSHTF. Many envisage grabbing their BOB and heading for the hills to live as bush-crafters until things blow over.
That got me thinking about their odds of survival, primarily because even though I was a very experienced Infantry Sergeant with a very strong interest in wilderness and combat survival, my own experiences and those of many other well documented cases from various nations soldiers showed us that even fit young well equipped soldiers were normally in a fairly terrible state of wellbeing within 14 days. Cold, Wet, Tired, Dirty, Hungry, Exhausted and Stressed were often the norm and it was difficult for me as a soldier at the peak of my personal fitness to do much more than just survive.
Often going days without sleep because you dare not let your guard down in case you are discovered or your only camp fire may go out, you cannot take your boots off for days on end in case you have to flee at a moment’s notices, not even having the luxury of changing your socks or undies or wipe yourself over with a wet cloth. I’ve never met anyone on such expeditions or exercises who was not constantly hungry as well, your hair is filthy your eyes red raw because of the smoke from your camp fire IF you dare light one. You are often hot other times cold wet and tired but can’t lay down because it’s not safe to do so.
That makes me think just how well would just an ordinary every day prepper fare in a similar position, nay how would a prepper and his wife, two kids and possibly a grandparent fare in that situation.
Odds on its 50 / 50 it could be raining, equally there is a 3 in 4 chance that it’s not high summer when you bug out. Its 50/50 it could be windy, equally it could be windy and cold or even windy wet and cold.
You perhaps are a healthy fit youngish person who could survive living in a basha in the woods near your home, maybe even for more than a month if your trapping and fishing skills are good.
BUT what could your extended family do in that same position, or what if hostile other peoples were operating in your area preventing you from hunting, trapping, fishing or cooking?
In the UK we in theory have 4 seasons and at best only one of them makes for a comfortable environment for rough camping or bush-crafting, We generally rarely get two days alike, how will you or your family take to staying away from home for weeks on end without the benefits of healthy food, hot water, clean clothes, comfortable beds and no stress.
Be honest with yourself there is a pretty good chance that it could be during the November, December, January, February and March period with god damn awful weather to contend with as well as millions of panic stricken sheeple, bad guys and government officers to crap your best laid plans.
I don’t think the urban prepper will be any better off overall because even though he may find it easier to find some place dry to shelter, he also has 100 times the amount of people who may harm him, rob him, infect him and compete with him for food, fuel and water.
I think the bush-craft BO plan needs much more real world consideration
The Family Issues
A Safety & Kids issue AFTER TSHTF
Here is a bit of a difficult point that mums and dads are going to handle carefully with their older kids 9 / 10 years and older.
In normal everyday living today we are constantly forced by societal needs and often fear based laws to being very strict with our children about NOT taking knives or lighters or expensive tools out of the house.
We find ourselves often sadly in the position of having to discipline our kids because they have been playing with matches, or broken dads very expensive flashlight, or been dragged into school because your little darling has been caught with his model making knife or Swiss army knife at school.
We have to re-enforce time after time because of fear and hysteria driven media campaigns that children, knives, guns and lighters should NEVER be mixed.
But AFTER TSHTF or a major disaster we find ourselves in a very serious quandary. We suddenly find it not only necessary but obligatory to INSIST that our children will now find themselves getting told off and disciplined if they are caught WITHOUT a knife, flashlight, lighter and preferably a watch and compass as well.
I have personally found it very difficult to help my son understand that as survivalists and preppers we must live by TWO value systems not ONE like most of his friends.
Fortunately my lad is very astute and now at 13 years not only does he clearly appreciate the difference between those two worlds we inhabit, but he is also pleased to bits that we feel confident enough to trust him with such grown up tools.
It is so important that we as parents help our children’s grow into good citizens in today’s politically correct fear based society. But it’s equally important we teach our kids they too have important roles and responsibilities as young preppers.
Not only most our kids have their own BOBs etc but they must also have most of the same tools we adults need, and after TSHTF they must ALWAYS have them about them unless told otherwise by us.
And of course they must also be comfortable in the safe handling and use of these tools through good RESPONSIBLE training from mum and dad providing of course YOU deem them mature enough to handle that responsibility.
BUT the ‘Ban It’ mentality of mainstream society is simply not an option we as preppers and survivalists can afford.
OUR kids need to know the safe handling, use and maintenance of a knife,
The same again applies equally for rifles and bows.
They need to know the safe and right way to light a fire, and the safe and right LOCATIONS to light a fire as well (IE not in tents).
They MUST learn how to read and use a Map and Compass, and do basic first aid.
Ideally if funds allow (Har Har Har Har) they would greatly benefit with BASIC horse riding lessons, Swimming Lessons, Rock climbing lessons, Field craft and Wilderness skills.
My youngster will also be taught basic vehicle driving skills and motorcycle / quad riding skills.
They would benefit from cooking lessons and basic sewing lessons as well.
Sadly the paranoia involved in modern society means we have to tread carefully not to scare to death most of the bleeding heart liberal ban anything nasty do gooders.
BUT we must also ensure that our children are suitably trained and equipped so that if or when a disaster strikes the images on TV of traumatised children standing looking lost and wondering what to do next is not the fate of OUR kids.