Sittin in the deer stand with my 6 y/o son

Good times.

Loved those times !! My daughter hunts on her own now

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I can't wait for my boy to be old enough

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This.

My 6 y/o was ready to get down at 7:30. I kept telling him to give it 15 more minutes till about 9. We didn't see anything.
I hunted at a buddy's place and the stand had electricity and a heater. really good way to start them out I think.

Well no deer but he had a good time and wants to go back. I'm hoping he gets to see some soon so he can catch the fever.

I've got one stand that they can just about dance in and not scare the deer. I don't take them to my other stands. Even my 10yo has to be reminded to be quite every now and then.

CenLa,
Congratulations on doing your part to carry on the hunting tradition w/ the next generation! I took all my kids hunting at some point in time. I think my son will end up carrying on the tradition. Here's a few suggestions:

Morning hunts are usually pits for the kids as they have to get up TOOOO early, get cold and find it very hard staying on stand as long as us dads do. PM hunts are MUCH better all around. I don't usually stay on stand as long on PM hunts as I do AM hunts. If your son still has problems staying on stand w/ a PM hunt, maybe you can break it up; you get to the stand early and hunt it by yourself for a while, then let someone bring him to you just before it gets dark.

Kids' feet ALWAYS GET COLD, even if you're comfortable. Kid's boots are poorly insulated, very expensive and will be too small by the end of the season! Buy a pair of "Boot Blanket" overboots (or something similar) and put them on when he reaches the stand. LINK . The pair I've bought has lasted MANY years.

Let your son bring along some quiet activities, e.g. crayons for coloring, a book to read, video games, etc. He'll be much more inclined to want to continue to hunt w/ you if he has a good time. Us dads have a good time just being in the woods, but it's different for a kid.

Accept that in order for you to take your son on a hunt w/ you, you will have to make some sacrifices. Your hunts will be shorter, your patience will be tried and he may want you to entertain him. If you don't make some sacrifices, you'll spoil his hunt and he may not want to go again for quite sometime. A hunt on which he accompanies you should be looked upon as HIS hunt, not yours.

Don't worry too much if he's not "hunting" the whole time as you'd like him too. After all, deep in his heart he's there not not so much because of deer, but because he gets to spend some time w/ Dad. Make sure he enjoys that time as much as possible!

Started taking my son at 5yrs old....hes 11 now...

A good pointer that I was given was to make sure that my son has his own binocs. We play I SPY with them. i find things off in the distance and get him to look for them.

iPads w/ear buds are great for movies. just have to make sure they dont laugh too loud at funny movies.

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A good pointer that I was given was to make sure that my son has his own binocs. We play I SPY with them. i find things off in the distance and get him to look for them.

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VERY good idea!

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iPads w/ear buds are great for movies. just have to make sure they dont laugh too loud at funny movies.

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Good point. When I first started taking my kids on hunts, they were using the Sony Discman! :-)