Enjoy Camping Holidays with Small Children
Keen Campers Should Plan Ahead to Enjoy a Tenting Trip with Toddlers
Dec 13, 2008
Planning ahead is essential to ensure a relaxing tenting trip with toddlers. Thoughtful preparation will result in less need to improvise due to forgotten or unforeseen items and may present opportunities to purchase new equipment at sale price.
Plan Ahead to Ensure Successful Camping Holidays
Begin planning weeks or even months ahead by checking off the following points:
- Make sure intended camping grounds are family friendly.
- Reserve a site if camping during the busiest holiday season. Being close to ablution blocks, laundry, kitchen and recreation room makes daily tasks more convenient.
- Check equipment to ensure all pieces are intact and no repairs are needed.
- Save small change for coin-operated equipment: e.g. washing machine, drier, showers.
- Have the family vehicle properly serviced beforehand.
Make Lists for Comfortable Camping Holidays with Small Children
Make lists with separate headings e.g. "Food"; "Clothing"; "Laundry", for everything that may be needed – then edit this. Be ruthless with items that take up space without serving any useful purpose.
Seasonal grocery and convenience stores, especially in smaller towns, can be expensive. Either purchase staples from your usual supermarket before departure or simply empty the pantry of products normally used during the same time period, and restock on return.
Successful Tenting Means Careful Selection of Camping Equipment
Select tentage and sleeping bags that will adapt to the family’s changing needs. Airbeds are perhaps first choice for comfortable sleeping, but thermal mats are surprisingly warm and take up less space.
Other items for relaxing camping trips include: gas cooker (an additional one-burner cooker is handy for making a hot drink during the night) and spare canisters; tent light and torch; clothes pegs; plastic bags; a length or two of strong cord; pocket knife plus one sharp all-purpose knife; can opener; lightweight cutting board; beach shelter or umbrella; camp chairs; folding table; fishing line; hooks.
A plastic bucket and/or basin is handy for tent-side laundry jobs, washing dishes, carrying anything, sick children or even bathing the baby. Don't forget to take a camera and spare batteries.
Cutlery and crockery don’t need to be purchased especially: use old dishes, hunt out enamel mugs and plates from thrift stores. Include one large, one small saucepan and a frying pan; fish slice and serving spoon.
Kids Enjoy Exploring the Natural World on Their Camping Holiday
Encourage small children to investigate the natural world around them. Gathering driftwood, collecting shells, digging in the sand and exploring rock pools are all fun exercises. Take a small lidded box for each child: found treasures can be incorporated into a collection at home. Buckets, spades and balls are still favourite camping accessories for kids. Include bedtime story books and an activity book or two.
Don’t Forget the Camping Holiday First Aid Kit
Add sunscreen and insect repellent to the standard first aid kit, plus a soothing cream for bites, stings and sunburn and any special medicines family members need. This may be the children’s first long car trip, so ask your doctor or pharmacist about appropriate medication in the event of carsickness.
Make Sure Each Person has at least One Warm Overgarment
Even during summer the barometer can drop quickly so take at least one warm overgarment for each family member. On colder nights these can double-up as sleepwear. Sun hats are essential for everyone: hats with neck cover at the back are prudent for small children and babies. For each person: one pair of sandals/jandals plus one pair of sturdier shoes. Loose cotton overtops with longer sleeves provide good sun protection. A generous-sized hold-all is useful.
It may take several trips to get camping holidays down to a fine art. Try some short practice runs such as a night or two in a nearby camping ground before embarking on the more challenging two-or-three week expedition. This will help you to hone your list-making and pare down the packing while ensuring no essentials are neglected.
