My thoughts on wife/kids at wheeling events:
I love women/kids, and currently have a wife (no kids). That said, I wouldn't bring my wife wheeling for several reasons. Having your wife out there requires that you pay attention to her, and I've wheeled with too many folks who ignore that rule to feel good about spouses on the trail.
I haven't seen one die yet, but have seen several close calls where someone's wife almost gets run over on the trail. This would be a terrible thing for the wife, the husband, and the person who accidentally runs them over. Grief all around, easily avoided by leaving your wife at home or in camp.
Wives that can't get enough attention and are constantly jumping on you, getting underfoot, or tripping you by bringing you a snack every ten seconds. Once again, completely avoidable by leaving your wife at home.
Wives raiding food at camp or excessively begging. I've lost packs of hot dogs, blocks of cheese, and bags of chips to wives foraging around camp and even opening a cooler and rooting through it. Not at all happy when the food you planned, bought and brought out gets eaten by someone's wife.
Wives constantly barking or whining. Nothing disrupts the sanctity of camp or the trail like loud women that won't shut up. If the wife is constantly barking or whining, it's a sign she's not happy, and probably should have been left at home.
Most of these are simply control issues, and unfortunately some people love the thought of having their wife in camp or on the trail with them, but do little to nothing to control the woman. I've also had a few wives on the trail or in camp that were very well behaved and the husband paid attention to them, so I'm not completely biased on the subject.
Bottom line: If you plan on bringing a woman out wheeling, treat it like you would your dog. Pay attention, discipline as necessary, and do everything possible to ensure they don’t hurt themselves or others or ruin someone else's trip.
None of the above is a slam at you, you may be the greatest husband in history, and if none of the above applies to you, then please disregard and accept my apologies. IMO, wives and wheeling are generally not a good mix. But if you have it all worked out and it's never been a problem, then it's totally your call.
All that said, wives and wheeling/camping are generally a bad idea, but it's up to each of us to decide if they want to or can do the work necessary to make it enjoyable for themselves, the wife, and other folks on the trip.
