By Sean Grunwell
When my kids were younger, most of my time with them revolved around my career in the Navy: combat training, deployments, working weekends, and missed milestones. I’ve found that years pass in a blur of service and duty, making the quiet moments at home all the more precious. When I moved to Colorado (odd place for a Surface Warfare Officer in the Navy!), I was able to take a step back and focus on more than just my responsibilities to the Navy. The older my boys got, the more I realized that they needed real guidance about what really mattered in life – and in my case, family and time spent outside was one of the most important things I could teach them. Few things really compare to the opportunity to step into the woods with your sons, where life slows down and I could make up for lost time.
Beyond the Harvest: What We Build in the Field
Hunting with your sons, or daughters, is rarely just about what ends up in the cooler. It is about rebuilding connections and instilling values that last a lifetime.
- Reconnecting Without Distractions: Waking up early to get where you need to be before shooting light is tough for kids. The first few times, they are excited. Then, they start to ask why we have to go so early! However, away from device screens and daily schedules, quiet hours in a blind or hiking through the woods opens the door for real conversations. The shared silence of a forest at dawn builds a bond that words often can’t match.
- Mentorship and Patience: Teaching young hunters requires slow, deliberate instruction… and a fair amount of patience. Watching them learn to read terrain, get comfortable picking up a handful of scat, and understanding animal behavior is incredibly rewarding as a hunter and a father. The patience required by hunting teaches them that reward comes from hard work and discipline, not instant gratification.
- The Stewardship Mindset: True sportsmanship goes hand-in-hand with respect for the environment and the game you are hunting. Teaching your offspring ethical field practices, habitat preservation, and the vital role hunters play in funding wildlife management ensures they grow up as both skilled hunters and dedicated conservationists.
- Shared Memories: Long after the seasons change, the stories remain—the (very!) cold mornings, the close calls, the missteps, and the triumphs. These shared experiences become part of your family’s legacy. I look forward to the days when I can get out and watch my sons hunt with their kids!
The outdoors offers a unique classroom—one defined by self-reliance, respect for nature, and quiet camaraderie. The time spent in the woods with your children isn’t just recreation; it’s an investment in who they will become as men and women and a powerful way to reclaim the moments a life in the Navy prevented previously. I am very proud of my service in the Navy – it too has had a big impact on my children’s value system. I never once thought that a day outside with my boys was time wasted. While we didn’t always fill our freezer when we hunted, we certainly came home with full hearts and heaps of shared memories.
