Adventuring with a toddler
Doing anything with a toddler is an adventure, but trying to adventure with a toddler is a whole new level.
1. Lower your expectations. This does not mean you stop running, hiking, snowshoeing or traveling all together. What this does mean is you might only get in a four mile hike instead of eight, you might spend an hour tossing rocks into the lake rather than swimming in it, you might walk back and forth across a bridge rather than exploring town or you might need to cut an adventure short when their mood is less than pleasant.
2. Over dress (them) and invest in quality gear for them. As in dress your children warmer than you would dress yourself. We learned this the hard way when we noticed Jasper's feet were freezing after an afternoon of snowshoeing. We realized pretty quickly that he needed heavy duty gear (i.e. insulated gloves and snow boots) just like we did if he was going to stay comfortable while were on our adventures. We also noticed his feet were getting the brunt of the wind so we started to put him in two layers of socks. The main thing to remember is your toddler is sedentary during most of adventures while you are not.
3. Remember to change their diaper. This might seem obvious, but hiking backpacks have a way of diverting all the liquid to either the front or the back of the diaper. After a few times of taking Jasper out of the pack completely soaked we realized we needed to change his diaper more frequently than we normally did at home.
4. Snacks, snacks and more snacks. If your child's belly is full they are more likely to be happy and possibly take a nap. There is nothing more golden than when you child decides to nap during four or five miles of your eight mile hike.
5. Teach them how to nap on the go. Looking back I do not think we did anything special to teach this, rather than show him we will not be captive at home on Saturdays for his nap. That being said we always make certain he has a hearty breakfast before we leave and that he has plenty of comforts while we are out (ie. shade, rain protection etc.) so he can nap at his leisure.
