Educational, recreational and psychological health

[jonas parker]

OK, you have food storage for six-plus months for you and your family. You have garden seeds and tools. You have oil lamps, oil, matches, a battery-powered radio (or better yet, one that you can crank for power) and plenty of batteries. You have a bug-out vehicle and a place to bug-out to (or a place to “bug-in” to). You have medical supplies and prescription medications aplenty. You may even have a firearm and a stash of appropriate ammunition. You've done everything a good husband/wife/father/mother could do to safeguard your family. You’re all set, right? Wrong!

Now you have to provide for the educational, recreational and psychological health of your family. There’s no electricity, so no television, internet, or video games. So what do you need? Here are a few suggestions to get you thinking.

A Bible or the religious book of your faith.
The Book of Common Prayer, for family prayers (or the equivalent in your faith).
Homeschooling supplies (books, paper, pencils, etc.)
Several decks of playing cards.
Board games (Monopoly, etc.)
Chess and checker set and board.
Paper, coloring books and crayons for the children.
Pens, pencils, and notebooks for the adults.
Bedtime story books to read to children.
The favorite small toy or doll of each child.
Small musical instruments (harmonica, guitar, etc.) and music.

The point is, you will possibly have to provide for the orderly lifestyle, the education, the entertainment and the relaxation of your entire family as well as yourself for a considerable period of time without access to the usual sources of the internet, television, etc.

Now consider setting up a routine for a bug-out (or bug-in) situation. Something along the lines of:
6:00AM Family prayer
6:30AM Breakfast
8:00AM Home-schooling for children
11:00AM Playtime with children
12:00AM Lunch
1:00PM Nap time for children
2:00PM Home-schooling for children
4:00PM Playtime with Children
6:00PM Dinner
7:00PM Family board game
8:00PM Evening prayer and/or Bible reading
8:30PM Read bedtime story
9:00PM Bedtime for children, “adult time” for parents

The smoother the routine, the easier the whole SHTF or TEOTWAWKI scenario will be on you and your family.

[griswald]

Good post jonas,

griswald