Firefighters, Paramedics, High-Angle Rescue Technicians, Rope Rescue Professionals, Search-and-Rescue Personnel, and Combat Infantry Veterans Encouraged to Apply
A St. Louis-area family is seeking an exceptional Adventure Mentor to help facilitate meaningful father-son time with an energetic, highly curious six-year-old boy.
This is not a traditional babysitting position.
This child is a hands-on, experiential learner. He is not interested in spending four hours sitting indoors, reading long books, or participating only in passive activities. He learns best by seeing, touching, building, climbing, exploring, and understanding how things work in the real world.
Although he is only six, he has already demonstrated an unusual ability to listen, follow directions, understand technical concepts, and function appropriately around trained professionals and specialized equipment.
At four years old, he successfully climbed approximately 120 feet into a tree using a professionally installed and supervised top-rope system. He also had the opportunity to go approximately 120 feet into the air on an operating ladder truck and, under direct firefighter supervision, deploy and operate a fire monitor.
The goal is to continue introducing him to extraordinary skills and experiences in a safe, structured, age-appropriate way.
He is the kind of child who wants to learn how to:
- Operate the basic controls of a bulldozer or excavator on private property or in a controlled training environment, with a qualified adult operator maintaining direct control
- Understand and operate appropriate controls on a lift, ladder truck, or similar equipment under direct professional supervision
- Climb trees and outdoor structures using professionally installed and supervised top-rope systems
- Learn how high-angle, rope, technical, wilderness, and water-rescue systems work
- Explore cliffs, hills, creeks, woods, farms, and other challenging outdoor environments
- Understand ropes, knots, harnesses, anchors, pulleys, mechanical-advantage systems, and rescue equipment
- Learn how firefighters put apparatus and equipment into service
- Safely operate fire hoses and monitors under the direction of qualified firefighters
- Learn how river, swift-water, wilderness, and technical-rescue teams perform their work
- Understand how the Jaws of Life and other hydraulic rescue tools are used during controlled use cases under expert supervision
- Handle selected training controls or rescue tools and directly supervised by qualified professionals
- Apply a training tourniquet correctly to a manikin or simulation limb
- Learn basic bleeding-control principles using training materials, simulated injuries, and age-appropriate instruction
- Learn proper radio communication, basic scene management, how to relay clear and useful information during an emergency, and how to follow the directions of first responders and help direct additional response companies
- Learn basic first-aid, rescue, survival, navigation, and outdoor-safety concepts
- Explore fire engines, rescue vehicles, construction machinery, farms, workshops, and specialized equipment
- Learn how excavators, bulldozers, engines, electronics, mechanical systems, tools, and machines operate
- Build projects, solve practical problems, and participate in age-appropriate rescue, engineering, and STEM exercises
- Experience extraordinary adventures that build confidence, curiosity, courage, judgment, and practical knowledge
Because the child is very young, the right mentor must be able to break serious concepts into simple, understandable steps. The objective is not to treat him like an adult equipment operator or rescuer. It is to introduce him to real skills through demonstrations, simulations, controlled environments, and carefully supervised hands-on participation.
Any climbing, rescue, medical, water, vehicle, tool, or equipment-related experience must be conducted in a controlled setting with appropriate protective equipment and direct supervision from qualified professionals. No activity should exceed the mentor’s qualifications, the host organization’s rules, legal requirements, or age-appropriate safety limits.
Adventure does not mean recklessness. It means careful planning, sound risk management, proper equipment, direct supervision, and giving a capable young child opportunities to learn extraordinary things safely.
Who We Are Seeking
We are specifically seeking someone whose professional and personal background reflects leadership, technical competence, mentoring ability, calm decision-making, excellent judgment, and a genuine love of adventure.
Ideal backgrounds include:
- Firefighter
- Paramedic or EMT
- High-angle rescue technician
- Rope or technical rescue professional
- Search-and-rescue team member
- Swift-water or wilderness rescue professional
- Combat infantry veteran
- Military veteran with field leadership, engineering, medical, or rescue experience
- Heavy-equipment operator with exceptional safety practices
- Outdoor educator or wilderness guide
- Scout leader
- Camp leader, youth mentor, teacher, or coach
- Parent with a child approximately the same age or slightly older
Having a child near his age—ideally a little older—would be a significant advantage. The right mentor may occasionally be able to include their own child in suitable activities, giving the children an opportunity to explore, learn, and build a friendship together.
Potential Experiences
Activities may include:
- Professionally supervised climbing and rope activities
- Hiking, fishing, nature exploration, and creek or woodland adventures
- Outdoor-skills, navigation, and survival instruction
- Training in knots, ropes, harnesses, anchors, and mechanical advantage
- Simulated first-aid, tourniquet, and bleeding-control instruction
- Fire-service and emergency-response experiences
- Controlled technical-rescue demonstrations
- Safe introductions to heavy equipment with qualified operators
- Hands-on electronics, mechanical, construction, and STEM projects
- Confidence-building challenges and practical problem-solving
- Visits with firefighters, paramedics, rescue teams, engineers, tradespeople, farmers, and equipment operators
- Exceptional, highly memorable experiences that most children would rarely have an opportunity to enjoy
The objective is not to visit a playground and passively watch the child play. The objective is to create genuine adventures: putting on appropriate safety equipment, learning real skills, meeting extraordinary professionals, understanding specialized equipment, solving problems, and experiencing the world firsthand.
Schedule
- Ideally Saturdays or Sundays beginning around 1:00 p.m.
- Approximately four hours per visit
- Weekday opportunities may also be available from approximately 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
- Scheduling can be arranged around firefighter, EMS, military, or first-responder shift schedules
- Child pickup and drop-off would be coordinated near University City
- Compensation will be discussed based on qualifications, experience, and availability
Responsibilities
The Adventure Mentor will be expected to:
- Put the child’s physical and emotional safety first
- Maintain a calm, neutral, mature, and professional presence
- Help facilitate positive and meaningful father-son time
- Identify, plan, and coordinate unusual but age-appropriate experiences
- Teach serious concepts in simple, engaging, age-appropriate ways
- Exercise excellent judgment around heights, water, vehicles, tools, rescue equipment, animals, and machinery
- Recognize when an activity requires a more highly qualified professional or controlled training facility
- Be dependable, consistent, trustworthy, and communicative
- Remain neutral regarding disagreements between the parents
How to Apply
Please send a simple note explaining:
- Who you are
- Your relevant professional, military, rescue, medical, technical, or outdoor background
- Your experience working with or mentoring children
- Why this opportunity interests you
- The kinds of safe, high-energy adventures you would enjoy helping create
- Your requested hourly rate or compensation for a four-hour session
Qualified applicants will promptly be invited to a video call with the child’s father. The child’s mother will then have an opportunity to review the candidate and the conversation. Once a candidate is mutually approved, scheduling and coordination can begin promptly.
This is a rare opportunity to make a genuine difference in a young child’s life by helping him experience safe, extraordinary adventures while building a meaingful and consistent relationship with his father.
Pay: $20.00 - $60.00 per hour
Willingness to travel:
Work Location: In person
