Posted: 5/4/2007 8:48:44 PM EDT
| Ok, well I'm 17, I have been lurking here for quite awhile. I am very survival minded unfortunately, my parents don't really share the same ideas as I do. both of my parents are anti-gun. I do have a shotgun ( a 20 gauge H&R house I've also tried to talk to them about storing preps. I ask my mom questions every now and then like " What would we do if the power went out for a week or so and we had no water?" Her response is usually something like "well we'd be screwed i suppose" HELLO! Let's do something about it. I haven't really talked to my dad about it because he will probably think I'm crazy.... he thinks it is stupid that i carry a pocket knife with me....hat |
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What got you interested in prepping? Here...if the government is suggesting some basic, common sense preps then it's probably way too little and way overdue. Ready.gov Also, camping is a very normal, innocent way to have some preps and practice using them. A few camping basics go a long way for being ready. If you do some hiking and camping much of the the supplies and gear you use will work as preps. |
| I actually started prepping a few years before you (many years ago). It is difficult since you don't have much financial freedom. However, you can begin putting together items for a "rainy day" as long as you try not to draw much attention to these activities(i.e ask for camping gear as a birthday present if you don't already have such equipment). Since you'll be 18 within roughly a year, you should begin to have more options regarding how, what and where you put your preparations. |
| Get a job and start saving money. When you're 18 go buy a Kel-Tec Su-16 and hide it in your room. It folds nicely, and can be hidden. Hell, keep a lock on it so that if your parents find it they won't freak out too much. Then start buying prep supplies. When you move out leave a little of your supplies at home for them. |
| You are not telling enough detail about yourself and your existing environs for anybody to give real 'advice'..... (however) When I was 17, I was already, or was becoming, an extremist outdoors freak. Nobody ever questions this much, especially in an outdoors oriented place. Learn the names and details of every native plant and animal in your area, and where to find them. NEVER use the words, survival, collapse, SHTF, weapons, preps or Teotwawki in conversation. Bonus: folks who never would let a kid who talks 'tin-foil attack' take their daughter in the woods overnight, see much less objection with viewing " the majesty of the American Eagle at dawns 1st light", or " studying the stars". Remember it's ALL 'outdoor gear', even if the ammo and food seems a little out of balance. Finally, find ways of making your own money, you will need much less "permission" to spend your own funds. |
First.....welcome to the SF.  Second,....forget about trying to "convert" your parents as it just won't work and will be a source of tension in your household. If your parents "don't want guns in the house" and your Dad thinks carrying a pocketknife is foolish, they'll think you've completely lost your mind if you start talking about "preparedness." Your gonna have to go your own way on this and I think the other guys hit the nail on the head: start accumulating gear and goods, but "spin" everything as being camping/hiking equipment. That'll go a long way toward keeping peace in your house and it'll let you do what you want with respect to "prepping." 
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Allow me to +1 my friend here. Get into fishing, hunting, and especially camping. The gear you collect for these activities become priceless in all kinds of crisis. First real long power outage where your parents don't run to the Holiday Inn, the lightbulb will start coming on. Tj |
| Good advice here, use it to come up with a plan and follow it. You've only got another year until you're off to school, try to pick one that's in a good location should SHTF, ie. not overpopulated. If you are able to do this, it will most likely be in an area where hunting, fishing, and camping are commonplace, skip the frat parties and spend what little extra money you have on your preps. Better yet, if you're really serious about this, want to learn survival quickly, and want to have a very very wide selection of schools to get into, try to get accepted into ROTC. Your school will be taken care of, you will receive excellent survival, weapons, medical, and planning skills, and of course you'd be doing something great. Your parents would most likely give alot more weight to what you had to say when you say it to them with bars on your shoulders. Even if you can't get in to ROTC, the military offers alot of the things that you're looking for that your parents can't or won't provide. |
Yea, I'm sort of in the same situation, but it's not nearly as bad. I'm 16 and my parents are split, my dad is survival minded, he has guns, food, and some preps for our water though on our land we have a spring that comes up from underground and the water is drinkable. My mom that I live with through the week isn't anti-gun and she does think that prepping is a good idea, but she just isn't motivated. Usually if I order something I tell her that it's for hunting or camping with my dad. The biggest problem I have is getting food for my BOB. I have some, but not near enough. Most of it is just pouched tuna, ramen, and some home made vac sealed deer jerky  . You don't have long until you turn 18, so once then you could get an AR, or AK whatever and if you do I would get a lockable gun case so that they can't find it while your not home and freak. Good luck and welcome to ARFCOM.
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I had the same itch when I was only 18, 19 years later I still follow that itch. Some people take to the preparedness idea naturally, some are woken up, and the rest are still happy being sheep... The natural itch to prepare is a good thing, follow it. c0 98% of the population is asleep. The other 2% are staring around in complete amazement, abject terror, or both. falloutshelter653.org |
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Ahh my youth relived.... Despite mom being a farmer's daughter and Dad coming from a military family and working on nukes, both were/are very anti-anything-but hunting-for-food, no guns in the house, no you can't have a swiss army knife etc. Everything I did was viewed as a liability to my folks in my teenage years, something that was reinforced by my perforance in school-I was the prototypical bored student that didn't care to try anymore. Give it a few years and you can write your own ticket... I'm in my mid 30's now and have gone and done just about everything I ever wanted to in life with regards to toys and goals etc. It won't be long before you are living in your own castle and doing the things you want to do. I remember watching the clock tick the seconds away as if it was a damned sun dial... Now I look at the clock and marvel at how fast the seconds tick by. You fit a lot more into a single second as a teenager than you ever will as an adult-enjoy that time for it goes for good and is gone for good. Those 'hard' times seem like the good 'ol days now!  Probably not the reply you were looking for, but the first few sentences struck a chord. Dave |
...... So what I'm asking is how can i open my parents eyes? It's so frustrating to think about prepping and knowing that we would be screwed. Can you guys provide me with some links to good articles about prepping? ANY suggestions or help you can offer would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance! Please excuse my typos it's late and i'm tired.|
I'm a full-time college student and only have time for a job in the summer, so my own means are pretty limited. Still, by saving up my money, I managed to buy a WASR-10 by the time I was 20, and this summer I'm stocking up on food and ammo. The guys at Arfcom, especially the SF, are really awesome guys. They've done a lot to help me out with my preps, and I simply cannot thank them enough. Stick around and listen; most of these guys have things to say, and most of it's worth listening to. |
| First of all I just want to say thanks again. The words of encouragement really help a lot. It's good to know I'm not the only one that is or has been in this situation. Survival and preparedness is something that has just come natural to me and this board has really helped to keep it alive. Thanks for the responses so far, I hope to continue to learn a lot more here. Any more suggestions or words of encouragement are welcome! |
another +1 it's all in your approach. wanting to "learn more about nature" is priceless in both parent-approval-factor and end-results-knowledge. also, don't discount the "simple" things you have - you don't need uber-tactical food - pouch tuna and ramen will taste awfully good if the lights go out.  you're miles ahead of your peers, and you've found a good forum - the guys here are incredibly experienced and helpful. also find your hometown forum and maybe go on a camping trip with those folks. if you're close to the border of another state, you could go on their campouts, too... practice, practice, practice... something you can do without causing too much of a stir - always have some sort of something in your backpack - compass/flashlight/fire-making stuff (magnesium firestarter would probably go over best at school)/food (Cliff bars or whatever you don't mind eating for 48 hours)/and something you could unfold and use for shelter - even just an emergency poncho... and if you have a car, you can always keep a case of bottled water in the trunk... welcome to the Survival Forum.
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If your parentsdon't want a gun in the house sneaking one in and hiding it is not going to change their minds. And if they ever found out that you had done so, how are they going to feel about you? Encouraging an underage person to purchase a firearm in defiance of his parent's rules can be seen as advocating an illegal act. |
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Welcome BlitzRugby9 +1 to what TJ and others have said. No matter how much some current events may bother you, if you show discression you will have much less trouble. How would your mom and dad act if there were a massive chemical spill that caused ya'll to need to evacuate? Now in a time like that you can help. How grateful would mom be if you helped get a little sister in the car? How would they act if the car needed gas and you were ready to buy a tank? If you keep a go bag with something to keep you and yours for 12 hours (think granola bars) and cash for a tank of gas. You can realy help in an emergency. This can be so small that it will fit in your wallet and a pocket of a book bag. The key here is to stay quiet. In the example I've given your help will get listened to. If you just talk about bird flu you'll be blown off. |
BlitzRugby9: Welcome! As our mod TJ says, "prepare for the event that is most likely to happen." In Ohio, I would think that would mean cold weather and power outage because of snow & ice. I would get shelf-stable food (ie food requiring no refirgeration) from the grocery store when it is on sale. Go shopping with your mom, and ask her to buy stuff, and squirrel one item away in your room each time. I would also write on the top of the container with a felt tip pen the date that you bought something, that way you can easily identify the oldest and use that first when eat it. If you need a stove to warm somtheing, build a coke can alcohol stove for very minimal cost(actually free), which seems to work very well. No need to get the latest and greatest, low drag, high speed equipment. ETA: If you need equipment, think used and surplus. I like this type because "new" will stand out pretty obviously. You want to blend in with the crowd and not bring any attention to your self. |
Reading Is Fundimental.... |
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Since there's not much you can do about it now, put the gun lust on the back burner for a little while. Begin to cultivate useful, non-gun-related hobbies. Ham radio, camping, hiking. Take some first aid training. Learn to cook. Start a small garden. I'd highly recommend that you get your parents involved somehow. They will be much more apt to spend money if they are getting something out of it too. If they already have interests along these lines, encourage them. Few things are more gratifying to a parent than to have their kids take an interest in what they're doing. You'll be able to buy guns soon enough. Might as well learn something new before you contract a terminal case of hoplophilia. |
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Taking Practical Steps: 1. The Red Cross and the American Heart and Lung Association both offer from time-to-time first aid/CPR courses for little money and sometimes even for free. Contact your local community center, hospital, or fire station. 2. Military Field Manuals are a great source of information and most are posted online as PDFs. 3. Your parents should have some basic things like some bottled water, canned food, a battery powered radio, candles, a first aid kit....just basic stuff for basic situations like a power outage or a small natural disaster. They might just have this stuff already laying around, but may need to organize it better so that they can get to it in a time of crisis. |
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+1 on your new 'love' for camping and hiking. The #1 prep a 17yo can do is get a good education. I assume you are in high school. Graduate this year or next? You have three good choices........Go to college, learn a skilled trade such as certified mechanic, plumber, electrician etc or join the .mil till you know what you want to do with your life. The bad choice is trying to make it the rest of your life on a HS diploma and a low, or even medium skilled job. A few other things #2 is stay out of trouble...no DUIs, no being the babby's daddy, no police record. #3 Don't get married until you can afford it. #4 Your parents may be wrong about your ideas, but they are still your parents and you should honor them. It is the right thing to do. Not easy, but right and you will be a much better person for it. The young folks (I am a early 40s yo fart)I see in trouble have deviated from one or more of the above tips. |
First thing to start your preps is a GOOD PACK, starting CHEAP, and starting LIGHT... For my BoB/GHB I use a full-size internal frame camping pack because my preps somewhat demand it based upon my wintery climate here in Minnesota. For your purposes, you'll probably be using this as your daily backpack, too, right? I'd suggest maybe a Medium USGI Alice pack with or without the frame (If you plan on carrying any larger capacity, get the frame & a comfortable, padded waist belt). Also, there are some people on here that will show you tricks on rigging the straps on your ALICE pack and shoulder harness so that they never loosen up, and increase functionality. The ALICE system has been around since forever, and was/is pretty effective (it's how I started my preps). Once you've got a decent pack, you can start filling it with 'necessities'... . ...You're into fishing, so I suggest a 2-pc fishing rod (I use ultralight fishing gear, make packing it in/out easier on hikes). You probably have a sizable 'tackle box' but you should make a smaller 'pocket kit' and put in essential fishing lures/tackle (weights, hooks, snap swivels, lures/spinners). You can keep your smaller fishing kit in a side pocket in your pack, the rod/reel can be attached to the side of your pack's frame... . ...Get a decent sleeping bag (rated to the temp needs you're likely to encounter), and a good compression sack. Strap the sleeping bag in compression sack under your pack to the lower part of the frame; sleeping pad strapped to top of pack is optional... . ...Some contractor-grade plastic garbage bags are INCREDIBLY USEFUL, CHEAP, LIGHTWEIGHT, and can be used for many things. I wrap my sleeping bag in one, and put it in my compression sack for waterproofing (I also keep about 4-5 of them in the pack & some duct tape). They can be used for various shelter purposes as well... . ...Get a mylar 'space blanket', a plastic 'tube tent', and a decent lightweight tent (for intended seasons of use)... . ...Get a decent fire starter (magnesium & flint/steel ones are my favorite), and practice becoming proficient in its use (by starting fires of course) maybe lighting a 'chimnia' or backyard fire pit or something of the sort... . ...A decent knife is worth its weight in gold... . ...Then think food / water preps. Some kind of filtration or purification means (I started with just a USGI Filtration canteen & purification tablets). I purified water, filtered it, and then drank it. For food I started with Beef Jerky, Ramen, Canned Food, MREs... . ...Clothing. Buy decent clothes for being outdoors for prolonged periods in your area/climate... Also buy a bunch of 550 / ParaCord with the internal strands! You'll LOVE its hundreds of uses! Search online for a listing of uses. There are many areas to start improving in your preps, and it only takes a little money here & there over time. I've been working on my preps since college, and haven't finished yet (but I'm far ahead many others). There is preparation of FOOD/EQUIPMENT/TRAINING, PREPARATION OF MINDSET, and PREPARATION EXPERIENCE. Most people on this forum discuss issues pertaining to the first two parts, but the only way to get the EXPERIENCE is to go out and TEST your Equipment, Try Cooking/Eating your Food, Finding/Preparing Water, setting up your tent/camping area, fishing/shooting/cleaning food, etc. After my last camping trip I learned it's just easier for me to keep a smaller 'stuff sack' to hold my food, camping pots/pans, and stuff. I can wash them, throw them in the stuff sack, and hoist it up high in a tree with some paracord away from camp to keep the bears / critters away. Since I live in Minnesota (Land of 10,000 Lakes) I rely a bit on FISHING as a potential food source too. As such, I can keep a ZipLock Baggie in my food Stuffsack, and fill the baggie with my frying batter/salt/pepper mix. That way I can clean a fish, throw the filets in the large ziplock baggie, shake it up, and throw the filets on the fire... A baggie like this can last about 3-days of camping in the north woods with me eating fish for 2-3 meals a day! Makes for good eats on a long 3-4 day weekend camping trip! Learn to use a Map & QUALITY Compass. It will serve you INFINITELY better than a GPS can... I just never understood extreme reliance upon a battery operated device.  Keep surfing here and you're bound to find TONS of useful information. The important part: MAKE YOUR PREPARATIONS so they're a *FUN* part of your life as well instead of just a tiring burden. Do this by USING your preps and practicing with them on camping trips, outings, road trips (good way to test your 'vehicle roadside emergency kits' is to use them when you blow out a tire, or get stuck in a ditch in a blizzard), etc. Best of luck. |
