survival prep and adult children
 

What type of plans have you made with older children who no longer live at home? Have you made supply kits for them? What about if phones are cut off? I'm curious how others are handling adult children and extended families in survival prep.

Re: survival prep and adult children
 

Part of what we put away is in anticipation of that extended family problem.

It will be a problem, or a solution.....we could return to a "Waltons" type family style....and probably will when the govt supports that have broken up the family fall apart.

Re: survival prep and adult children
 

Andy, I am trying to prepare for extended family also. What concerns me is an emergency situation where roads or contact are cut off for a period of time.

My Daughters are the type that keep NO extra food, or cash. They let their gas tanks go to empty before buying gas. One Daughter is becoming more responsible but my other Daughter and her Husband are a lost cause. Since I am buying prep stuff i was thinking about putting together emergency kits for them, maybe a two week supply of food, flashlights and some cash.

Re: survival prep and adult children
 

Lost causes are called lost causes because they are lost causes. :D

Spending time trying to breathe life into them is a waste of time, something of which there seems to be an increasingly short supply. As tough as it is, you may have to accept that which you can not change and move on.

Re: survival prep and adult children
 

I can accept anyone but my Daughters being a lost cause.
Quite honestly I am not a fighter. If things get that bad I would sooner be on ground zero and not hang around . The only reason I am preparing is to protect my kids.
So, I need a plan B...

Re: survival prep and adult children
 

Absolutely, no cash unless you keep the kits at your house, 10 silver rounds in each kit otherwise. Let them figure out how to barter them ... hell I read where a guy bartered for a house ... starting out with a paper-clip. You can't judge how a person reacts or grows in a time of disaster based on how they are now. That said .... if you take them under your wing, be perpared to cut them loose if things go south. Your daughter is a given ... in-laws ... well ... you know. :smokin:

Re: survival prep and adult children
 

I think survival kits for them would be a nice invitation to be prepared. But no more then a tightly sealed 5 gallon bucket. Don't put anything in it that would be for everyday use. Like batteries. People who don't prepare have a tendancy to take things out when they need them and not put them back.

I would only put very basic needs in it. Simple food like oatmeal. Some water purification ability. Some space blankets. Maybe a crank flashlight. Small first aid kit. Daughters? Throw in a box of tampons!! Stuff that people wouldn't want to get in to because they can't find something in their kitchen. Oh, no cash. No pm's either. Think survival basics

My Ex's entire family is like this. Probably why she is my Ex. Yes, you are right, understanding and supportive spouses are more valuable than gold. But, you can only lead horses to water and most people are a cross between an ostrich and a sheep. So whata you do?

Remember that if it's a scenario where they can't get to you, you will most likely have neighbors that will need help.



I must agree with Andy's statement here. Think of it as the "Wayward son" in the bible. If they show up after the shtf then it will be a time to rejoice. And you can always hope. Hope is good too, right?

SB

Re: survival prep and adult children
 

SB, I think I will make a list for a small kit for my Daughters. I was thinking in terms of a weeks supply of food and some other mentioned things like flashlights and tampons.. You are right about me putting money and batteries in there. They would use them..LOL..
I think I have a way around that though.

Re: survival prep and adult children
 

Do they live quite some distance from you ?

Re: survival prep and adult children
 

It was a big red paper clip. :D

http://www.abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=2171378

Re: survival prep and adult children
 

My Daughters both live about 25 minutes away. Hopefully they could get here is anything happened but you never know.

LT Dan, lol about your Son inheriting your issues. My Daughter was the only Kid in her dorm that had a Zombie plan mapped out. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Survival is an interesting and threatening subject. Its frightening to think how dependent most of us are on the system.

Re: survival prep and adult children
 

start with a car kit. those are really handy and useful and get people thinkin. they'll think your nuts if you present them with a fully loaded BugoutBag.

Re: survival prep and adult children
 

A bugout Kit? :laugh_m:

They already think Im nuts so that part doesn't matter.

Re: survival prep and adult children
 

Yeah I.ve had a bugout bag since I was a teenager. About half my life ago. LOL

Re: survival prep and adult children
 

Anty, my Daughter calls it her Zoombie plan. LOL

Re: survival prep and adult children
 

i have 4 grown kids, 2 are married. 3 of them live about a 6 hour drive away from me. i made a bug out bag for each of them and included a map, all the basics, along with snacks, rain poncho, water bottle, flashlights, toilet paper, baggies, candy, phone numbers, etc--all sorts of stuff. i also made one for their cars. 2 of them think im nuts, 2 think it was a great idea. all of them would hoof it here real fast if something happened as its been drummed into them for years. every year for birthdays and christmas i give something to add to the bag along with a gift theyd actually like..lol.

last thanksgiving a daughter and hubby were driving down for the holiday and their car died on them and got stuck in denver. they called on the cell phone and i asked them later if they had their bag and *sigh* no, it was left at the front door. that showed them big time that if they had that bag they would have had quite a few things to make them comfortable until the tow truck came. and they finally admitted i wasnt no nuts after all, vowing to check their bag and keep it in their car. if they had some of the duct tape that was in the bag they could have fixed their hose at least temporarily.

Re: survival prep and adult children
 

its every man/woman for themselves:confused_ma:

Re: survival prep and adult children
 

jaima have you thought about some training for your kids seems to me that is something they could not spend,lose or throw away and will always have when they need it.

i dont know of any all encompasing survival/preparedness course but im sure its out there.Personally id do some martial arts,weapons training,automotive repair,first aid and probably more that doesnt come to mind these things could be fun as a family even if your kids have left home or lets go camping.

probably if you can take care of some extra preps at your house all you will
have to do is give them the skills to get there safely.

untill they have been in a situation of need they would be very unlikely to
start to prep no matter what you give them or what you tell them.

Re: survival prep and adult children
 

Jazzy, that story about Thanksgiving reminds me of my oldest Daughter. Frustrating isn't it? Do you really think they learned a lesson?

Damco, I would like to take a survival class. I have been looking some up. We did take self defense classes together when my Daughters were in their teens. My younger Daughter would get in to the whole survival thing. She is a good camper and doesn't complain about roughing it. My oldest Daughter is a wimp though.

I decided I will make each Daughter a basic bug out kit and make sure they have at least a full week of food at their own houses. As time goes on and I add to my supplies I will add to theirs. I ordered some Mountain House yesterday and had it sent directly to my Daughters house. Im sure she will laugh when it arrives.:yes:

Re: survival prep and adult children
 

I don't have children, but I think most of us can probably identify with the frustration of trying to make sure our loved ones make it. I'm the oldest of the children in my family and from the time I was very young, it was drilled into my head that I was next in the line of responsibility after my parents. My siblings and I are all in our 40s now, and it's still ingrained in all of us!

Anyway, for what it's worth, here's some suggestions:
1) As someone else suggested, put a survival pack together in a plastic food-grade bucket. Throw some oxygen absorbers in there just to make it harder to open. Duct tape a plastic storage bucket opener to the top of the bucket. Anyone who has ever opened one of those things knows that you have to really want what's inside to open it. Lol! Put a list of what it contains on the top of the bucket, but leave out anything too enticing (like a couple of gold or silver coins). Just list the boring items that they need to know they have on hand if they become desperate. A book on survival skills might be a good thing to include. Rice, beans, PMs, a water purifier, candles, toilet paper, tampons, etc., are other suggestions.

2) Give them gold jewelry, perhaps a gold coin in a bezel on a necklace. Jokingly comment ever so often that in the next Great Depression, they can use it to buy food or bribe border guards.

3) Give them a case of storage food or a bucket of rice and beans, if you think they'll accept it. I suggest that you personally deliver them to whatever storage area in their home they need to store the stuff in, so the stuff doesn't end up sitting in a hot garage or such.

4) Are they far enough away that you occasionally visit? Ask if you can leave a suitcase or a box of items there for your use when you visit, then leave a stealth BOB. Tell them that you're also leaving a list of "extremely important information" in the bag for safe-keeping in case your house burns down or something, then include a list of fake bank account or credit card information. Pretend to update it when you go to visit. Keep impressing upon them that if "any kind of disaster" ever forces them to leave, they need to make sure they take your bag with them so that no one gets your information. Perhaps you could stash a few PMs in the bag or box.

5) Subvert your grandchildren. Mom and Dad may be a lost cause, but perhaps you could lavish attention on a grandchild, and camping, shooting, or coin collecting, etc., can become a special activity between the two of you. I became my gun-obsessed oldest nephew's favorite aunt when I told him I'd let him shoot my AK when he was bigger (he's 4 now). I fully intend to eventually make him the daughter I never had when he's old enough not to be annoying :D .

6) If they live nearby, see if you can talk them into taking a class in something useful with you: woodworking, First Aid, ham radio, etc. Perhaps just ask them to go camping with you. Sometimes people can prepare for survival without realizing they're preparing.

7) If they read, give them books that contain useful information. They don't have to be hardcore preparedness books. Adventure stories about people overcoming wars, disasters, accidents, etc., often contain useful information and can help shape a reader's viewpoint about how to handle hardship and disaster.

Re: survival prep and adult children
 

I expect all of them to be back, except the one still living at home. They already know the frugal drill more so than most kids, but they will be in for a shock as to how much more frugal we can be, it'll be take it or leave it. We are planning for them, and planning also on how they will contribute (tend to the garden, fix up the place, take care of the animals, find odd jobs, or a job if possible), work day labor, help the farmers if possible (I somehow think when it blows some of the farmers that hire out for extra help might pull in the reins and spend more hours in the field doing it themselves).

The one issue that is bothering me is my sister, she knows this is coming, she's a full believer, yet she won't stock up her basement for at least 6 months, she says she has a few months, I tell her, you know your kids are going to come back home (a couple absolutely and 2 grandchildren), you need to stock for them too. I know what she'll do, she'll be on my doorstep and we can't take care of her and her kids too, we can't do it, so I had to tell her bluntly to get her butt in gear and get it done, because our minimart would be CLOSED, that we are prepping for us and our kids and not including her and her kids into the equation (she has the funds she can do this, but she's the type that will spend on BS, even though she knows its coming).

I told her when we put in the chickens and big garden, she is more than welcome to come HELP us and share in the bounty, but again, we wouldn't be dressing her chickens out for her, or collecting her eggs, or doing all the work in the garden, she would have to come by daily and help out.

it's up to her to do the work right along with us (she'd stop by and say, oh do you have an extra chicken, after we've already done all the work). We've already had this problem with our wood pile. We cut and stacked a couple old trees that came down, her son working in her garage with a wood burning stove has no problems coming to ask for our wood, that we labored to stack, cut, drag...and nothing in return other than thanks. Thanks does not cut it when it's an ongoing thing, especially it won't cut it when we are counting on "x", she didn't prepare, and now we are in a moral/ethical dilema.

In an emergency, sure, but as a matter of, I'm your sister/nephew you owe it to me mentality, this doesn't cut it. I also told her she might have to rely on her daughter (her hubby is a farmer) if she doesn't prepare adequately, that she could NOT rely on us, we'd have our hands full with our own, outside of again, she's more than welcome to share the burden and the bounty of taking care of a big garden and small critters, but as far as my wood pile goes, have your son go out and cut/stack his own for you and yours.

On some family members, I'm afraid you may have to warn them ahead of time otherwise they will wipe you and yours out, and where do you draw the line?
It'll be hard when the time comes, because a lot of people are going to have family members that didn't prepare and will be on your doorstep. I'm willing to share, but I'm not willing to share the suffering when the time comes and she didn't prepare adequately, yet had plenty of warnings. She's got the buy for myself now, use someone else later mentality going here and it concerns me a great deal. Granted she is looking at paying off her house, which is a start, but hands off my minimart and wood pile! She need not even ask about the guns or ammo, my husband would shoot her on site.

Yeah, it's gonna be a problem.

Re: survival prep and adult children
 

I am in kind of the opposite position. I don't have any children but I have siblings and parents, and even a grandparent I worry about. Now they are all capable of doing their own prep, most of them make more money than me and would have no problem, except they wont.

One of them eats out like every night and doesn't cook. I highly doubt he is going store food he has no plan on making. Some of them really believe in the government and think even though it sucks some times its really their best chance. And some of them are just kind of wasteful.

I am getting really worried now so I am just going to have to step it up a notch, though they are probably going to start thinking I am a bit crazy. Well not really crazy but you know what I mean. They all think they know better than me. Especially my parents, since I am still pretty young. My mom thinks of all of us as being kids still(I can't blame her for that.) She probably thinks we will all run to her when things get bad, except only thing she has is cash.

Anyway, I know there are some other young people here, so any advice on the subject for us would be great too.

Re: survival prep and adult children
 

You might approach your mom on the bargain rather than prep basis... like... wow glad I bought a lot of tuna, or soup or whatever, before it went up so much. Or this hand soap or shampoo by the gallon is such a bargain I have more money left for fun. Appealing to the shopper instead of the survivalist. If you had any storms in your area you can say it came in handy then too, but you really noticed the savings.

Anythng that gets the supplies in her pantry without a useless fight.

edit -- jaima at 25 minutes away they will likely be able to drive to you. A backpack kit in case they had to hike with nothing appealing day to day... like a tube tent and a space blanket sleeping bag, purifying water bottle and some of those gross bars of calories but not flavor. Light might only attract trouble to them, but a 25 minute drive can be hiked in a day or 3, so it would not need to be much. map and compass too.

Re: survival prep and adult children
 

Maddie, I liked your suggestions. Especially the part about sealing and tapping packages so tight they wont go in there until an emergency.:rolleyes_m:

AM for PM, Your right, The Kids live close enough they could walk in a day or two. My youngest Daughter [the sensible one] requested part of her bug out kit in a knapsack. The other daughter [the one who wont wear sensible shoes] just makes faces when we discuss this stuff.

Here's what worries me. If they did have to walk the roads could be very dangerous. I think it would be foolhardy to take to the roads hiking without a gun. My oldest daughter refuses to have one in the house even though her Husband wants one. I dont want to interfere and they will have to agree before I buy them one.

Most likely WTSHTF scenario would be they would have to stay put until roads were at least clear. The last Ice storm that was three days.

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Yes, if they had to walk it should be parallel to major roads but not in sight. Of course it depends on terrain. Where I live there is one river that pretty much has to be crossed at a bridge. Other areas can have similar mountain barriers. US Geologic survey maps have tiny roads marked, even dirt tracks, so you might look at those for your area to see if a safe hike on those roads can be worked out and marked. It would be like the hobbits leaving the shire - hide if they hear a car coming.

If there is a bridge that must be crossed then that presents extreme danger. Officials turned back help going in to New Orleans and victims trying to walk out using bridges. If officialdom keeps the bridges open and safe that would be wonderful, but I would not count on it.

The sealed tub for the one who resists might include a cheap backpack and some ugly on sale jogging or walking shoes her size and several pair of plain cotton socks. Even a gun would not make walking down the road safe if it isn't. (It might be.) Some will be better armed. But still having a gun is better than not having one. Used versions of this 22 from many years ago can still be bought and it is very light (2 and a half pounds). Searching I found it has new manufacturers and can be bought new.

http://world.guns.ru/civil/civ007-e.htm

It comes apart and packs into its butt which is purportedly waterproof. It is inexpensive, light, and is a 22 semi automatic. So the gun weighs next to nothing and 22 ammo is very light too. If I had to hike I think I would choose it.

Anyway, you could have those USGS maps with marked route suggestions in the kit, sealed in ziplock with compass. The calorie bars last 5 years I think, then you would replace. But you could set them up to be able to cross a river not at the bridge, it just depends what you have to plan for.