Taking young children off-road?

[R_Lefebvre]

Just curious what other people's experiences are. I'm not talking about overnight trips yet, that's a whole OTHER discussion.

I'm hopefully going to go to an off-road area tomorrow with a couple guys. Get my first taste in the truck since I've never done this before. Won't be doing anything extreme. Probably just flat land with no water.

I've got a 27 month old son I'd like to take along. He absolutely loves the truck and doesn't like riding in the car anymore. And he's used to being in a car seat for long periods of time. And he likes spending time with me.

I got this truck specifically so that I could do more stuff with the family. My track car and motorcycle take me away from the family more than anything.

Anybody done anything like that before? Any pitfalls I should be aware of? He'll be in a car seat of course. With rubber boots, jacket, etc. And there will be other guys around so I won't get stranded.

The only risk I can see is during any winching or towing situations?

 

[DaktariEd]

A couple of years ago we talked about this a lot....and about how young is too young.
The younger the kid the greater the risk of head injuries.
A 2 year is doing pretty well with head control but would still be at risk. They aren't prepared for jolts and lurches, so easy does it would be wise (even easy routes sometimes have good ruts and stuff). Giving the little guy the "heads up" not only gets them excited for the next dip, it gets their head and neck muscles tightened up.

See if you can find that old thread. It had some good thoughts...

 

[bigreen505]

Any pitfalls I should be aware of? He'll be in a car seat of course.

A few. Diaper explosion is a possibility. Make sure you can dress him appropriately for the conditions. That does not mean bring appropriate clothes for your baby, that means make sure he will wear them. Mittens and hat don't do any good if the baby refuses to wear them. If you are planning on camping, be sure to introduce him to the tent ahead of time. Having him refuse to go in the tent because it is scary can put a fast stop to a trip. I don't care what he crawls into at home, make sure he will sleep and take naps in the tent.

Babies need to be comfortable and occupied, be sure to bring what is needed to facilitate that -- blanket, toys, books, food, etc.

My daughter was pretty happy as long as the truck was bouncing.

 

[bigreen505]

See if you can find that old thread. It had some good thoughts...

x2 on that. There were two great threads, I think both started by Flyingwil. One on car seats and one on how young is too young. Both had fantastic information and experiences.

 

[Tanto]

Being prepared as a parent goes without saying. I agree on the head control thing, scale your trail exploration to suit your children.

Youngsters get anxious if cooped up. They want to get out. At an off road park I'd say try not to take on anything too difficult because there is no safe place to roam if you get too stuck.

Destination driving is different, I try to plan short legs with time to take short walks for little legs. Picnics are always good fun.

Mine are 18 months, 4 yrs, & 7 yrs. old. The 18 month old is too little unless you go easy. The other kids have a blast regardless. Three is a great age for getting out and poking around.

 

[kcowyo]

One of the best tips I received when my kids were a little younger was to bring a few new toys for the day. Even just a few things from the dollar store, it doesn't have to be much. But something he can fiddle with in his lap while bouncing along. The key being it should be something he doesn't already have at home.

Take breaks often if possible and let him run a little. And radios. Kids love radios...cb's, 2m, walkie-talkie types, whatever. Boys want to do what Dad's doing so if he sees you talking on the radio, have one for him too. It doesn't even have to have batteries in it for him to have fun.

My best tip and our favorite thing to do, when the trail smooths out a little, pull him into your lap and let him "drive" for awhile. You will automatically collect 100 cool Dad points, I promise.

Hope you two have fun, Should be a great time -

 

[highlandercj-7]

I started all 3 of mine around 2 years old. Of course the first two were huge kids and I didn't have to worry. The lil one is the toughest in the bunch and she was fine too. Of course I didn't go extreme and take stupid lines with them in the vehicle but all is well. They love to wheel and I can't go with out them lol. They 2 youngins are in there car seats, the oldest is 7 and she is finally out.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Huh, sounds like I'm not crazy for thinking this is a good idea. I'm not alone. This place is great!

The head toss thing is definitely something I'll watch out for. Being that it's my first time too, I'm really not sure what to expect there.

Talking about tent camping is a whole other can of worms. We want to do that this summer, and I know that getting him to sleep in a tent is going to be a chore. Plan is to set it up in the back yard.

 

[Skylinerider]

Here's my kiddo the first time. He was 6 weeks old. Nothing hard, just 3 days of camping, and some trail rides. My wife sat in the back with him just to make sure he was fine.

View attachment 17565

 

[Brett M]

Guess I can chime in and say that the times I've had my 3 year old daughter off road she loved it. She think's its highly entertaining when I don't notice a drop and the Jeep gets tossed all over.

I took her out the first ~18 months in Capitol Reef. No problems there and she had a great time.

I say go for it!

 

[preacherman]

I have to hide my jeep in the garage because every time we go outside and my boys see the jeep they say they want to go "eeeeping"....

 

[Pskhaat]

I know that getting him to sleep in a tent is going to be a chore. Plan is to set it up in the back yard.

I thought the same thing too and worried about it (they're quite the home-bodies), but my sons did great with really any tent. We did start with a few shared nights in some couch forts though

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Well, I'm back. I had a blast and so did Phil! He even fell asleep once even while I was bounding across a field. I think he had fun but he's too young to express it. He wasn't cranky at all, for the whole day, so that must be good. I let him get out and run around whenever we were doing a recovery or chatting or whatever.

Best part is I fulfilled my explanation for why I wanted to truck. To get out with the family.

There were some ATVers running around the same area. One in particular, there's a guy on a big monster 800cc or whatever size Polaris, little kid on the back. Coming up a steep climb, leaning over the handlebars to keep the front down. I've just seen and heard too much. If that thing goes over, the kid is dead. I'm surprised they haven't passed a law yet. I won't do that to my kid. I'd rather have a cage around him.

 

[Tanto]

Great! Glad your little one was easy to manage and had a good time. Hope your group had a good run without any unfortunate events.

Regarding the ATV guy, it takes all kinds. Unfortunately we can't protect everyone from their own foolishness.

Glad you had fun. Now where are the Pics! :victory:

 

[stevenmd]

My daughter just turned 1 last week. I took her out today with the landie club for some light wheeling. Since she is now a year old she can sit facing forward. We have a good car seat so I wasn't too worried. Boy oh boy, did she have a good time! She laughed and "talked" the whole time. Just daddy and the kids today (3 boys and 1 girl).:rockon: