Maggie's Farm

The first time I hiked down into the Grand Canyon a younger co-worker his wife and 3 YO boy hiked with our small group. I was worried we might have to rescue them even though the young father had hiked it before. But luckily I was wrong. The mother had a package of M&M's and whenever they 3 YO balked and wanted to be carried or stop she would have 3-4 M&M's in her hand and point to some landmark off a ways and promise him the M&M's when we got there. He would cheerfully hike on get his reward and remain happy for another mile or so. The following year I took my 4 YO son down and back and tried the same trick and it worked perfectly. Kids can do this stuff easily they just have short attention spans and are easily tired of doing what mom or dad wants. But physically it is a piece of cake for them. Extra effort is required to make sure they are drinking enough water but the physical part isn't even a challenge for them. Many years later we took our two granddaughters 4 & 6 YO on an extended hiking trip (day hikes) and did the same trick. They did the Grand Canyon, Scouts Lookout, the East Rim Trail and a few others without complaint. Kids are easy. Teens are more complicated.