Getting kids to carry stuff

Hi I’m ‘Mum’ and until recently I was also known as ‘The Pack Horse!’ Mum I’m tired, Mum my pack hurts, Mum I’m hot, please carry my jacket….wait now a I’m cold I want it back! Does this sound familiar? I often look back at old photos and groan at the image of me clawing my way up a hill, bogged down with a mountain of gear whilst my children scamper freely on!

But no more! Oh the wonders a great, well-fitting backpack can do! Suddenly the kids don’t even notice that they are carrying stuff because the pack is so comfortable they forget they are wearing it. I am going to share a recent photo of my youngest daughter who beautifully demonstrated my case in point!

Her pack was so comfortable that she even when to sleep in it (she is 4 by the way).

It’s always hard as a parent, you want to get the good equipment but at the same time you are very aware that your child is likely to outgrow it very quickly, so why spend those extra dollars? Well it depends on your individual family and your priorities but for me I wanted to get my kids out door and loving it (but with me loving it too).

And here is where having great gear pays off……they love wearing it, they love packing it themselves and they love being in control of their gear. And in terms of outgrowing the gear there is a huge variety of packs available that now have a good range of growth built into them. Check out the Osprey Tempest 20. This is brilliant pack that has a great growth range, whilst still accommodating the small child frame. Obviously it does depend on your child but as rough guide this pack would such a child from around 6 until maybe young adulthood. And with the Osprey Almighty Guarantee backing each pack, you really can’t go wrong!

Getting the right pack will totally change a walk with the kids. Bear in mind though that a child should only carry up to about 10% of their bodyweight. So if a child weighs around 35kg their pack should weigh no more than 3 ½ kilograms. So think about what you want your child to carry (for example, water bottle, snacks, lunch box, jumper and rain coat). Don’t expect them to be able to carry absolutely everything they need especially if you are all just getting used to it, but as they get older they you can up the expectation and of course they grow and get bigger so they are able to carry more.