I took my seven year old daughter with me trapping this week. A couple of my family members get me crap about it saying she is to young. She has allways been interested in the animals I caught. So I figure I would take her. What do you guys think?

my dad took me out hunting when i was about 6 or 7 i think it helped alot. the sooner the better is my opion. plus what is better for her to sit and watch tv or go out with dad

i bring my 7 year old daughter with me trapping all the time. She loves to go and be with daddy.

dude at 7 she can easily be out there helping you. in my opinoin at least.

I started trapping with my dad when I was 6 or 7! Now I'm 29 and still hooked!

I take my 5 and 8 year olds alot on the weekends they love it, my boy is into trapping way more than hunting

My dad took me out for my first time when i was 5 yrs old, i've been hooked ever since!!! I think it helps them to be interested the younger you start em, at least it worked for me! I think about hunting so much it hinders my sleep sometimes!!

I was taken by my pa when he would ahve to tote me back. I did the same with all five of my younguns. Get them out and about asap. It sure won't hurt them.

If she enjoyed herself you did right. They'll let you know when they're ready or not. My 10 year old daughter took her trappers course 2 Summers ago and has ran her own traps( w/dad's help) the the past 2 season. She caught her 1st coyote this year, happy as a clam!

It should be up to you!!!! Not everyone else...

It is a sad day when a father gets crap for spending time with his child.

I brought this little one a couple of times on a short run, yes she road in the basket the entire time loved it. She has also went with me on the atv to get a buddy's spike horn loved that too.




She is my stepdaughter, love her as much as my own daughter.

Too young for what? A walk in the woods with Dad. An overnight wilderness expedition? Sounds like they don't like trappers. She will let you know if she's not interested, you decide.

I was shot over before I ever heard of school!
I retrieved doves at age 3!
I now trap , hunt , and fish!
And I do not , rob old laddies , shoot people , burn churches , hang out with a gang , or sell drugs!
So I think my dad was right when he took me hunting when I was 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 or any age!
It's never too late to start but it's also never too early to start!
So yeah take her trapping , it's good for body , mind , and soul!

Sounds like you have some at least borderline antis in the family . It is up to you and your daughter . If she wants to go by all means take her along just don't burn her out . I would of told them to go pound sand . Just the way I am .

Drifter

trapper 72, a man like you deserves a lot of respect! Any man who can love someone else's kids like his own is one to look up too! I thank you for doing that!! It means a lot!

Both of my daughters started at 4. This was not only trapping, fishing, hunting, and everything else I do. Simple way of looking at it. The more a kid is exposed - the more they learn. My kids know more now about everything outdoors than I did at almost twice their age

You are the head of your home. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. Tell em to keep their advice to themselves. Some just have a nose problem or to much time on their hands. Family is the worst cause they think they're close enough that they tell ya and for some reason beyond reason you have to listen! RD

I rode in my father's packbasket when I was 3 years old, he was showing my 5 yo brother how to trap muskrats. Now 45 years later I'm still trapping. I'm sure glad he chose to spend time with us in the field.

My kids all love to run traps with dad. I dont use a gun for dispatch and dont allow them to watch that part. Everthing else is 100% clean, healthy ,quality dad and kid time.We only have one pair of kids hip boots so they need to take turns on the water line. Its a special time when I can teach them more than just trapping. One of my girls isnt interested. So...instead we bake a cake or do crafts.

My 7 year old son will set one side of the creek and I set the other. Good times.I purchased him a BB gun for his Christmas gift. I cant wait till he opens it.

Well, here's the response from a "city boy".

It's NEVER too early.

Some of my earliest memories with my father were inspecting what was in the stomachs of fish we caught to see what they had been eating. That was some FUN STUFF!

Seriously, it's never too early.....in fact, I'm afraid that at a certain point it becomes "too late"...or more difficult to teach them.

If she is interested and wants to go you should definately take her. Don't worry about what other people think.

Took mine out at 5 or 6. I remember going squirrel hunting with my grandfather when I couldn't have been more than 4. He died when I was 5.

Did anyone who said she was too young explain what they think age has to do with it? The younger they understand that critters are out there for us to use in a responsible way, being good stewards of the earth, the better off she'll be. Too many people think that a McDonalds hamburger is grown on a tree, or their leather purse was picked off a leather bush, or the castor or skunk essence in their perfume came from a skunk essence plant. They refuse to acknowledge that animals are used on a daily basis by everyone on earth in one way or another.

I here this alot "I cant believe you are taking youre five year old out duck hunting!"Well I tell them all that he has been in the blind since he was two and I cant keep him out of it!He helped gut his first deer at age three and has been hooked on it ever since. We just started a trap line this year and he has taken to it like a fish in water!My eleven year old is the same way not as wild as the younger one but still loves the outdoors with dad just the same.Every kid is different and diferent things strike thier fancy,my oldest loves 4-H cows and we do more of that together in the summer.Long story short its never to young to start a father child relationship just get them away from the X-Box or T.V as much as posible and get them out in the fresh air!Just my 2cents!

Thanks for the compliment Kyle, Now knock it off your Me LOL.

Thanks everyone. The only other that worries me is when I have to dispatch an animal. I dont think I can let her watch that just yet. So far I have just used bodygrips so the jobs done when we get there. I will post pictures the next time we get something.

well you know i think the younger the better because i'm only 14 years old but my dad took me out when i was real young hunting with him and it got me hooked on it and starting young makes the kid learn easier. so i say go for it.

Z that is totally up to your discretion. While Jenna was in the basket with me had to help some muskrats in a stop loss. She is 3 and handled it well, heck I hand them to her and she puts them in the basket. This is me what you do is you.

Started taking my kids with me when they were two and three, they really love going, personally thats all that matters to me. As far as dispatching the animal, they ask a few questions but if you explain it right it will be ok. Sometimes they will surprise you, when we carried the couple of coons up to the truck the landowner ask my son if he got them, he looked up and said,"Yup, but I let dad shoot em cause I'm too little for that gun" I still laugh when I think of that.

when i was four i was out shooting tweety birds with a sling shot so i say no.

This is an issue that entirely depends on the child, and the parent. You are the best judge of what they are ready and willing to do when it comes to hunting/Fishing/trapping. Some kids deal with it well,and some simply are not ready for it at that age. My sons have been trapping with me for 3 years. One is now 9 and the other is 13. And they are HOOKED!!!.

I took mine when they were 6. They thought it was great now there in college and are to busy so take advantage of it while you can.

i take my 3 yr old daughter with me to set and check the traps that are close to home...she carries the bait and lure...i carry the rest...she loves it ...i think if the kids are interested we should take them as young as we can, that way they can form their own opinions before they get hit with the negatives of trapping....

she loves it...

i was a little concerned about dispatching in front of her, but she caught a possum thursday in a set she baited and lured and she was excited..i explained to her that we had to dispatch it in order to be a full blown trapper...and she could either watch or turn her head it was up to her and that either way was ok..she chose to watch and didnt have a problem with it..she carried it back to the house and then when her grandparents came over she showed them what she trapped..now shes tellin everyone that she goes trappin with her mom....

im real proud of her and am glad she enjoys it as much as i do..

i do think kids are all different though and 3 might be too young for some kids to understand..but my daughter has grown up with me hunting and fishing and she loves the outdoors as nuch as anybody..

you know your child and if you feel you didnt do anything wrong then thats all that matters, because as a parent i know you wouldnt put your child in a situation they werent ready for..good Luck to ya'll and i hope you continue to have fun and that your daughter continues to love the outdoors..
you got a good partner in the making..congratulations

My daughter is 2 years old. She goes with me every day, and loves every minute of it. I get to spend time with my daughter, she gets to learn about the outdoors, that's better than cartoons any day of the week.

go for it. im dragging my dad into the realm of hunting and trapping lol

frist time my dad tokk me in the wodos i was 3 and i loved it ever snice then i grow up around and in the woods and its going ot stay that way.

I didnt't trap til my kids were older but they all started to go hunting with me when they were about 4 or 5. My daycare lady gave me heck one day when I picked them up. They had watched Bambi for the first time and when it got to the part where the hunters were chasing bambis mom my kids were yelling, Shoot her! Shoot her! We still laugh about that one to this day.