Collaborative post
Camping allows you to unwind. It promotes a healthy lifestyle and family environment, increases awareness and appreciation for nature, and allows you to experience new adventures, all of which are great for the kids.
With such strong points in favour of camping, it is hard to overlook when looking for a family holiday.
Unlike camping with friends or by yourself, adequate preparation determines whether your experience camping with kids turns into a fairy-tale adventure or a nightmare. On a trip with kids, camping or otherwise, always maintain and adopt the mentality that “Anything that could go wrong will go wrong.”
Below is some advice for preparing for camping with children, mostly from personal experience.
Get your kids involved
The whole essence of the trip should revolve around the children. You want them to feel involved in the entire experience from the beginning to increase their immersion, promote a sense of responsibility, and build momentum for the trip.
It’s the little things that make camping most enjoyable. Ask for their opinions when choosing the location, get them to pack their gear (using your packing list, of course), involve them in meal planning, and ask them to help set up the tents.
Of course, there’s a significant upside to involving them in all or most of the activities during the camping trip – it’s an excellent way to wear them out. You’ll need them tired enough for when it’s time to sleep.
Packing for your trip
Packing lists are your best friend for camping trips with children. Base your packing list on categories to keep everything well-organized throughout the journey and save yourself the headache of searching for things during your trip.
For instance, there should be food and snacks, kitchen supplies, toys and games, bathroom and hygiene supplies, tents, sleeping bags and supplies, and clothes and laundry categories.
Remember to pack emergency supplies, especially a first aid kit and ExpressVPN’s tech survival kit.
Yes! Tech necessities are necessary. Your plan to unplug doesn’t mean you should leave tech necessities such as medical flash drives and portable power banks at home.
Choose the right destination
I will take something from realtors here to emphasize this decision’s importance. Location! Location! Location!
I you want recommendations for good campsites visit the Caravan and Motorhome Club’s online community. They have a group specifically for families where you can ask questions, share your own advice and recommendations
I recommend choosing a destination within driving distance from home in case you need to bail mid-way through your trip for one reason (mainly if the kids turn out to be a complete nightmare or when there’s an emergency). As a plus, with a closer destination, it is easier to get your kids on board with the whole camping trip, which saves you the trouble of coming up with different ways of convincing them that sleeping out in the wild with bugs all around is a fun idea.
Ensure the location is spacious enough. Stay farther away from other campers when the yelling starts (yours or your children’s). Also, you don’t want your kids exposed to poor camping habits, such as college kids tossing beer cans into the campfire.
The destination determines what and how much you should pack, how many activities you can enjoy, and the duration of your stay.
Keep them occupied
It is easy for children to lose interest when camping, which is a recipe for disaster. So, you want your kids occupied all the time. Therefore, pay attention to what activities are available at the campgrounds, including canoeing, bike riding, surfing, and trekking. Bring along your entertainment, such as toys, balls, and crafts. There’s only so much nature can do to attract their attention.
Make sure before you book that the campsite has enough local amenities to keep the children entertained for the duration. For young children, ensure that there are playgrounds and places to visit, for older kids you’ll want to check that they can indulge their sense of adventure. Here you can find a list of the best campsites for paddle boarding.
Practice at home
Before leaving, you should do a practice run at home, which is particularly helpful in managing your expectations. Preparation alone is not enough; no matter how much you read or watch videos on this topic, it won’t be as good as first-hand experience. With a trial run, you can iron out the kinks and determine the proper threshold for the trip. Besides, you can gauge whether your children are enthusiastic enough for a camping trip.
Don’t go hardcore
For first-timers, you should ease them into the experience. You want the trip to be enjoyable, so there should be a certain balance when you set the trip. Don’t take your kids on wilderness camping for their first camping trip. Instead, pick a campsite with the necessary amenities such as hot showers and flushing toilets, and make the journey as short as possible.
Share the workload
Friends should help each other, so you should invite them when going camping. Kids are better occupied in the company of other kids, and a couple of adults are more helpful in entertaining and watching the kids than doing it alone. Kids can get up to a lot of mischiefs when you’re not looking, and a good watch is essential to keep them from starting a forest fire.
More importantly, you could use a little adult company to keep the conversation flowing.