Based on years of guiding hunters and raising his own family, Travis Bullock reflects on the parenting lessons that helped his own children embrace an outdoor lifestyle and shares practical ways families can build traditions that last for generations.
Highlights
- Raising children who love hunting starts with making the outdoors fun, age-appropriate, and centered around creating positive memories instead of focusing on success in the field.
- Simple experiences like fishing, camping, horseback riding, and bringing friends along can spark a lifelong passion for hunting, fishing, and the outdoors.
- Consistent time together as a family, not expensive trips or perfect hunts, is the foundation for passing hunting traditions and a love of the outdoors to the next generation.
Fathers dream of one day taking their future son or daughter hunting, but there are roadblocks that pop up along the way. Time, money, and other more attractive hobbies seem to hijack our dreams and create detours. Here are a few ideas for young parents to get their children involved in hunting, fishing, and the outdoors.
When I look back as a parent, I see multiple things I wish I had done differently, but the one thing I got right was getting our kids involved in hunting and the outdoors; maybe a little too much. As a guide and outfitter, I have taken many fathers on hunts who wanted nothing more than to share those wonderful experiences with their kids but could not get them interested. I want to give a little advice on how to accomplish this. Many ideas are common sense, and it’s more about you as a parent just getting out of the way, but there are some things that a parent can do to nudge children in the right direction.
First, when kids are little, it must be fun, and the adventure needs to be about them. So many times, I’ve seen aggressive fathers haul their child with them to sit in a tree stand all day when it’s -20 degrees. Although the dad wants their child to embrace this, I can tell you that most kids will shy away. While kids are young, keep it simple. Instead of steelhead fishing all day, take them to a kid’s pond using a bobber and a worm. Make sure the pond has been stocked so there is plenty of action. The Idaho Fish and Game hold a free fishing day every year in each region of the state. They usually get donations to purchase fishing rods, bait, etc., and this costs parents very little. They give a prize for the largest fish, and, if memory serves correctly, there may be hot dogs for lunch. If you view this from a kid’s perspective, what could be better than getting together with a bunch of other kids, having a hot dog roast, playing with worms in the grass, and just having fun? Notice fishing in this instance is just an excuse to get together, and when you think about it, even as adults, that’s really what hunting camp and fishing trips are about.
When my daughter Cheyenne was young, my wife Brenda and I took her hiking, camping, and hunting, but what she really embraced was snow skiing. Brenda had the idea of taking her to the local ski hill to eat lunch one afternoon just before Christmas. The ski hill has a rope tow exactly 426 yards long. Many local kids use this hill because it’s an inexpensive way to get started. As we were eating a hamburger and watching kids ski down the hill, Brenda told my daughter that if Santa brought skis for Christmas, she could learn to ski and join those other kids on the slope. That night I helped my daughter write a letter to Santa. As we were getting ready for bed, Brenda mentioned that the ski hill also needed volunteers and asked if I would be interested. I told her I just didn’t have time and there was no way I was going to get involved in yet another volunteer project. She allowed me to open an early Christmas present, which was a very cute negligee.
How do I know the rope is exactly 426 yards long? As the past president of the ski hill, it was my job to take down the rope at the end of each season and replace it if need be. Also, it really bothers me that more parents aren’t involved in our local ski club. My point? Adolescent minds are easy to manipulate.
Cheyenne, who is now 31 years old, works on a ski hill in the winter and at different national parks in the summer. Overall, she loves snowboarding, hiking, and the outdoors. Mom and dad mission accomplished.
Our boys didn’t need much prodding to join Brenda or me on our hunting and fishing trips. From the moment they left the womb, they were reaching for a fishing rod or gun. As an outfitter, I was very busy in the fall, and when the boys were young, they were constantly begging Brenda to take them hunting. Being the camp cook, she was also very busy. She would get up about 3 am and start cooking breakfast and making sack lunches. Once the other guides and I left camp, she would try to get an hour or two of sleep before the boys woke up and started pestering her. After doing dishes and teaching them schoolwork, they would go hunting. In November, Mule Deer would walk through camp, and before the wolves hit the elk herds so hard, we had a cow season in the wilderness. Brenda would usually harvest a cow elk or Mule Deer buck each year while the boys were in tow. After field dressing the harvested game animals, she would get back to camp and fix dinner for all the guides and hunters. The boys would be asleep, but sometimes I would still be awake when she came to bed after doing all the dinner dishes. She was always sympathetic when I told her how hard my day was. The moral? Moms should never underestimate their ability to get kids involved outdoors. Looking back, man, did I have it easy.
Daughters can be a little tougher to get involved in hunting, but it can be accomplished. I’ve found that all kids love dogs, but horses are the way to a girl’s heart. If you can get your daughter on a horseback hunt, you stand a good chance of winning her over. The best hunt we offer is called a cast and blast. It happens starting on Aug. 30, so the weather is still warm enough to jump in the creek and go swimming in the afternoon. We fish for trout, hunt black bears and grouse, and we use horses and dogs on these hunts. Unlike elk and deer hunting, bear and grouse hunting start later in the day, so kids can sleep in. I’ve never had a young girl on a hunting or fishing trip that didn’t fall in love with her horse. I promise you, Dad, you will make a lasting memory if horses are involved.
If your child would rather hang out with their friends, don’t be afraid to take the friends along with you. There are lots of kids out there who would love to go camping/hunting/fishing. You inviting them may not only help you get your child involved, but it may be what that kid also needs. While trying to be a good parent, try to be a good mentor as well. Some of my fondest memories are a truckload of kids heading for South Dakota to go pheasant hunting.
A major problem today is kids’ attachment to electronic devices. There is no age limit for these devices to be pushed into our children’s hands. Just getting our children unhooked and into the wilderness is a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, even wilderness is coming online, and many places that historically had no cell coverage are now covered with satellites. The next time you take your kids hunting or camping, it is okay if their phone gets misplaced for a few days. I’m sure it will turn up when they get home.
The last words of advice I want to give are something an old friend once told me. He said, “quantity time is quality time”, meaning the more time you spend with your kids, the better off they are. It’s more important to spend more time with your kids doing simple, mundane things than working an extra job so you can spend a few quality days on an expensive vacation. That probably sounds silly coming from an outfitter who charges lots of money for his trips, but it’s true.
One of the things I did was volunteer as a substitute teacher when the kids were little. I made a little extra money and spent time with our boys and their friends. The greatest thing about being the teacher is when the recess bell rings, no one can call you tardy. You’re in charge. You’re the boss of little children. As their teacher, you are a powerful being! The kids think you’re a hero at recess because you are the quarterback throwing the long bomb. I can tell you that, as an adult, getting called to the office is no less humiliating. It’s embarrassing hiding in the janitor’s closet while parents are yelling at the principal because the substitute teacher caused their kids to miss the bus. That’s okay, because to the one kid who did not get hurt and actually caught the ball, he felt like an NFL wide receiver, and in my mind, I was John Elway!