Humans have been hunting since the very beginning. While modern society often means that we generally don’t have to hunt to survive anymore, there are still many reasons to carry on the tradition, such as wildlife control and conservation. As well as it being important to pass hunting skills onto the next generation for these reasons, it also offers a lot of benefits to the children themselves. By teaching children to hunt, we can engage them in a sport and provide them with a survival skill for life, but that’s not all. Here are 9 benefits of teaching children to hunt.
1. Deepen your family bond
Going on a hunting trip with your child or children is a fantastic bonding opportunity as it gives you time alone away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, school and work. You can build lifelong memories, talk, camp under the stars, make food together, enjoy the beauty of the natural world and establish a common interest you can share forever.
2. Continue or start a family tradition
Hunting is often a family tradition which is passed down through generations. If this is the case for you, you will be passing on skills which have been in your family for years. If not, this is your opportunity to start a tradition. You could even get matching Merino wool hunting outfits to give them a sense of identity as part of a family team.
3. Teach them about conservation
While some disagree, hunting is primarily about conservation, i.e. hunting to control wildlife numbers and ensure that there is a balance between giving and taking. Teach your children about the importance of maintaining the natural balance and showing respect for wildlife.
4. Helping them to connect with nature
Getting out in the fresh air has been proven to be beneficial for both physical and mental health. Taking them out into the natural world and teaching them about the immense beauty and power they can find in the simplest aspects of life is an amazing gift.
5. Promoting an active and healthy lifestyle
While you’re out on the hunt you will be covering several miles of often difficult terrain which builds up and maintains a high level of physical fitness. Building these healthy habits early on will help them to maintain a more active life in the long term, and in a way that doesn’t require a gym membership!
6. Learning essential life skills
There are lots of other skills involved in hunting which will help your child in other aspects of their life, such as being patient, enduring hardship, confronting challenges and learning to handle disappointment.
7. Teaching them responsibility
Hunting involves a lot of responsibility, from the ethics of taking a creature’s life and leaving nature as we found it, to respecting other huntsmen and using a deadly weapon safely. The skills they learn while hunting will stand them in good stead throughout their life as they take on more and more responsibility.
8. Improving confidence
When a hunt ends in a kill, it brings an enormous amount of pride and can boost a child’s confidence immensely, especially if they have been trying and waiting for a long time.
9. Promoting gun safety
There’s no getting away from the fact that guns can be dangerous in the wrong hands, so learning how to handle and shoot a gun safely will teach your child to respect guns, not to fear them or panic in the future.
Article Submitted By Community Writer