North Star Independent Homeschoolers™

Raising Children in Interior Alaska

By Mrs. Wayne Hunter

© 2010 - 2012, All Rights Reserved

*Please note that Mrs. Wayne Hunter nor NSIH participate in any affiliate programs and make no money or material gain when any reader clicks on any links provided in this post or on this website.  The links and information are provided solely for the sake of sharing helpful information.*

        Alaska is a marvelous, but in many ways very different, type of state to raise children in. Below are links and information about just some of the things mommas find important to know while raising children in this Arctic wonderland. There are plenty of other things to know and keep in mind about mothering here (in addition to general child raising knowledge), but those below are among the most important.

        This piece was originally written for mommas new to, or planning to move to, Interior Alaska (as you may notice while reading), but is also a good way for those interested to learn more about our state, as well as to give readers a realistic look at life and raising a family here. The links here also provide a lot of information that anyone doing a report on life in Interior Alaska or studying this part of Alaska will find useful.  It is hoped that you enjoy this glimpse into Interior Alaskan mothering!

Spring

Bears Awaken – It is definitely worth the time to become educated about Alaska’s bears and to teach your children about them and bear safety. This really is a very important subject here as even if you live in a city or a subdivision, you could definitely see or even encounter a bear.

Click here for a free downloadable coloring book for you to work through with your children about Alaska bear safety (it’s a 1.05 MB PDF file).

Click here to visit a page titled “Living with Bears” from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game that is full of informative links and information for all Alaskans.

Mosquitoes – Mosquitoes are often so thick that it’s nearly unimaginable (unless you experience them) in the spring and early summer. They get into homes and being outside can be miserable. Little children can become full of bites in no time. It is very worth considering, if in your area mosquitoes are bad or you just can’t handle them in such large numbers, getting a few items to help reduce their numbers or repel them.

For the inside of the home A&W Wholesale Company in Fairbanks has what is called a Time Mist® dispenser and cans of insecticide that go inside of them. These dispensers, if memory serves correctly, are around thirty or forty dollars and the cans of insecticide less than twenty. Our family is pretty organic and such along those lines, but this is one system that we choose to use; it’s just not worth having little ones (or daddy and momma!) fighting-off mosquitoes at night and seeing them suffer with multitudes of mosquito bites. These systems (dispenser + insecticide) are safe for home, daycare, and restaurant use. Click here for the Time Mist® dispenser and here for the insecticide (the insecticide is number 2003).

For the outside of your home there are Mosquito Magnets® and similar devices. Click here for more information. These are highly recommended for our area ofAlaska, too. Mosquito Magnets® and similar devices can be found in hardware and department stores around Fairbanks and North Pole.

Watch out for thawing water. Ponds and lakes and such can thaw pretty quickly yet may still look completely frozen.

Moose – Moose hang around outside all-year long in Interior Alaska. They are so common that it can be said, “If you have a yard, you’ll see a moose!” It is very important that families know how to be as safe as possible around moose: they are unpredictable, big, and can be injurious - even deadly.

Click here to visit a page from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s website titled “Living with Moose”.

Summer

Tularemia – To find out more about this bacterial disease, click here and here.

Moose – See Spring section.

Yellow Jackets – These can be a big problem in Interior Alaska in some summers. It is recommended that people do not use old-fashioned ‘gas and matches’ types of solutions to get rid of yellow jackets, but that people use modern, safer ways to get rid of yellow jackets. If the summer turns out to be a bad one for yellow jackets, there will be plenty of information available for dealing with them from professional sources.

Swimmer’s Itch – Click here for information about “Swimmer’s Itch” that Interior Alaska outdoor swimmers can encounter.

Bears – See Spring section.

Alaska Water Safety – Did you know that drowning is the second leading cause of death of children in Alaska? Many factours make Alaskan water dangerous, including fine silt, low temperatures, and swift currents.

Here are a few links to information on this subject:

Click here for Alaska Water Wise (Boating’ Safety).

Click here for the Alaska“Kids Don’t Float” Educational program information and downloadable curriculum.

Click here to visit a page about crossing Alaskan rivers safely.

Fall

Stay-off of ponds, lakes, etc. ice until they are thoroughly frozen.

Stock-up on food, first aid, and winter survival items should a winter storm hit.

Outdoor Survival Information – Click here for information on a curriculum titled Land Safety and Survial, Book Three: Surviving Outdoor Adventures. Even if your family doesn’t homeschool, studying this course together could literally save one or more of your lives. Surviving at all times of year is covered in this comprehensive curriculum. The information found in it is information that every Alaskan should know.

Purchase a non-electric heater or more in case of emergency, like the electric going-out, and if possible, have a useable woodstove and supply of wood for backup.

Make sure that your family has a working fire escape plan. Click here for the link to the official Sparky the Firedog® website which is great to go through with children. Click here for a printable “Escape Plan Grid” PDF file to use to make a home fire escape plan from Sparky’s site.

Clean your chimney or have it cleaned prior to the winter wood burning season. Click here to read a story about the importance of chimney cleaning and upkeep from the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Winter

Nosebleeds – Nosebleeds, especially among children, are quite common in the winter months in Interior Alaska. Some things that our family has found helpful are to use steam humidifiers in bedrooms, wash items that have the blood from a nosebleed on them in cold water, have the child pinch their nose at the bridge and hold their head down to try to stop the bleeding, and most certainly comfort the child if he or she is not used to having nosebleeds as it can be terrifying to a child (and the child’s daddy and or momma if they don’t realize that it’s normal here).

Sometimes nosebleeds can last so long that a child may need to go to the emergency room. Your child’s healthcare provider here inAlaska is the perfect person to ask about recommendations for nosebleeds as well as when to seek emergency treatment for one.

Moose Safety – Refer to the summer section.

Dry Air – Humidifiers are highly, highly recommended in the dry winter months in Interior Alaska. Care should be taken to ensure enough humidity for pianos and books, too. Our family has been very happy with Vick’s Vaporizing Steamers which are very reasonably priced and available at local department and hardware stores as well as the Eielson AFB BX. Some homes in Interior Alaska have built-in humidity control systems.

Winter Safety – Click here and here for winter safety tips from the State’s Health and Social Services website and USARAK.

Click here for a link from Fort Wainwright about winter in the Interior.

Purchasing Winter Clothing – Cabela’s (click here to visit the site) and our local Prospector Outfitters (click here to visit the site) sell *Alaska-hardy **winter gear online for those needing clothing before they arrive here. If you don’t need *Alaska-hardy gear before arriving, you’ll find everything you need at our local Fred Meyer’s and department stores, including Prospector Outfitters in Fairbanks. *Alaska-hardy means durable and good down to at least forty-below zero degrees. **Winter gear means all of the clothing items one needs for Alaskan winters.

Hypothermia – Click here for information on this real danger of living in Alaska.

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        Even though living here does have its unique aspects, it’s worth it to many, including us. Interior Alaska is a great place to raise children and a good one for small businesses. It is stunningly beautiful. So many people of Interior Alaska are also wonderfully unique, too, and this makes living here a very rich experience regardless of one’s income. It’s a place where a family can still farm and make money at it and even in harsh winters, live-off the land.

        If your family could use a change of pace, a fresh start, or would like to live an adventure, Interior Alaska may well be the place to make it happen! Feel free to e-mail me at pentucky@alaska.net if you’d like more information on living in this amazing, beautiful, adventurous wonderland.

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