It starts with just one step

I like to take my boys hiking.   However, before you are all impressed, our short hike today averaged a pace — according to my watch  — of 25 minutes per kilometre.

We stopped for water and snacks.  We stopped everytime the dog pee’d.  We stopped to look at bugs and flowers (bog cotton!)  and footprints.  And why wouldn’t you?  The value of getting out doors and getting active is beyond what a watch can measure.

If this sounds overwhelming, here are some beginner tips:

• Pick a looped walk that’s suitable for your family and their abilities.  If you have infants, choosing one that is accessible for a buggy might be a good choice.  If you are just getting back into physical activity after illness, injury, or a time in your life where you haven’t been active, pick something easy to start:   https://www.sportireland.ie/ can help

• This is obvious, but check the weather before you go.  Dress for the weather, and if you are going to be going to a different terrain (up a hill or near the coast) consider that it might be cooler or windier there than at home and bring the extra layers. (Checking the Met Eireann app is sometimes like asking a Magic 8 ball, but as good an answer as you are going to get.)  The app can also advice you on sun up/sun down times, crucial for winter walks.

• Bring water. Bring snacks. Bring lunch if it’s a long day out.  Try to avoid extra sugar that you don’t need. Remember to bring all rubbish back with you.

• Comfortable sturdy shoes.   Runners are fine.  You probably don’t need anything fancy.

• Be sun safe, even if it’s overcast. The Met Eireann app will also advise you of the UV index for the day.

• Hiiker App is free and has easy-to-use maps of Irish walking trails.

• How  we do it?  (remember our fitness may not be yours and that’s okay!  My husband and I are avid hikers and have climbed hills everywhere from Mexico to Japan, so introducing our children to this was always going to happen!).  I carried my children on my back using a Lillé baby for years.  My husband and I alternated who carried the child and who carried the day pack with lunch/etc.  As soon as they could toddle, we let them walk when and where they could and would, and then carried them the rest of the way.   Age 4 is awkward:  too big to carry, too small to really walk.  We gave up anything but walks around a park at that age.  From around age 5, it’s back on:  I encourage my children to start carrying their own small day pack with a few things in there (water bottle or jacket). We learn to pack for the day together and introduce slightly longer or more difficult hikes slowly.  What do we take? Plenty of water and snacks/lunch are a must.  Hats and layers for a change in weather/temperature.  Compostable rubbish bags for collecting our waste as we go such as dog waste or fruit peels/cores. Walking sticks. Phone fully charged.  Dog lead – always – I usually bring a carabiner to attach her 2m lead to either a waist band or day pack to allow my hands free for walking sticks if needed but keep her controlled near livestock. Basic first aid kit.  In the car, we leave a bag in the boot with extra snacks, dry clothes/shoes, and more water in the cooler for the return journey.  How high can a child go?  It depends on their interest and fitness and how much they enjoy it.  Our oldest seems to have all of it, and has happily done Slieve Foye, An Errigal, and Spinc Loop by age 8. Your child is, however, not my child and may not have the same sense of finding it an adventure.