All, Like most of yall here I build all of my own FAKs and SKs. I'm still learning. I gave my bro-in-law a kit he never always has on hand and loves. My sister suggested that I make one for my nephew for Christmas. Although knowing my nephew I have to be careful what I give him. I gave him a wooden pocket knife when he was in my wedding as a five year old and he already got caught with it in school. I also think he is a little young and mischeaveous to get fire making tools. He loves the outdoors so I was thinking about making an exploring/survival kit.

I have a blackhawk dropleg pouch I got from one of the breathren here and I thought that would be a good one to start with because he could put it on a belt and wear it on his hips or on a bandoleer.

Ideas I have so far are:

Whistle - Must have for anyone...especially a kid
Couple of keychain leds.
Mini Mag light
Plastic Signal Mirror
Cheap Monocular
Drum Liner

Altoid FAK - Assorted band aids, neosporin.

So far thats all I've got gang. I need some ideas any thoughts. Thanks

How about a compass,and some 550 cord?

I´d change that maglite for something better like Fenix or similar. They are affordable but have more power. One thing my kids love are their headlamps, so maybe you could consider something like that.

Compass is a great idea. You could also get him a map of the area he lives..?

I use a fenix every day for work and I can verify the fact that they are well made and brighter than the competition.

these are great for there siz and will fit in the tin.

http://www.fenixlight.com/viewproduct.asp?id=152

Remember that kids ARE kids, so things will get lost, dropped and broken, etc., so I wouldn't add any expensive items to the kit. You might include a small pocket-sized survival guide, inexpensive head-lamp, quart sized plastic bag for water and possibly a couple of MP-1 tablets, and some flagging tape to mark his trail or add to a stick to make it easier to spot him. A Heat-Sheet/Space blanket would be good as well. The whistle and mirror are great ideas. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

For my daughter I gave her a pocket knife. A fox whistle.a $5 headlamp and a backpack with a magnifying glass and a small nalgene bottle in a backpack. Most of it is still intact

I hate to bring this up because I offended some here a while back regarding hanging things around the neck.

Please teach the child to not hang rope, paracord, etc. around their neck without proper use of safety buckles. The 20# safety buckles are made for a reason.

I don't mention this to offend. I am only interested in the safety aspect just like I would never allow/advocate certain adults and children to possess a fresnel lens.

The monocular and the first-aid stuff are excellent ideas.

Sometimes I feel like I have been fishing non-stop since I was three or four years old. If you think he can handle it, how about some lightweight monofilament, a cork or two, some non-lead sinkers, and some small hooks.

I wonder if you could find a folding saw as small as those on Victorinox and Wenger but without a real knife blade. He could do some fair carving with it with maybe a little less danger than a knife.

Billyjoebobjim, Excellent ideas! And YES, some kids AND adults don't need to have certain things, at least not without supervision.

I'm sorry that you had a bad experience, but PLEASE don't let it sour you on the site. As many as we have here, some toes can't help but get stomped on. Hopefully we can all just chalk it up to not being the same and go on with it.

Please don't stop posting because of something like that happening.

Magnifying lenses are handy for a lot of things with kids. Mostly looking at things to see better detail. Kids need to have something fun in the pack. Many of us have pretty responsible children.

No bad experience -> I like it here. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

He's still here, too. That's great because he has much to offer. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

I hope the boy receiving the kit has some great, memorable, fun (and safe) "adventures".

Duct Tape! I roll some onto itself to make a mini roll. Some people like to wrap it around a card and make a flat roll of sorts. Maybe with the 550 cord you could include some dental floss and what about a fishhook or two?

Really good ideas Seth!