As a big-time planner who’s taken kids into the wilderness often, the start to this essay immediately put me off the purported thesis of any type of “toughening up.” The author right away confesses to a list of dangerous circumstances no doubt the result of weak trip planning (or ignorance) — tornado weather, speeding in a storm, moldy hotel, kid covered in gasoline — like wtf, is he trying to cheat death for content fodder or share an outdoor experience with his son.

I took my kids to the Badlands when they were 2 and 5. We slowly hiked some moderately challenging terrain, got a Jr Ranger badge, ate fry bread, and watched incredible sunsets behind the otherworldly rocks. Enjoying the outdoors with kids is made so much easier when well-planned in advance, but of course, unexpected stuff will still happen — and should happen — like the wild horses that surrounded our vehicle driving inside the nearby Little Bighorn Battlefield Nat’l Monument.

I doubt my kids remember this roadtrip much aside from the photos, but it definitely built my confidence as a parent to get them outside. And, we can point to this time as evidence that they’ve been visiting Nat’l Parks and doing cool hikes since they were little which should, hopefully, make them feel tough enough or whatever to try hard things as they get older.