32 Survival Skills Your Child Should Know and Be Able to Do ASAP!

Joe for America ^ | September 8, 2013 | Survival Mom

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Knowledge is something that takes time to develop, so we need to start teaching the next generation now. In case God forbid, our children are left to fend for themselves or we are injured or even just to make your family more apt to survive, every child must learn these survival skills so they can pull their own weight and contribute as much as they can. If yourfamily learns now to be a well oiled machine, you will be more likely to survive any type of collapse.

1. Grow vegetables from seeds
2. Have local edible and medicinal plant foraging skills
3. Knowledge of dietary needs and how to meet them using wild plants and game
4. Make a fire and know fire safety
5. Cook on an open fire
6. Open a can of food with and without can opener (rub can lid ridge on cement and then pry open with knife)
7. Be able to tell if food is too spoiled to eat
8. How to safely use a knife
9. How to shoot a sling shot
10. How to hunt small game with snares, traps and sling shot
11. How to fish and hunt-bow & gun when old enough
12. How to clean fish and wild game
13. Find water and identify if it’s safe to drink
14. Filter and boil water to drink
15. Basic first aid
16. Basic hygiene practices
17. Find or build a shelter in the wilderness
18. How to stay warm, cool and dry in the elements
19. How, Why and When to stay hidden
20. Self defense
21. How to make a basic weapon and how to use it
22. Be able to run and walk a good distance and be in generally good shape
23. How to climb a tree- to get away from predators, get directional barrings, and hunt.
24. How to read a map and use a compass
25. How to read the sky for directions, time and approaching bad weather
26. Know where family and friends live if they need to find them
27. How to sew so they can mend clothing or any fabric and even make things such as bags or scrap quilts
28. How to bargain and trade (Kids naturally do this with their toys so teach them at garage sales.)
29. How to be responsible for themselves and to be aware of their surroundings at all times
30. Have a natural curiosity and good problem solving skills
31. Be hard working and a self starter and a family helper not a complainer!
32. Have a strong faith in God (morals, memorize bible verses, prayers, songs, and have a hope for heaven)

This list by Becky P. was a finalist in our List Contest. Thanks, Becky, for an excellent entry!

[miss marmelstein]

For once, I wish people would focus on life skills for living in cities. It’s great to know how to read a compass but people come to NYC from rural and suburban places and immediately become crime victims because they can’t read feral humans beings or understand how to negotiate through a bad neighborhood. Or simply how to stay out of Central Park after dark. Drives. me. nuts.

[D Rider]

One bullet ends that B.S.

Buzz Kill

[uncommonsense]

"Super glue, duct tape, and whiskey - men’s first aid kit :)"

Add a Leatherman to the list for clipping off fishing hooks stuck in someone's skin and such things, and I'll second your list. Also, I've many times killed a nagging cold/flu with a 1/2 - 3/4 pint of whiskey. Yeah, there may be a residual headache - that's why you save a couple swigs for the next day...

[Jack Hydrazine]

Glad to help any time!

[uncommonsense]

"Grow food, not lawns. Start replacing decorative yard shrubs with food-bearing perennials today."

Herbs like rosemary, basil, and many more are decorative, hardy, and can't be beat when $ free and fresh.

[NTHockey]

recent storm knocked down some pretty hefty limbs. I now have three child size, 2 adult size, one platoon-sized weapon, one company-sized weapon, one battalion-sized weapon and a heavy artillery-sized weapon. Each of the heavy weapons is mounted on its own base.

[uncommonsense]

"Everyone should know at least two or three ways to make a fire without matches."

Steel wool and a battery (9v is best, but flashlight batteries work too). Makes a real nice all-weather starter. Scrubs pots too.

[Southack]

Mint grows easily and prolifically, too...as do strawberries.

[Utilizer]

...as do strawberries.

I can vouch for the strawberries. I started with only about nine plants and now they are a huge mound and threatening to take over the entire side yard!

[VerySadAmerican]

Where can I get one of those/?

[Southack]

Several kinds of strawberries produce fruit twice a year (Spring and Fall). That’s a nice feat for a perennial that you never have to plant again.

Twice a year you’ve got new food being grown into your supplies.

Realistically, you can’t really store enough food to last you forever, but you *can* grow it.

Strawberries cover your Spring and Fall.

Add one male and one female arctic kiwi perennial and you’ve got Winter covered (kumquats and persimmons work for Winter, too). A single little female arctic kiwi vine can produce up to 120 pounds of kiwi fruits per Winter! Such vines can grow on fences and the sides of buildings to make use of wasted space, too.

*male+female species like kiwis require cross pollination with each other...if chemicals/warfare knocks out all of your bees and butterflies you will have to hand pollinate them (easy enough) or hope for air pollenation (much lower fruit production).

Then you just need a good Summer perennial like Apples (blueberries, blackberries, or cherries) to keep you supplied with food year round, forever and ever.

[fella]

The old (straight) Boy Scouts USA used to teach all of that, not any more.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Even the cost of living in the US is becoming a serious problem for many.

Awww, did I do that???

[verga]

Sounds odd, but, in a pinch on small wounds requiring stitches. Super glue.

I have heard that this was one of its original uses during the Viet Nam war.

[verga]

I think I’ll make one and see if I’ve still got it.

Slingshot forum has some very interesting designs, many of which you don't want in the hands of children.

[Yo-Yo]

11.How to fish and hunt-bow & gun when old enough

I've never been gun fishing before, but it sounds fun!

[Donnafrflorida]

o am on my third season. 90% failure. still trying to figure out if its me the soil or the seeds.

[usmcobra]

it’s a blast....

[cunning_fish]

I’m sorry, but most of the above are absolutely useless in any populated area in times of crisis.

From Bosnia to Chechnya there are numerous accounts of societies fallen beyond civilization just in a very recent history and I tell you none were saved by knowledge of edible plants, trap-hunting or an ability to read the sky for directions.

First things you need are weapons, ammo and a will to use it.

Thus, points 15, 16, 28-32 are a good idea.

[Mich Patriot]

Serious question: what’s the best type of knife sharpener for normal household use, hunting knives, etc.? I’ve suddenly realized all I have is the basic ketchen steel.