Keeping kids hydrated

[Cambridgeskip]

Has it occured to reenactors to make uniforms out of something other than wool and/or do it at a time of year when it'snot 95F?

[Stosh]

FARB's cut corners, authentic reenactors who are true to history don't. They reenact on the day anniversary of the event using equipment of the time. That's portraying history for the public as closest to reality as what is safe. Other than the occasional medical death, or getting shot by some idiot or not following safety standards, it is kinda safe.

 

Stosh

[Recycle]

Sounds like a nice trip. How many days were they cycling, and did they have SAG support or did they carry all their gear on-bike?

 

Maybe I’ve been lucky, but I haven’t noticed a hydration problem among the scouts I’ve counseled for a Cycling MB. We do discuss the need for hydration and nutrition on rides over 10 mi.

 

I insist that they stop about every hour to refuel with water, electrolytes and carbs. If it’s warm, I suggest they take drinks on the fly, or stop at an intermediate point for an additional swig of water.

 

Hydration needs vary a lot depending on temperature, cloud cover, and exertion level. Unless it is a short ride, or particularly cool, I’d aim for 15 to 20 oz of water/ hr., plus carbs and electrolytes.

 

Snacks that contain salt encourage them to drink a good deal of water on the break. Your crisps are great. Pretzel sticks are good, too, because they have complex carbs as well as electrolytes, and they travel well.

 

I suggest bringing fruit that contains a lot of water, like oranges or bananas. That provides another source of water as well as the simple carbs they need. On a day trip, frozen grapes in a plastic bag and insulated in a couple paper bags will stay cold several hours, even in hot weather.

 

A PB&J sandwich makes for a good snack after the 2 hour point. So do some of the better quality energy bars, e.g., Clif Bars.

 

I would not consider your temp range 25-30C ( 76-86F) to be cool, so I would certainly get them in the shade or indoors for the breaks.

 

Recycle

 

 

So as per another thread this years summer camp was a cycling expedition. Now while the temperatures in the uk in summer aren't quite what they are your side of the pond it was still pretty warm. of 25-30 C each day and very humid. For the most part the kids are quite good at looking after themselves in the heat. Hats' date=' t-shirts and sun screen come as standard without any need for adult nagging. A problem we found though was making sure the kids drank enough water. They needed constant nagging and one lad needed an adult standing over him to get enough water in him. That's something I would go normally expect even with cubs! The problem seemed to be that cycling created a cooling breeze so they didn't appreciate how much they were sweating. Beyond letting them keep over (not keen) any good ideas for making sure they keep themselves hydrated same as the hats shirts and sunscreen rather than needing constant nagging?[/quote']

[SSScout]

CSDC.... We had our share of picky eaters. On the first monday, we met one boy who REFUSED to drink, anything. Not plain water, not sweet stuff, nothing... At lunchtime, the Denwalker finally brought him up to Admin and told his story. His folks were called and he went home early. Came back on Wednesday, and all was well, he drank when reminded, and had fun thru out the camp. Why the difference? I never heard.

 

 

[King Ding Dong]

I don't know Stosh drinking chlorinated water and having lots of ice on hand doesn't seem very "authentic" to me. Then again dying by the thousands is not great for membership.

[Rick_in_CA]

I remember a few years ago a scouter was complaining to me about how he has a bunch of scouts in his troop that won't drink plain water, just sugared stuff. Which was a problem on back packing trips.

[Stosh]

I remember a few years ago a scouter was complaining to me about how he has a bunch of scouts in his troop that won't drink plain water' date=' just sugared stuff. Which was a problem on back packing trips.[/quote']

 

If that was the case, then the activity would be cancelled due to safety reasons.

 

Stosh

[Cambridgeskip]

 

If that was the case, then the activity would be cancelled due to safety reasons.

 

Stosh

 

Agreed. If kids can carry it then they are welcome to bring something along to liven up their water but the fact is that is going to be very limited by the time they have packed everything else and there is a limit to how much a growing body should be carrying in a rucksack. They drink water or they don't go.

[EagleScout441]

One trick we use is to "Propose a Toast!". Whenever someone grabs their water bottle they hold it up and yell " I propose a toast to the great weather on this hike!" Better than nagging. May not work as well when cycling however.

 

 

We used toasts at NYLT this past summer, it works really well. And before long, the NYLT patrols were proposing their own toasts fairly frequently.

 

Being on Greenbar staff at summer camp 2014, dehydration was a constant concern. In Greenbar, our classes were longer than any of the other classes (with the exception of COPE). Over the course of 6 weeks, we had one case of heat exhaustion and a few cases of dehydration for which the scouts went to the health lodge.