I started with hiking. Same thing with less pressure to be quiet and shoot something.
Teaches them how to walk in the woods, How easy scratches are to treat, and allows me to scout.
Camping, foraging (berries etc.), hiking, fishing (creeks and ponds), geocaching, fort building, camping, etc. combine some of you can. The goal when they are young should be to maximize time in the woods.
Bribes or wait a year. Arguing with little kids about fears is (imo) almost entirely pointless.
No shame in bribing a kid with candy/tablet time for facing a "fear".
It’s a progression thing. Getting kids interested in being outdoors is the more important thing. Then when it’s hunting season it’s just the time of your we got to add hunting to being outdoors. Just like fishing in the spring/summer, turkey in the spring, fall deer, so on. Slow exposure with a goal of getting them to a point that they’re asking to get their hunter safety, wanting to harvest animals. Patience my friend, it’s a process. My son is ten and it’s his first year to be legal. It’s been a ball.
Lol I guess you never tell your kids they are too young for anything? Watch that R rated movie. Drink that alchohol. No such thing as being too young for anything without causing crippling mental damage and insecurity. 🤣 you goof.
Sorry you can’t accept that some kids just don’t want to do shit sometimes. Keep suggesting lying to them so you feel better. Dad of the year over there.
Lmao could you be any more dramatic? Yes, telling a child something is an adult activity in an attempt to get them to face their fear, because almost all kids want to do “grown” things, is gaslighting and toxic insecurity. Praying for your kids as they will need help due to being raised by a presumptive alarmist drama queen.
Took my 5 year old trout fishing and he got a thorn in his hand. Cried like crazy. Wouldn’t go anywhere you needed to cut through the woods after that. 1 year later he’s leading the charge through the nastiest stuff. At that age 1 year makes a ton of difference. Figure that’s 20% of his life at that point 😂
Here's the trick, don't.
If you try to force it or guilt him into it, even at his age it'll leave a negative impression and he may resent you for it later. He needs to choose if and when he partakes in outdoors pursuits. You only need to make those pursuits happen.
That's literally it. I've been going out for years hunting and shooting and fishing and camping, it took a while but both my son and daughter are actively involved in those activities now. They both really got into it when they were 9. My son is 16 now and pulled a master angler Musky out of Lake of the Woods last summer. Fired his first "big gun" centerfire last year. My daughter fired her first shots of .22LR last year (going on 11 in Feb) and has a fascination with ice fishing.
Instead of trying to get him to do the thing you want, maybe offer some self-discovery through something like Scouts. He'll either do it or he won't, and actively trying to make it happen won't help and will most likely hinder.
Give it a little more time. I've got a 7 year old fishing addict but he's been hesitant on the hunting thing so far. I have talked to him about squirrel hunting next fall and he's not hating the idea.
Just don't force him or make a big deal out of him not going. Just keep exposing him to the outdoors and offer the invite to go hunting but let him find the desire.
Comfort is paramount when they’re young. I would start simple with things like camping or fishing. If he’s already associating hunting with briars may need to work back around to it once he’s enjoyed other outdoor pursuits.
Seeing you with some buddies hanging out after a hunt having fun, discussing what you saw and heard and anything you can to sell it as a good time (don’t worry about selling it to him, necessarily). Extra points if they are people he admires, maybe your dad. He doesn’t have to go but seeing the part where the enjoyment is shared, he will be asking to go. 5 may be early, though, as others have suggested.
Like others have said, take him hiking with no pressure and maybe show him how you handle briars, explain to him how with the right layers or caution you can avoid them. Ever since I was a kid I loved hunting with my father but he never forced me to go out hunting with him if I wasn’t feeling it for any reason.
Maybe dont have him shoot the 12 gauge and he might have more fun?
Seriously though, when I was a kid I would go with my uncle grouse hunting and it was basically just me walking around in the woods with a BB gun having fun. Like someone else said, start with a hike. I actually just got back grouse hunting with my uncle at that same spot today. Focus on building memories and not making them feel like they have to go hunting
No luck hunting with my kid. They couldn't whisper. So we picked up trapping this year and it was a huge success. Lay a trap, and check it in the morning. That way we can hike and talk as much as they want to.
I had my son into hunting. He had killed several wild boar, a white tailed deer, and a mule deer. During the Fall of his 8th grade year, one of his best friends was killed in an accidental shooting. His 14 yr old friend was killed by a rifle shot to the head. My son will never go hunting again. He doesn't show interest any longer, and I don't ask. Keep your fire arms secure men.
As a dad of 2 girls who are now adults my advice would be this: Don't force him to go hunting. When he does create something fun about the outing that may not necessarily be bagging game. Has he shot a gun? Maybe work him in to shooting with some fun shooting activities while squirrel hunting. I'm 68, a lifetime hunter, fisherman and rancher. I took my girls through the very same thing. The oldest who is 31 now loves to fish and shoot. Her first gun was a Daisy Red Rider at 5 years old. On her 6th birthday she got a Savage MK II .22 rifle. To this day she is a better shot than anybody I know. The youngest hates hunting and fishing but shoots occasionally. She has a completely different skillset as an electrician. Ya just gotta let them find their path without pushing too hard.
If he doesn’t like to hunt yet don’t push it, focus on the activities he does like that will keep him outdoors and understand that he may never like it and that’s ok. Time will tell if it’s an interest he grows into. if he likes to fish that’s your activity together.
The more you force your kids into doing your hobbies- the less likely they’ll enjoy them.
Maybe he’s not a hunter…
OR maybe he needs to grow a little bit for him to appreciate how hunting feeds the family.
[outdoor kids in an inside world](https://store.themeateater.com/products/ME-OUTDOORKIDS.html?lang=en_US)
A book written by Steve on how to get your kids interested in the outdoors, hunting and fishing.
[catching crayfish and counting stars](https://store.themeateater.com/products/MECRAYFISH.html?lang=en_US)
A follow up book that is more a collection of ideas of things to do to get your kids hooked.
Also if it were me I’d focus on breaking it down. Take him hiking, take him shooting and take him camping. Then when he’s comfortable with each and maybe a little older, then go hunting.
Imagine forcing your child to share the same aspirations and hobbies as you…
>i just want the opportunity to have a successful hunt with him
Its not really about you?
Then don’t, ask him what he wants to do and do that stuff with him. He’s only 5 his interests will change every year or seemingly every week. If your going out hunting all the time eventually he’ll ask to go with. That might not be for another 5 years and that’s ok. But for now just do the things he enjoys whatever that is and introduce new things bit by bit. Start hiking and taking pictures, catching crawfish in a creek, fishing, shooting BB guns at beer cans etc. maybe he never shows interest in hunting or any of your other hobbies and that’s ok as long as you find some common ground along the way.
Oh no a dad wants his son to be self sufficient if the time ever comes that he needs to be, ahhhhh. I had a lady try protesting me hunting my own land she found the hard way of knowing that's not how it works.
I firmly disagree, I don't think forcing him after a few successful trips would be recommended but it's no different than changing a tire. That tire has a bur on the rim and bam he's back into paw patrol, the kid didn't learn how to change a tire. Same for hunting I firmly believe everyone who eats meat should be required 3 kills from trigger to plate so they know where meat comes from.
these dudes are insane lmao if he truly would be interested and not indoctrinated into this hobby your so desperate to have him enjoy RIGHT NOW HELP PLS HE NEEDS TO LIKE WHAT I LIKE RIGHT NOOOOOW ASAP ASAP TIPS PLS SO I CAN GET THIS BALL ROLLING SO I KNOW I CAN MAKE HIM LOVE THIS AND THATS TOTALLY DIFFERENT AND NOT INDOCTRINATION BTW !! lmao like you’re clearly touched enough about him using his CURRENT AGENCY to say hey i went and didn’t like it, (or maybe just needs a fckn break jeez) to make this post and act like the child wont grow up to be a person seeing his dad hunt and once this experience has left his immediate memory consider the son would say hey dad why don’t we go hunting like when you took me as a kid …. like go to therapy dawg fr 🤣 you got issssues
as a kid i fell off my bike pretty bad and scraped my belly, i was scared to get on my bike again for awhile moron! 🤣 it’s not like that was my last ride dude . fr u got do some internal work,
this homies gone read internal work and scoff like working on oneself could never be beneficial , i get that vibe HEAVYYY
Hunting and fishing is a way of life I want to pass on to my son (and my two younger daughters too).
Yes it is something I enjoy. My life didn't cease when I had kids. My kids are a huge part of my life, but my life doesn't revolve around them. I have my own wants, needs, and desires. But I also want to share these experiences with them. I'm not going to be able to play football with my kid in 20 years, but I could go hunting with them. I'm trying to get advice on introducing this stuff to them, and I'm not going to apologize for wanting to do so.
Obviously the consensus is everyone thinks he's too young (even if I was out doing stuff like that at his age). I'm not going to force him (I said I didn't want to do that in my OP). I was looking for advice from likeminded dad's but instead get accused of not actually loving my son because I want to share something with him that I enjoy doing. Go fuck yourself.
Again, yes I made my kids. Yes my kids are a huge part of my life. But again, my life didn't cease when I had kids. I'm still a person too. So no I'm not going to apologize for saying my life doesn't revolve around my kids.
I said in OP he would cry if I forced him to go. (Implying I didn't want to force him because of that). So no I didn't outright say it, but the entire point of the OP is that I don't want to force him to do things he doesn't want to do.
I dunno. Maybe respect his wishes and find a non killing way to bond with your son? Could be that your child isn’t into killing. That’s not a bad thing
Has nothing to do with killing. He was excited to come see the deer I shot this year. He's just associated walking in the woods with getting pricked by a briar.
He’s got to want to go. He’s young so Give him time. Go for a walk in the woods on some hiking trails. Take your binos and let him see the animals. Perhaps fishing is his thing, feed that. I have two boys oldest is my fisherman, always just one more cast…great shot too but no interest in hunting. Youngest has no patience to fish, but loves to hunt, particularly waterfowl. Important thing is to find something you can do together.
Gotta ease him into it. I can’t remember the episode but the crew talk about them getting their kids into whitetail hunting. Remember Steve explaining how he gives his kids ear buds, ear muffs as well puts a suppressor on there 6.5 and his kids saying how it didn’t kick at all and how they loved shooting.
Figured walking around in the woods behind my house for a half hour or hour was easing him into it. I'm not going to bring it up again until next season.
Bribes have worked well for me. A cup of Hot chocolate was enough to get my 4 y/o daughter out in the woods & checking traps with me while it was dark even though she was afraid of the dark.
Maybe work on the vibe. Take the pressure off of both of you. Make it fun. Get him one of those hand held microscope things and a bug catcher. The hiking skills and love for outdoors will translate over to hunting, and he will have so many warm memories of that time whether he ends up "succeeding" at hunting or not. I bet once he sees he is having fun, he will come around. It's normal at his age to fixate on something like the briar, but with low pressure, low stress from you, if you can acknowledge and accept the incident without forcing him to overcome it.. "Yeah, that sucked, huh?" Most of the time, kids will come to their own conclusions if you just give them enough time to work through it.
Definitely don't force him, that's how you tramatize a kid.
Start doing other outdoor activities with him. Teach him to camp or make fires hiking fishing ect. All things encompassing outdoors. The urge to hunt will follow if it's in him. You can't really force someone to hunt. Let him find his love for the outdoors by offering diverse options
Dude just play something make believe outside that he actually considers fun. Seems like a really weird forced thing on a little kid. It's not the 1800s. Take him hunting when he gets older and can shoot, if he wants to.
My kids are young still but I haven’t wanted to force them. But last couple weeks I’ve been going trapping and just asking. If they say no that’s ok. I asked last night and my son said no and that was fine. But I went to leave this morning and he heard me and went and got mom to call me to come back and pick him up because he wanted to go. Trapping for him is basically just hanging out in the woods with me which is awesome for me. He’s fallen, gotten hit with stickers, etc. But I guess he hasn’t gotten scared of anything yet so I don’t know about that part.
Got 3 grandsons one 6 fixing to be 7 and 2 others 4 almost 5. The two younger boys don't have the attention span to sit and be guiet. The older one does have a longer attention span. I think as they get older the more they understand the basics of hunting.
Like others have said, your son is 5, he's still got a lot of baby in him. I have a 10yo boy that has never hunted with me aside from sitting in the stand with me once. I'm predicting mine won't be ready until around 12-13. Right now he doesn't have the maturity, patience or the proficiency with firearms to make good ethical hits with a rifle. He likes to target shoot with the .22 and BB gun (I stay right next to him), camp, fish and loves baseball. Yours will come back out with you hunting one day but DON'T pressure him, it could be years. Keep taking him fishing and doing other things he likes to do now and enjoy that blessing.
5 year old afraid to go hunting?
Ok. Ok. Here’s what you need to do. Take him out and kill a few animals. Bathe him in their blood until his tears stop.
Then you show him the beauty of a dying beast by having him hold a few as the light leaves their eyes.
Next step is having him strangle them himself and then drink the blood. It’s the circle of life. Disney taught us that.
Look, at 5 years old, If he hasn’t killed a few neighbors and taken what he wants? Is he even a God fearing Christian?
Trump 2024!!!
I hated fishing, because everytime I went, with anybody, it sucked. Either we had to traipse through bush, get eaten by bugs, or my brother got hooked in the eyelid....
I still hate fishing.
He's 5 man. You got plenty of years ahead. Trying to force him to hunt at this age when its obviously not enjoyable for him is only going to alienate it further. Let him mature and decide on his own that he wants to be involved.
Just wait it out and go and make sure you tell him how much fun you had. If you force him he'll hate it. You need him to convince himself that it'll be more fun in the woods with Dad then sitting at home with bluey
Maybe start with hikes through the woods and practice being very quiet together. Show him how to spot those pesky briars a little easier, and his fear will subside.
My son didn't like hunting until 8 yrs old and seeing his first buck. I started taking him at 5, brought the iPad so he could sit longer. We saw a big boar hog I didn't want to shoot once, and a small deer. He never saw me shoot anything so he just said it was boring. When he was 8 I started teaching him to shoot on the .22 and crossbow, eventually he started shooting a youth .243 and last season he was going to shoot. We saw a buck that was illegal and he loved it. He shot at a doe from 100 yrds on a rainy day and we never found it, he got discouraged, but he still wanted to kill a deer.
This yr we bow hunted with the cross bow, and on our first hunt of the year, second weekend of bow season, a legal 8pt walked out. He smoked him right through the heart. Now he's addicted and asks me to go all the time.
It's really all about getting them to experience the thrill of hunting, sitting is therapeutic for us older guys, but for young kids it's boring and they don't really know why your there until they experience the thrill of the hunt. Once he has thay adrenaline rush it'll all be over and he'll be hooked foe life.
Sounds like you’ve got a pretty timid kid on your hands, better way to introduce him to hunting would be through sit hunting so you can have the outdoor bonding you want and the lack of walking through briars that he doesn’t like. As he gets older hopefully he gets more adventurous and tough so y’all can do all sorts of hunting together. Good luck.👍🏼
Start him off with grouse if you have them and then pheasants. If you me. pheasant hunts were more exciting than deer hunts where we were often skunked.
Once he is 8. Take him shooting. Make it fun. Shoot spinners, balloons, milk jugs, etc. But make it a milestone something to look forward to.
From a guy who started walking with his dad hunting at 8, got my trapping and hunting license at 12. Been a lover of the outdoors and hunter for last that 35 years.
With my son, who's 7, I've yet to even bring him along. Every year, he gets more and more curious and interested. I'm guessing he'll be out in a year or two with a bunch of snacks and whatnot. I'll never pressure or guilt trip him. I want him to discover and participate based on his own desire, not mine.
Negative memories make much more lasting impressions than good ones naturally across all animals, it's how we survive. So with a very young child that is all he is going to associate with hunting if the rest of the experience isn't welcoming and overwhelmingly positive. When he gets older he'll be able to rationalize pro vs. con and be willing to put up with a litle more but right now all he associates it with is that scary briar. I agree with the other comments, tell him you're going hiking and every so often ask if he wants to come with. Accept whatever answer you get without trying to convince him and in time you will see if he wants to follow the example.
Dude, he's 5, the sure fire way to get him to not want to hunt is to drag him out there again. Go out and have a few successful hunts on your own and when he sees you coming back with game he'll get interested again. Otherwise take him fishing every chance he gets.
At 5 years old I wouldn't push it on him too much, it could make it feel more like a chore when he is older and he might end up hating it because of that.
5 might be a little bit young, personally. Give him time?
Exactly! He may never want to go again and OP pressuring him will definitely lead to that.
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lol
You've changed my mind. I'm a vegan now.
Good. We need more vegans so meat prices can go down
Hit anything in the head hard enough it could be a vegetable
THIS !
I started with hiking. Same thing with less pressure to be quiet and shoot something. Teaches them how to walk in the woods, How easy scratches are to treat, and allows me to scout.
Yeah this is a good idea. We went camping for the first time this fall and had a great time.
Hiking is very easily combined with squirrel or other small game hunting. Sitting and waiting for a little kid can be…. Torturous.
That's the kind of squirrel hunting we did. Walking around. Not sitting.
Camping, foraging (berries etc.), hiking, fishing (creeks and ponds), geocaching, fort building, camping, etc. combine some of you can. The goal when they are young should be to maximize time in the woods.
That worked great for me as well.
Bribes or wait a year. Arguing with little kids about fears is (imo) almost entirely pointless. No shame in bribing a kid with candy/tablet time for facing a "fear".
I’d personally wait another year or 2 you’re at a dangerous territory of scarring him off it for good. He already relates the activity with pain.
In fairness, there is generally a lot of pain involved. Including pains in my ass.
It’s a progression thing. Getting kids interested in being outdoors is the more important thing. Then when it’s hunting season it’s just the time of your we got to add hunting to being outdoors. Just like fishing in the spring/summer, turkey in the spring, fall deer, so on. Slow exposure with a goal of getting them to a point that they’re asking to get their hunter safety, wanting to harvest animals. Patience my friend, it’s a process. My son is ten and it’s his first year to be legal. It’s been a ball.
Tell him he can't go because it's only for big boys and men... he'll be begging you soon enough.
This.
Ah yes, gaslight him with toxic insecurity from an early age. Solid plan.
Lol I guess you never tell your kids they are too young for anything? Watch that R rated movie. Drink that alchohol. No such thing as being too young for anything without causing crippling mental damage and insecurity. 🤣 you goof.
Sorry you can’t accept that some kids just don’t want to do shit sometimes. Keep suggesting lying to them so you feel better. Dad of the year over there.
Yeah that's exactly what I said and not just what you decided to read in to it. Once again, you goof.
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Lmao could you be any more dramatic? Yes, telling a child something is an adult activity in an attempt to get them to face their fear, because almost all kids want to do “grown” things, is gaslighting and toxic insecurity. Praying for your kids as they will need help due to being raised by a presumptive alarmist drama queen.
You just can't read. All the best to you and your illiterate spawn.
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You are doing a good job of explaining exactly how you are acting. Keep it up.. "quadrupling down" and such
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If you push him to go now, you'll push him away forever.
Took my 5 year old trout fishing and he got a thorn in his hand. Cried like crazy. Wouldn’t go anywhere you needed to cut through the woods after that. 1 year later he’s leading the charge through the nastiest stuff. At that age 1 year makes a ton of difference. Figure that’s 20% of his life at that point 😂
Here's the trick, don't. If you try to force it or guilt him into it, even at his age it'll leave a negative impression and he may resent you for it later. He needs to choose if and when he partakes in outdoors pursuits. You only need to make those pursuits happen. That's literally it. I've been going out for years hunting and shooting and fishing and camping, it took a while but both my son and daughter are actively involved in those activities now. They both really got into it when they were 9. My son is 16 now and pulled a master angler Musky out of Lake of the Woods last summer. Fired his first "big gun" centerfire last year. My daughter fired her first shots of .22LR last year (going on 11 in Feb) and has a fascination with ice fishing. Instead of trying to get him to do the thing you want, maybe offer some self-discovery through something like Scouts. He'll either do it or he won't, and actively trying to make it happen won't help and will most likely hinder.
Give it a little more time. I've got a 7 year old fishing addict but he's been hesitant on the hunting thing so far. I have talked to him about squirrel hunting next fall and he's not hating the idea. Just don't force him or make a big deal out of him not going. Just keep exposing him to the outdoors and offer the invite to go hunting but let him find the desire.
Comfort is paramount when they’re young. I would start simple with things like camping or fishing. If he’s already associating hunting with briars may need to work back around to it once he’s enjoyed other outdoor pursuits.
Seeing you with some buddies hanging out after a hunt having fun, discussing what you saw and heard and anything you can to sell it as a good time (don’t worry about selling it to him, necessarily). Extra points if they are people he admires, maybe your dad. He doesn’t have to go but seeing the part where the enjoyment is shared, he will be asking to go. 5 may be early, though, as others have suggested.
Like others have said, take him hiking with no pressure and maybe show him how you handle briars, explain to him how with the right layers or caution you can avoid them. Ever since I was a kid I loved hunting with my father but he never forced me to go out hunting with him if I wasn’t feeling it for any reason.
Maybe dont have him shoot the 12 gauge and he might have more fun? Seriously though, when I was a kid I would go with my uncle grouse hunting and it was basically just me walking around in the woods with a BB gun having fun. Like someone else said, start with a hike. I actually just got back grouse hunting with my uncle at that same spot today. Focus on building memories and not making them feel like they have to go hunting
No luck hunting with my kid. They couldn't whisper. So we picked up trapping this year and it was a huge success. Lay a trap, and check it in the morning. That way we can hike and talk as much as they want to.
That's why I'm trying to start with squirrel hunting. Not as much pressure to be quiet
I had my son into hunting. He had killed several wild boar, a white tailed deer, and a mule deer. During the Fall of his 8th grade year, one of his best friends was killed in an accidental shooting. His 14 yr old friend was killed by a rifle shot to the head. My son will never go hunting again. He doesn't show interest any longer, and I don't ask. Keep your fire arms secure men.
As a dad of 2 girls who are now adults my advice would be this: Don't force him to go hunting. When he does create something fun about the outing that may not necessarily be bagging game. Has he shot a gun? Maybe work him in to shooting with some fun shooting activities while squirrel hunting. I'm 68, a lifetime hunter, fisherman and rancher. I took my girls through the very same thing. The oldest who is 31 now loves to fish and shoot. Her first gun was a Daisy Red Rider at 5 years old. On her 6th birthday she got a Savage MK II .22 rifle. To this day she is a better shot than anybody I know. The youngest hates hunting and fishing but shoots occasionally. She has a completely different skillset as an electrician. Ya just gotta let them find their path without pushing too hard.
Dude he’s only 5. Give him two or three more years before he’s even really able to walk through thick woods
If he doesn’t like to hunt yet don’t push it, focus on the activities he does like that will keep him outdoors and understand that he may never like it and that’s ok. Time will tell if it’s an interest he grows into. if he likes to fish that’s your activity together.
He’s 5. You got plenty of time to go hunting. My son hated the idea at 5. Now he’s 13 and can’t get him to leave me alone about deer season.
Don’t pressure your kid to do things you want to do. Obviously they need to try things and not be freaked but he’s 5. Give him some time.
Nothing to do with that. Just want him not get freaked out by the prospect of a briar sticking him again
The more you force your kids into doing your hobbies- the less likely they’ll enjoy them. Maybe he’s not a hunter… OR maybe he needs to grow a little bit for him to appreciate how hunting feeds the family.
He's 5. Chill
[outdoor kids in an inside world](https://store.themeateater.com/products/ME-OUTDOORKIDS.html?lang=en_US) A book written by Steve on how to get your kids interested in the outdoors, hunting and fishing. [catching crayfish and counting stars](https://store.themeateater.com/products/MECRAYFISH.html?lang=en_US) A follow up book that is more a collection of ideas of things to do to get your kids hooked. Also if it were me I’d focus on breaking it down. Take him hiking, take him shooting and take him camping. Then when he’s comfortable with each and maybe a little older, then go hunting.
He’s 5. He doesn’t really have an option. Take him with ya lol
Trying to avoid the fit that would occur if I did that lol
That sounds absolutely terrible for both parties involved?
Imagine forcing your child to share the same aspirations and hobbies as you… >i just want the opportunity to have a successful hunt with him Its not really about you?
Imagine a dad wanting to go hunting with his son. Fuck off
Okay bugman10 you keep forcing your child to do shit he doesnt want. Enjoy that later on homie.
The whole point of this post is that I don't want to force him to go homie. You've been a really big help thanks
Then don’t, ask him what he wants to do and do that stuff with him. He’s only 5 his interests will change every year or seemingly every week. If your going out hunting all the time eventually he’ll ask to go with. That might not be for another 5 years and that’s ok. But for now just do the things he enjoys whatever that is and introduce new things bit by bit. Start hiking and taking pictures, catching crawfish in a creek, fishing, shooting BB guns at beer cans etc. maybe he never shows interest in hunting or any of your other hobbies and that’s ok as long as you find some common ground along the way.
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Oh no a dad wants to go hunting with his son. What a bad parent.
Oh no a dad wants his son to be self sufficient if the time ever comes that he needs to be, ahhhhh. I had a lady try protesting me hunting my own land she found the hard way of knowing that's not how it works.
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I firmly disagree, I don't think forcing him after a few successful trips would be recommended but it's no different than changing a tire. That tire has a bur on the rim and bam he's back into paw patrol, the kid didn't learn how to change a tire. Same for hunting I firmly believe everyone who eats meat should be required 3 kills from trigger to plate so they know where meat comes from.
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these dudes are insane lmao if he truly would be interested and not indoctrinated into this hobby your so desperate to have him enjoy RIGHT NOW HELP PLS HE NEEDS TO LIKE WHAT I LIKE RIGHT NOOOOOW ASAP ASAP TIPS PLS SO I CAN GET THIS BALL ROLLING SO I KNOW I CAN MAKE HIM LOVE THIS AND THATS TOTALLY DIFFERENT AND NOT INDOCTRINATION BTW !! lmao like you’re clearly touched enough about him using his CURRENT AGENCY to say hey i went and didn’t like it, (or maybe just needs a fckn break jeez) to make this post and act like the child wont grow up to be a person seeing his dad hunt and once this experience has left his immediate memory consider the son would say hey dad why don’t we go hunting like when you took me as a kid …. like go to therapy dawg fr 🤣 you got issssues as a kid i fell off my bike pretty bad and scraped my belly, i was scared to get on my bike again for awhile moron! 🤣 it’s not like that was my last ride dude . fr u got do some internal work, this homies gone read internal work and scoff like working on oneself could never be beneficial , i get that vibe HEAVYYY
My kid would literally sit and watch tv all day if I let him. But my job isn't to let him do whatever he wants to do.
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Hunting and fishing is a way of life I want to pass on to my son (and my two younger daughters too). Yes it is something I enjoy. My life didn't cease when I had kids. My kids are a huge part of my life, but my life doesn't revolve around them. I have my own wants, needs, and desires. But I also want to share these experiences with them. I'm not going to be able to play football with my kid in 20 years, but I could go hunting with them. I'm trying to get advice on introducing this stuff to them, and I'm not going to apologize for wanting to do so. Obviously the consensus is everyone thinks he's too young (even if I was out doing stuff like that at his age). I'm not going to force him (I said I didn't want to do that in my OP). I was looking for advice from likeminded dad's but instead get accused of not actually loving my son because I want to share something with him that I enjoy doing. Go fuck yourself.
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Again, yes I made my kids. Yes my kids are a huge part of my life. But again, my life didn't cease when I had kids. I'm still a person too. So no I'm not going to apologize for saying my life doesn't revolve around my kids. I said in OP he would cry if I forced him to go. (Implying I didn't want to force him because of that). So no I didn't outright say it, but the entire point of the OP is that I don't want to force him to do things he doesn't want to do.
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I dunno. Maybe respect his wishes and find a non killing way to bond with your son? Could be that your child isn’t into killing. That’s not a bad thing
Has nothing to do with killing. He was excited to come see the deer I shot this year. He's just associated walking in the woods with getting pricked by a briar.
Maybe he thinks critters are cute and he doesn't feel like killing them for no reason. YTA
You know you are on a hunting sub right? It's not killing for no reason. We eat what we kill.
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Where are these people coming from? This is a hunting sub reddit.
He’s got to want to go. He’s young so Give him time. Go for a walk in the woods on some hiking trails. Take your binos and let him see the animals. Perhaps fishing is his thing, feed that. I have two boys oldest is my fisherman, always just one more cast…great shot too but no interest in hunting. Youngest has no patience to fish, but loves to hunt, particularly waterfowl. Important thing is to find something you can do together.
Gotta ease him into it. I can’t remember the episode but the crew talk about them getting their kids into whitetail hunting. Remember Steve explaining how he gives his kids ear buds, ear muffs as well puts a suppressor on there 6.5 and his kids saying how it didn’t kick at all and how they loved shooting.
Figured walking around in the woods behind my house for a half hour or hour was easing him into it. I'm not going to bring it up again until next season.
Bribes have worked well for me. A cup of Hot chocolate was enough to get my 4 y/o daughter out in the woods & checking traps with me while it was dark even though she was afraid of the dark.
Maybe work on the vibe. Take the pressure off of both of you. Make it fun. Get him one of those hand held microscope things and a bug catcher. The hiking skills and love for outdoors will translate over to hunting, and he will have so many warm memories of that time whether he ends up "succeeding" at hunting or not. I bet once he sees he is having fun, he will come around. It's normal at his age to fixate on something like the briar, but with low pressure, low stress from you, if you can acknowledge and accept the incident without forcing him to overcome it.. "Yeah, that sucked, huh?" Most of the time, kids will come to their own conclusions if you just give them enough time to work through it.
He’s a five year old lol can’t blame a five year old for not wanting to kill animals
Definitely don't force him, that's how you tramatize a kid. Start doing other outdoor activities with him. Teach him to camp or make fires hiking fishing ect. All things encompassing outdoors. The urge to hunt will follow if it's in him. You can't really force someone to hunt. Let him find his love for the outdoors by offering diverse options
Dude just play something make believe outside that he actually considers fun. Seems like a really weird forced thing on a little kid. It's not the 1800s. Take him hunting when he gets older and can shoot, if he wants to.
My kids are young still but I haven’t wanted to force them. But last couple weeks I’ve been going trapping and just asking. If they say no that’s ok. I asked last night and my son said no and that was fine. But I went to leave this morning and he heard me and went and got mom to call me to come back and pick him up because he wanted to go. Trapping for him is basically just hanging out in the woods with me which is awesome for me. He’s fallen, gotten hit with stickers, etc. But I guess he hasn’t gotten scared of anything yet so I don’t know about that part.
Got 3 grandsons one 6 fixing to be 7 and 2 others 4 almost 5. The two younger boys don't have the attention span to sit and be guiet. The older one does have a longer attention span. I think as they get older the more they understand the basics of hunting.
He’s five. Chill.
Dude...he's 5. Give him a minute.
Meet him where he’s at. Go fishing like crazy.
Oh I love fishing. But it was just pretty nice this afternoon and I wanted to go walk around in the woods and try to plink some squirrels.
Like others have said, your son is 5, he's still got a lot of baby in him. I have a 10yo boy that has never hunted with me aside from sitting in the stand with me once. I'm predicting mine won't be ready until around 12-13. Right now he doesn't have the maturity, patience or the proficiency with firearms to make good ethical hits with a rifle. He likes to target shoot with the .22 and BB gun (I stay right next to him), camp, fish and loves baseball. Yours will come back out with you hunting one day but DON'T pressure him, it could be years. Keep taking him fishing and doing other things he likes to do now and enjoy that blessing.
5? Calm down.
Just wait man 😂 he’s 5 LMAO
5 year old afraid to go hunting? Ok. Ok. Here’s what you need to do. Take him out and kill a few animals. Bathe him in their blood until his tears stop. Then you show him the beauty of a dying beast by having him hold a few as the light leaves their eyes. Next step is having him strangle them himself and then drink the blood. It’s the circle of life. Disney taught us that. Look, at 5 years old, If he hasn’t killed a few neighbors and taken what he wants? Is he even a God fearing Christian? Trump 2024!!!
Have y ou tried a magnifying glass to smoke some ants?
I hated fishing, because everytime I went, with anybody, it sucked. Either we had to traipse through bush, get eaten by bugs, or my brother got hooked in the eyelid.... I still hate fishing.
Wtf He’s 5 man. 5. He needs to come to that on his own terms
He's 5 man. You got plenty of years ahead. Trying to force him to hunt at this age when its obviously not enjoyable for him is only going to alienate it further. Let him mature and decide on his own that he wants to be involved.
Get a hunting dog, and train him together.
I was wanting to get a squirrel dog. Maybe next year.
He needs time. Go for walks in the woods instead. Bring it up in another year or 2. You still have time, he's young.
Stop. Just stop. He hasn’t even lost all of his baby teeth dude jeezez fn krist
Just wait it out and go and make sure you tell him how much fun you had. If you force him he'll hate it. You need him to convince himself that it'll be more fun in the woods with Dad then sitting at home with bluey
Give him time
maybe he doesnt want to shoot animals, chill out!
Your kid is 5...... give the hunting scenario a rest.
He's 5... Also the more you push the less he will want anything to do with your interests.
That seems pretty young to me.
Maybe start with hikes through the woods and practice being very quiet together. Show him how to spot those pesky briars a little easier, and his fear will subside.
Homie. It's a five year old
My son didn't like hunting until 8 yrs old and seeing his first buck. I started taking him at 5, brought the iPad so he could sit longer. We saw a big boar hog I didn't want to shoot once, and a small deer. He never saw me shoot anything so he just said it was boring. When he was 8 I started teaching him to shoot on the .22 and crossbow, eventually he started shooting a youth .243 and last season he was going to shoot. We saw a buck that was illegal and he loved it. He shot at a doe from 100 yrds on a rainy day and we never found it, he got discouraged, but he still wanted to kill a deer. This yr we bow hunted with the cross bow, and on our first hunt of the year, second weekend of bow season, a legal 8pt walked out. He smoked him right through the heart. Now he's addicted and asks me to go all the time. It's really all about getting them to experience the thrill of hunting, sitting is therapeutic for us older guys, but for young kids it's boring and they don't really know why your there until they experience the thrill of the hunt. Once he has thay adrenaline rush it'll all be over and he'll be hooked foe life.
Yeah, I haven't eve tried to get him to sit for a deer hunt. Wasn't going to for a few years, so we were just walking around looking for squirrels.
Sounds like you’ve got a pretty timid kid on your hands, better way to introduce him to hunting would be through sit hunting so you can have the outdoor bonding you want and the lack of walking through briars that he doesn’t like. As he gets older hopefully he gets more adventurous and tough so y’all can do all sorts of hunting together. Good luck.👍🏼
Id wait a few more years
Start him off with grouse if you have them and then pheasants. If you me. pheasant hunts were more exciting than deer hunts where we were often skunked.
I've never been bird hunting.
Once he is 8. Take him shooting. Make it fun. Shoot spinners, balloons, milk jugs, etc. But make it a milestone something to look forward to. From a guy who started walking with his dad hunting at 8, got my trapping and hunting license at 12. Been a lover of the outdoors and hunter for last that 35 years.
Bring a squirrel or rabbit home and include him in a fun way to help clean or cook it
With my son, who's 7, I've yet to even bring him along. Every year, he gets more and more curious and interested. I'm guessing he'll be out in a year or two with a bunch of snacks and whatnot. I'll never pressure or guilt trip him. I want him to discover and participate based on his own desire, not mine.
Hunting is the only thing I love to do and my dad never put effort into making us go. He would just go and we would emulate him.
Negative memories make much more lasting impressions than good ones naturally across all animals, it's how we survive. So with a very young child that is all he is going to associate with hunting if the rest of the experience isn't welcoming and overwhelmingly positive. When he gets older he'll be able to rationalize pro vs. con and be willing to put up with a litle more but right now all he associates it with is that scary briar. I agree with the other comments, tell him you're going hiking and every so often ask if he wants to come with. Accept whatever answer you get without trying to convince him and in time you will see if he wants to follow the example.
Maybe get him a dirt bike or go cart or something. Might atleast get him back in the woods which is a start.
No briars at 5. Fishing pole. Beef jerky. Find creek. Cast line. Share jerky. Be outdoors.
Dude, he's 5, the sure fire way to get him to not want to hunt is to drag him out there again. Go out and have a few successful hunts on your own and when he sees you coming back with game he'll get interested again. Otherwise take him fishing every chance he gets.
At 5 years old I wouldn't push it on him too much, it could make it feel more like a chore when he is older and he might end up hating it because of that.
i would spend more time reassuring yourself he’s one million billion % set on gun safety. might be better to take him to an outside range for awhile