Just saying “I’m going camping with kids” brings about comments from people of “Good luck” to “that will be fun” or “you’re brave”. When my brother decided to book double sites for him and his daughters and my family I knew this would require some planning. It had been two years since my last camping trip with my daughter who is now 4 and a half and that did not go very well as she has a fear of public restrooms. This time, it did not take her 15 hours to break and use a washroom but outhouses were not an option. Luckily, our site was located close to a comfort station.
So, the planning began in the spring. I read and started searching Pinterest, I looked at tips from other moms and families who have camped with young kids. I also spoke to colleagues who have camped with their kids since they were little. I did a lot of camping with my family when I was young but not until I was at least 8. I asked friends with kids what worked for them when they were camping. The big one was totes! Pack everything in totes and bins for easy storing, they were right.
When it comes to food and camping its simple. Be simple. Kids will eat meals and lots of snacks. Pre cut fruit, vegetables and have them in containers and ready to go. Pre make your sandwiches or bring loaves of bread and sandwich fixings. Pack lots of healthy foods and some of your kids favourite snacks. Trail mixes, popcorn and easy to grab snacks are great for hikes or for trips to the beach.
It is easy to keep the kids busy during the day. when you are doing hikes, beach trips or other outings but I made sure to have ideas for when we were at the camp site. We had colouring books, paper, crayons and did leaf rubbings. The children would collect one of each type of leaf that they could find and do rubbings. We would send them on nature scavenger hunts around the site “find one brown leaf and one grey rock”. Card games, board games and puzzles if it rains are always on hand. We found that the kids loved nature. I gave my daughter a bag to collect acorns around the site for a Christmas craft. She was so excited because she makes ornaments for family at Christmas. Her cousins loved helping her hunt the acorns.
Running the kids until they are tired is the best part of camping. Of course that means that at least one adult has to go with all the kids but if you team up and take turns it works out well. Whenever you see them getting to the “argument” time or a hint of boredom one adult says “lets go look for a…deer” and all the kids hop up and grab their walking sticks and go. We had lots of short bursts of walks and hunts and trips to the bathroom with the long route back and it was great.
Being organized, prepared and relaxed is important. Nothing ever goes as planned and you have to accept that. I found that reading stories about camping and the outdoors a few months before helped. I was not ready for her being scared by every single noise at night. We just came up with an answer for each noise and she eventually fell asleep. Every child is different. What works for one might not work for the other but having lots of food and drinks and game ideas does work for every kid because it helps keep the adults sane!