Bob, the bear canister thing is pretty simple. The canister is made to take abuse from the bear and not allow it to get at the contents. So far bears do not pick up the canisters and throw them on rocks to open them up. But they will crack if dropped on rocks. You put everything the bear may be attracted to (that includes the stuff in your list)in the canister each evening and stash it some distance from your sleeping quarters AND from where you cooked. All three places should have some distance from each other. Avoiding bear/food problems is more about being clean with your food handling. Keep everything with food on it either hung or in the canister, and inside odor proof bags if you got them. I put my stuff into ziplocks sometimes doubled up depending upon how messy things got. Also, it helps if you can avoid areas with known bear problems. Keep an eye on your kids; they may look like easy prey to a hungry bear. Just make noise and generally keep her between you two and you should be ok.

Chris