A next level of thrill for hunting is being able to pass that tradition and way of life down to the next generation. Often we want to get kids into hunting but we don’t know where to start. How do you make a kid interested in something that just seems unappealing to them? How can you force them to get outdoors and enjoy everything it has to offer? Well, definitely do NOT force them! Letting the joys come naturally is key, and it is our duty to simply present them the opportunity. To do this in the best way possible, try following the 5 steps below.

1) Make Everything Exciting

Excitement is contagious! When you’re excited, they’re excited! This applies to just more than the hunt itself. If I am just sitting on the couch in my living room and flip on a hunting show, I will often yell out, “Whoaa!” Whether my boys come running to see what’s going on or just give me a confused look, either way I know I’ve gotten their attention! Then I point to the TV and say “look at that BIG BUCK!” It’s a quick, fun, and easy way to draw them in and show them I’m excited about hunting. I do similar things like this all the time whether we’re walking around Bass Pro Shops, doing an evening cruise looking for animals, or out in the field hunting. The more interest and excitement I show for hunting, the more my kids are intrigued and drawn into it. Kids are really good at picking up on energy and feeling what you feel. Create an intensely positive energy that is associated with hunting and children will naturally gravitate towards it.

2) Get Them Out As Much As Possible

One of the best ways to get a kid into hunting is to of course, take them hunting. But don’t limit field time to only the season when you’ve got a gun or bow in your hands. Getting them out in the environment and simply doing hunting related activities speaks wonders to children. Let’s face it, sitting in a stand/blind for multiple hours and expecting them to be still and quiet is not what most kids would refer to as fun. However, going out to check trail cameras, target practicing, scouting land, or helping plant food plots are engaging activities that don’t carry such heavy expectations. Shed hunting is also a fantastic way to introduce kids to the lifestyle. Simply getting children out in a hunting environment will boost their level of interest and may even be the spark of a lifetime obsession.

It’s also important to realize that this can be done year round with children of any age. At only 2 months old, I would carry my boys around the woods searching for morel mushrooms or antlers. I would take them out to check trail cameras when they were just 1 and 2. At age 3, they were able to sit in the blind and watch their mother harvest a big tom turkey. Kid are never too young or too old to start bringing them closer to Mother Nature. Many things of course do need to be age appropriate, such as climbing tree stands or shooting a weapon, but as far as bringing them face to face with the outdoors, there are no restrictions!

3) Teach Them Constantly

Children are born to do one thing. Learn. If a child seems uninterested in learning, then they are quite frankly not being taught correctly. Kids absolutely love learning things as they are naturally curious about the world around them. By exposing them to the great outdoors you are giving yourself an opportunity to feed them knowledge. Teach them about everything. Teach them to be aware of their surroundings and they will begin pointing things out to you. Deer tracks, droppings, a feather, sap on a tree, thorns, noises, falling leaves, etc. are all wonderful teaching opportunities. The more you teach, the more they will desire to learn.

The tricky part about teaching, is that every child is different. Kids learn differently, so what worked one time may not work the next. A good teacher must be open minded and be willing to try different techniques. Be adaptive in your teaching strategy until you find what fits best with the child’s learning habits. The most important question you can ask is, “How can I teach better?”

4) Make It Fun

As I mentioned before, if a child is not interested in learning then they are not being taught correctly, so make it fun! This is where things start to tie together because making it fun for a child most often involves you being excited. Their mood will start to match your mood so have fun with everything you do. Making things into games like “whoever finds deer poop first, wins” instantly engages children with their surroundings. Once the droppings are found you can explain why they are where you found them. Maybe it’s a bedding area, a main trail, or at a food source. This is a great way to teach out in the field while having a ton of fun at the same time. Hunting will have a positive impact on children when it is related to fun experiences and it will keep them wanting more.

5) Give Them Responsibility

A great way to help kids to get motivated about hunting is to give them their own tasks and responsibilities. Doing this, gives the child goals to strive towards and even the “little” things can be “big” to them. For example, a simple task of gathering grass or cutting down small limbs to provide camo for a blind will allow that child to feel a sense of worth. And when that hunt goes according to plan and an animal is harvested, knowing that they helped contribute will make the moment so much sweeter. It is important for kids to feel proud of themselves after working hard and achieving set goals. This feeling can constantly be reinforced through hunting and other related activities.

Give it Your Best

If you really want to get kids into hunting, try to let it come naturally and don’t force it upon them. An inviting approach is to be excited about everything, teach them as much as possible, and give them responsibilities. But remember to ALWAYS keep it FUN and get them out into nature as much as you can!

Sometimes, even if you do everything perfectly, the truth is that some kids may not be interested. The important thing to remember is that that is perfectly okay! Each and every child is a unique individual and the greatest thing you can do is simply give them the opportunity. Giving your time and teaching them will show that you really care, which truly is the most important thing. Introducing the youth to the great outdoors can be rewarding beyond belief. It is often in that journey that adults discover More Than The Hunt.