Bug Out Bag List for Babies and Kids

So, you’ve already read our Bug Out Bag List for Baby post. But wait, there’s more to add to the bug out bag list for babies and kids! Here’s a list of a few more essential items for baby’s bug out bag, items to consider for older siblings and some free downloads! 

Family preparedness is so important we included a whole chapter dedicated to it in our book, The Do It Yourself Homestead. For a sample from that chapter, shoot me an email at Tessa@homesteadlady.com. I may even send along a little gift. To simply learn more about the book, click below:

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To Each His Own

Whatever you choose to call it (Grab and Go Bag, Emergency pack, 72 Hour Kit), its important to have a bug out bag for every member of your family, even the children.

Small children can only carry light loads, so make sure you factor that into your plans. Babies can’t carry anything at all, of course, so their pack should attach to yours.

Why give baby her own? Please read our previous article on this topic where we talk about just that.

 

Bug Out Bag List for Babies and Kids

Here’s a continuation of that post expanded to included more possible baby items. I’ve also included suggestions for toddlers and older children. You need to consider carefully how needed each item is and whether or not you want to add them to your own bug out bag or to your child’s.

You can also consider putting auxiliary items into a bucket or extra bag to bring along if needed and carried as long as you’re able. These items you may or  may not consider leaving behind if they become to heavy.

#1 Seasonal Clothing

Like I said in the previous article, we switch out our food and clothes every SIX months, with the change of the seasons. It’s important to do it at least twice a year so that you can change the sizes of your children’s clothing. They grow like weeds, after all. Don’t forget the underwear and socks! A sweater, a fuzzy hat, an extra blanket, a pair of small shoes for the toddlers, a sunhat or a light over shirt may mean the difference between comfortable kids…and their demon counterparts.

With this, as with a lot of things, its really important that you know your baby’s energy profile/”personality type”. Type 2s are going to be way more sensitive to things like temperature, whereas type 1s will be probably be more interested in you using the space for an extra toy or book.

For more information on typing your baby and yourself, read Carol Tuttle’s Its Just My Nature and/or The Child Whisperer.

#2 Other First Aid Items

We listed a few necessary items in our first post. If I’m making a bug out bag for someone else’s baby, unless I know the family really well, I just leave this part up to mamma. She’ll know what she uses for baby and where to get it. For one thing, this part can get pricey, especially if you purchase holistic/herbal preparations. Any prescription medicines will need to be handle by the family, as well.

Babies have their own special quirks when it comes to first aid. For example,  I have NEVER kept a Band-Aid on a baby; they’re like bandage escape artists! If I’m stocking my own baby’s kit, I include a small vial of both lavender and peppermint oil. I also include the 1.5 oz Mom’s Stuff salve to cover scrapes and cuts.

If you read the first article, you know that I also put in some homeopathic teething tablets. I keep most everything else in the way of herbs and oils in my own pack.

For basic first aid items to include in a family pack, click here.

#3 Nursing Pads

It’s nice to have a few reusable breast pads on hand, even if you’re not nursing. If you need to apply a fomentation or some herbs to a wound, you can put the breast pad over the herbs. Likewise you can soak the soft side in the fomentation and lay it over the wound. Then, you can wrap it in just about anything you have.

The back of most reusable breast pads are made with PUL water proof fabric so they can be quite handy to have in your pack or baby’s.

#4 Pacifiers

Even if baby doesn’t currently use them, baby may change her mind in a stressful situation. Or, you might be able to be a blessing to another mamma and baby by sharing.

#5 Light Source

Flashlight, head light or solar flashlight will do. I really love the light, collapsible solar lanterns myself. You will need to see in the night to change diapers and find a new onesie when baby leaks. Please believe me.

#6 Small Picture Album

A small photograph album with pictures, religious/spiritual symbols (in our case, a picture of Christ) can provide pictures that are very familiar for your kids. Even items with texture or dimension that a baby might like to play with will be helpful: a baby spoon, a teething ring, a mirror (not a glass one).

For older children, make room for a pad of paper and a pen so they can write and doodle. A small container of play dough is delightful and they make really small ones that are pack friendly. Other ideas include some stickers or a favorite paperback book. Even a nice hair ribbon or a Lego figure can go a long way toward settling a child down in an emergency situation.

Small items that are familiar and comforting can produce big results.

#7 Personal Information and Documentation

In our kids’ pack, each child has a printed sheet of paper kept safe in a Ziploc bag. Its not fancy (a simple word doc that I printed from my laptop) that lists:

• names
• date of birth
• parent’s and sibling’s information
• cell phone numbers
• family contact that with address and phone numbers
• community contact (we list leaders and friends at church)
• food allergies that the child might have
• any known allergies to medicines
• activities that the child likes
• any skills or special needs the child has

This print out also includes photos of each family member, both for comfort for the child and also for those who may be helping my children in the event that we get separated. With these copies their caregivers will have photographic evidence that I’m my child’s parent.

Free Download of Data Sheet

You can totally make one of your own, but for your convenience we’ve provided one for you to choose from in two different sizes. Here’s the first free form to save and print and then fill out for each child in your family, including baby. This one is a full sized piece of paper.

This one is the exact same document but about 1/3 of the size – like the size of a greeting card.

For more handy preparedness sheets, as well as a lot of useful family preparedness information, check out the book Survival Savvy Family.

Here are a few more good articles on packing bug out bags:

• By Food Storage And Survival
• From Preparedness Mamma
• Here’s another one from Ever Growing Farm on packing an infant kit.

Yippee for children in the world that motivate us to carry on and here’s to keeping them safe!!!

 

Free Sample

Don’t forget to send me an email for a free sample from the preparedness section of our book, The Do It Yourself Homestead. I’m hopeful the book will be helpful to you on a myriad of self-sufficiency topics! Here’s what author Stacy Lynn Harris has to say about the book:

Cover graphic gratefully attributed to this Wikipedia Commons user.