I recently came across a blog post by a fellow prepper who was speaking about how having a wife and children has affected the way he preps and lives. I thought perhaps I could, as a husband and father, expound upon this a little bit. When (and if), in the course of our life, we get married our lives change. If we are lucky, we will have a spouse that balances out our idiosyncrasies. If we are not, well, then we have a lot of work ahead. Let me put it this way. When I was single, I lived a pretty spartan lifestyle. I did not have a lot of spare income, because I chose to spend it on things I wanted and live poor for a little while. My wife was the same way. When we got married that changed for the both of us. Now we were accountable to another person. Then came the children. Now we are not only accountable to another person, but we have these defenseless human beings relying on us to provide food, shelter, and protection. If it were just two relatively healthy adults, pulling a bug out would be difficult enough. With young children in tow, on foot, it will take a big horde of zombies or Mount Vesuvius erupting nearby to get us moving. So we had to fit our prepping to our needs. Not because we think bugging in is ideal, it is because bugging out would be extremely problematic, to say the least. In a nutshell, you must look at your personal circumstances. You must choose the best path for you and your family. If you are a single guy/gal prepper, a couple with no children at home, or a family with two adults and 3 kids, you will approach prepping in a different way. So take this to heart and think on this. I will give you an example based on my personal prepping. I am a husband to beautiful woman who has given me three wonderful children. If it was just my wife and I, we would probably have a months worth of food - dehydrated or freeze dried. We would have packed a set of bug out bags, and a lower amount of other preps. We would be bugging out. However, because of the children, we have had to readjust our focus. We have bug out bags, and if it gets bad - zombie horde or volcanic eruption for example - we will do our best. Our focus has been on building a secure and adequate source of food & water, basic necessities, medical supplies, and security equipment. Since we are "bugging-in" or sheltering in place, we have had to assess and judge our local area. We are aware of all potential additional water, food, and raw materials. Prepping is a complex and personal mindset. Prepping with children is even more complex and personal. Be prepared mentally as well as physically.
