# Any ideas on BOB for a 3 yr old?



## hippy (Mar 23, 2012)

We are starting our 72 hr kits and want to find a nice heavy duty backpack for our 3 yr old that will be light to carry but have the things they will need. We also have a 9 month old so we have to carry all his baby needs.. If not we would gladly carry everything if it were possible.


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## Toffee (Mar 13, 2012)

My thought would be that you should probably carry the bulk of the supplies (not what you wanted to hear, I know), but let the little one have something like a modded water bladder backpack with the water removed or a little less than full and stick some snacks and maybe a stuffed animal and a blanket in there with a change of clothes. 
If you end up on foot though, you'll end up carrying them after not too far. So, I would try to account for that, too. If you don't want to directly carry them, maybe consider a backpack with a spot for them to ride for short periods of time. Maybe you and your significant other can trade kids every so far.


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## forluvofsmoke (Jan 27, 2012)

You may want to consider a fold-able 2-wheel cart that will store in a car trunk or behind the seat of a pickup truck, as well as in a garage or closet in your home. A cart will support the bulk of the weight of your gear on a reasonably stable platform, and could be towed by a waist harness if the tow bar/hitch is long enough to keep your feet away from it. Secure your gear with your lashings of choice, and if you leave space, you could carry a toddler or two while walking. A baby secured in a car seat would not be out of the question, either.

The down-side to carts is negotiating any rough terrain, as you may have to lift the cart over obstacles or possibly unload and transfer gear in pieces after getting the cart to where you can maneuver it again (thinking creek crossings and large rock outcroppings or very steep terrain). The drawbacks may be far outweighed by your ability to carry much more than you could on your back. Yes, pulling a loaded cart will slow your distance walked per day, but if it allows you to bring your required gear and transport your children when they can't walk or are too tired to walk, the extra time is a necessity, IMHO. Width of the wheel stance could also become an issue if you get into heavy underbrush, so consider where you will be walking and possible alternate routes. The best way to find out if a cart would be a feasible option is to walk the route to your BOL and get a feel for how a cart could be handled.

Food for thought...

Good luck with your planning!


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## wildman800 (Oct 17, 2008)

Besides the necessities, a few figurines: army men, a favorite small Teddy Bear, favorite blanket, pillow, etc. Your 3 yr old, regardless of gender needs a couple of small toys to occupy themselves while you and your wife are making/breaking camp and doing other chores.


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## DKRinAK (Nov 21, 2011)

For a 3 year old.

Change of drawers and a shirt
_Small _toy
Small bottle of water.

Attach a whistle to the pack or the child. Show the child how to use whistle.

I sit my 2+ Y/O grandson, much more than 5 pounds will not be good.

A folding cart or a 'yuppie' stroller (the kind with bicycle wheels) for when the kids stop walking....

What ever you decide on take Jr out for a long walk or three to double check how well they handle the weight.

Good luck!


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## hippy (Mar 23, 2012)

Thanks for the tips. I still haven't done our bags yet. :/ We want to get her a nice bag that won't wear easily like the play ones she has. Plus I admit I'm still not 100% sure what to put in our bags. We also have a 10mon. So we will have to carry a lot and need to figure out what we can do without.


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## prepmama (Mar 4, 2012)

This is our 3 year old's bag. It looks like a lot but it's actually very light and everything tucks away nicely. 

In the blue wet bag is one lightweight long sleeve shirt and long pants, one white tshirt, 2 socks, 2 underwear

In the pencil pouch is one washcloth, soap, toothbrush, germ-x wipes, band aids. The medicine bottle holds his vitamins, ibuprofen and pepto tablets. They're separated in the tiny pill pouches with the dosage and expiration.

Grab and go coloring book, pen and tiny notebook, hot wheels car, comic book in the ziplock.

The red wet bag has winter hat, gloves, warm pants and hoodie. I'll remove this now since the seasons changed.

Emergency id and led light attached to whistle necklace. Kids poncho, handkerchief, glow stick, emergency blanket and goggles. I may add sunglasses and a cap since the winter clothes won't be in here. 

I also have a light bracelet attached to the backpack. And extra shoes are usually tied on the strap but I have to replace them for the next size up lol.


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## wolven (Sep 7, 2011)

Small Children present challenges for those of us with them to come up with the least amount of items for them to carry and still include the necessities. With several small grandchildren (15, 8,7,5,3,2,1.5) we have come up with several ideas and solutions. As those before me have mentioned, a cart is really a great idea. We have a metal wagon we picked up at Lowes (big enough for 2sm children)and I have made padded cushions for it whenever we practice We have divided items up among everyone in the family, with 4 adults and the teenager it helps out.
As for what to include, here is what our little ones carry in their packs
2 pr socks
1 change of clothes
2 pr underwear (for the 1.5 yr old we pack 2 pull ups, but we also have cloth diapers in an adult pack)
2 sm toys
5 baby wipes in a baggie
1 pkg of candy (having a treat for them is great, we have sweat tarts in ours)
2 pkgs beef jerky (Sm children get hungry relatively often)
5 band aids and 1 large hankerchief

we have a whistle and a child sized water jug attached to the outside of the packs and each child had a baseball cap to wear.


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## lefty (Sep 29, 2011)

I feel your pain I have twin 2.5 year olds. Bug in if possible, if you have to bug out leave early and go by car.


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## mojo4 (Feb 19, 2012)

I have 2 little ones also and we have a double jogging stroller. It carries both kids and also carries extra gear and food underneath. Just be sure to carry a patch kit as it uses bike tires and stickers seem to be everywhere there's no roads!! But our plan is to bug in......but we all know about plans!


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## wolven (Sep 7, 2011)

Prepmama You have given me new ideas for our little ones packs. Putting everything in different colored bags for different items would be helpful.

Somehow I forgot to mention that each of the little ones have a child's harness so that we don't have to hold hands and it gives us more leeway for walking. We found out that while walking they tend to stop and get sidetracked.

We plan on attaching an umbrella to the cart for shade for when they need to nap.


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## md1911 (Feb 9, 2012)

When my kids were little we took them hicking. And would sleep out. They carried their clothes at first. We put them in something like a school backpack. They also carried a little water and some snackfoods. A wistle and a toy. 

As they got up around 7 or 8 they started carrying more each trip. My kids wanted to carry more because they didn't want to be thought of as little babys. We went a lot atleast 1 time a month in the summer. As they learned about fire they were given the things they needed and expected to carry it. Same with a knife. Their own bed rolls, we just done it a step at a time. 

Of course being dad when they were little my pack was real heavy. This helped to slow my pace down so they could keep up with no problems. I wish I would have thought of leashes though. That sounds like a great idea.


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## hippy (Mar 23, 2012)

We have a little dog leash/backpack for my 3 yr old, never thought to use it for this! Great idea. We have a few of these things already on hand, thanks guys! I was so lost on what to put in it, when we take trips anywhere we always have a car full of necessities for a week! haha 
We plan on trying to bug in, but we live about a house away from the freeway. So depending on what happens I'm sure we would be one of the first raided. My husbands family owns a farm about 15 min away on back roads. So if we can we will head there first. Nice to have options


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## SouthernComfort (Mar 14, 2012)

I can't imagine that challenge. Mine are 31 & 29 and have their own packs, materials and plans as they live 100 mies north of me. I hear little ones taste like chicken. JUST KIDDIN YA'LL!! Good luck! Regardless, I feel your best chance with kids that small is to invest in weapons and tons of ammo and bug in! They souls have a much better chance of survival.


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## md1911 (Feb 9, 2012)

Hippy. The weight of a childs pack is about 5 lbs less than what they can carry. Get a school bag and load it with 1 and 5 lbs bags of rice or beans. Let them carry it and figgure out what their limit is. Then you can put clothes bedroll. Whatever in it. Of course whatever else they need you carry.


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## hippy (Mar 23, 2012)

Thanks, we did a kinda mini drill today and I was surprised when it went so well! Hopefully our camping trip this summer will be successful.  I want to also save for one of those tumbleweed kind of cabin trailers. Having built our own home I hope it will be easy.  I think it would be nice to have for a bug out. More of a home and protection for the kids and we can use it camping.. Then we can take it anywhere, we have family both north, south and east of here. I hope it will feel more like a home away from home. Someday I hope to have enough funds and time to get it even started


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## BillM (Dec 29, 2010)

I have put together a back pack for our three year old grand daughter to carry.

It contains a

1. two man tent
2. shovel
3.mess kit
4.sleeping bag
5.Cast iorn skillet
6. five cans of spam
7. a first aid kit
8. a buck knife
9. a coloring book and crayons

We talked over the advisability of her carrying a weapon but decided it might be too dangerous so we are just letting her carry a couple of boxes of shotgun shells.


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## Lake Windsong (Nov 27, 2009)

Hippy, another idea that I mentioned in another bob thread is to keep a 'just in case' bag or box at a relative's house. We keep extra clothes, food, etc for 'just in case situations' at several relatives for the kids. This can be used for sleepovers if not needed for a bugout situation, I just keep them all well stocked with the kid's supplies.
My thinking was along the lines of house fire or tornado and making sure the we always have a back up to our back up plans.


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## av8rinlr (Apr 19, 2012)

*72 hr kit for kids*



hippy said:


> We are starting our 72 hr kits and want to find a nice heavy duty backpack for our 3 yr old that will be light to carry but have the things they will need. We also have a 9 month old so we have to carry all his baby needs.. If not we would gladly carry everything if it were possible.


I would only let a child under say 8 carry gear that your willing to lose. I would NOT have them carry anything unless they want to. Children manuver poorly without baggage. You will have an even slower child and likely be dealing with a lot of falling, injuries, and complaints.


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## av8rinlr (Apr 19, 2012)

Anything light enough for them to carry can be added to your own adult loads.


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## av8rinlr (Apr 19, 2012)

I do fill the little ones pockets with essencials for them.


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## ColoradoTracy (May 15, 2012)

*children BOB*

Search for "Bob stroller". These strollers are all terrain and heavy duty and can carry a lot of weight. Bob is the brand of it. I have a 1 yr old and a 2 yr old and love the thing. We take them on hikes all the time and am amazed by what it would go over. In my opinion, it is the hummer of the stroller world. My kids sit side by side. They have shock absorbers and all kinds of add ons to fit your needs. If you have a child that uses a car seat, it has an attachment for that. It will work for larger children (ie. 5 and 6 year old kids) that wouldn't necessarily be able to walk for much further than a toddler.

They are not compact or cheap and so I do not keep it in the vehicle with me unless we are headed out for some wilderness fun. We keep it at home and figure that if we are out and about in town and our cheapy strollers fall apart that we would grab the first shopping cart that we find and through our kids and things in that. We would probably do that anyway. I am however an at home mom and rarely take the kids out and typically close to home when I do, so if I needed to leave town by walking I would go home first.

My husband and I have also looked at those garden wagons that can carry a lot of weight and are meant to go "off road" for our stuff. One of us pushes the kids and the other pulls the cart.

We also have one size larger than the clothing and shoes that actually fits them now in our bag, just in case we plan on changing them out tomorrow and an event happens today and then they have clothing that they cannot wear because it is too small.


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