How you can introduce children to the joy of hiking

You have long planned your family vacation in South Tyrol or Tyrol, but now, during the hike, the little ones are rebelling: Thirst! Hunger! I'm tired! When will we finally get there?

When hiking with children, there are a few things to consider. We'll tell you what they are.

Basically, it should not be started too strenuously. Long-distance hiking trails are not suitable for five or six-year-old children. So it's better to start with short walks in the forest that can be expanded over time. Step by step. The time for real mountain hikes will come much later.

However, what you can do is a "light mountain hike" – with the cable car or the chairlift you go up the mountain. Once at the top, choose an easy-to-handle plateau path for a pleasant walk with a great mountain panorama. And just the ride up the mountain – and back down – is already an exciting experience for the children.

Choose varied routes for your family hikes, where there is much to discover. Endlessly long paths with a constantly identical environment quickly test the nerves of adventure-hungry children.

This childlike curiosity, in addition to the slower speed at which a child travels, is also a reason why more time needs to be planned than is often given for a route. The little ones are often distracted – a rustling animal in the bushes, a colorful flower, or fascinating stones on the ground. So you can quickly need twice as much time. But after all, it's not about breaking a speed record. Therefore, you should also think in stages and plan some rest breaks.

Rewards that are promised are often a motivational treat. If your child knows that at the end of a stage there is a swimming lake, a fishing adventure, a playground, a petting zoo, a fairy tale forest, a farm with goats, or a mysterious castle waiting, the anticipation gives them a lot of patience and energy.

Of course, this can also have a big impact on the culinary level – french fries, sausages, or spaghetti – maybe even a picnic – have already convinced many to go all the way. In some places, you can still find a summit book in which the hiker can sign – or you get a stamp or a hiking pin. And who is particularly excited about that? – Exactly!

The chances of being able to motivate your child for a hike also increase if you book your vacation in a special family hotel. Your reluctant hikers can meet other children there and get inspiration and motivation from them.

Now that you have made it and nothing stands in the way of the hike – but be sure to take enough provisions and extra clothing with you. A hungry or freezing child is harder to motivate to keep going than a satisfied one. Grape sugar, for example, is a perfectly suitable energy booster that children also really enjoy.

Also helpful can be the favorite stuffed animal, a ball, or bubbles. All of this quickly makes children forget any possible hardships. And if you pack binoculars, a magnifying glass, and a compass, most children are immediately won over. Watching animals is ultimately more fun than looking at the view into the valley. Taking the lead in orientation – with a plan and compass – makes the hike an adventure in which your child plays a leading role.

If boredom is still looming, then you still have a few aces up your sleeve with the following tips: Singing together, small competitions such as pine cone throwing, collecting stones, building boats from natural materials and letting them swim in the small stream next to the path, identifying birds using a book, or using alternative means of orientation (reading the position of the sun or finding north where the trees are covered in moss).

Finally, there is always the option of packaging the hike into an exciting story – through the dragon rock and into the dwarf forest to the mysterious robber's cave. Let your imagination run wild and the children will gladly walk along – through the forest and meadows, over sticks and stones, keeping an eye out for fantastic creatures.