Camping with Young Children

Camping with young children is great fun but can be a nightmare if you don’t plan and think ahead. In order to prevent unnecessaary stress have a look at our recommendations below.

Choose a family friendly campsite
All camp sites give details of what features they offer and having a kids play area can be a life saver. When camping there can be 10 minutes here or 20 minutes there whereby you need to get things done like preparing dinner, packed lunches, doing the washing up etc. If the weather is fine it’s great if one of you takes them to the play area and tires them out while keeping them occupied. Some campsites can offer mini golf, woodland trails, ball games or a swimming pool for children to enjoy. Remember to pack a few activies if it is rainy. Colouring books or card games alway go down well and won’t take up too much room.

Choose your own pitch
Somtimes it is possible to choose where you can pitch your tent. If you have the choice then choose a pitch close to the play area and the toilet block. When you are camping with young children you will inevitably need to take them to the toilet during the night so it’s best if it doesn’t take too long to get to them and completely wake them up. If you have very young children then stay away from any lake, pool or other potentially dangerous locations like bins and chemical disposal units.

Plan activities
Children love to get involved in preparations and will have lots of ideas about what things they might like to do. Why not let them come up with ideas and then choose together the things you’d like to do. If you keep a list of these activities you’ll never be stuck for things to do that you know everyone will enjoy.

Plan a menu
Food seems to take up a lot of time when you are camping so if you have a menu plan already you’re halfway there. Let your children come up with ideas on what to eat and what treats they might like to have. This will make sure that mealtimes are hassle free and will also help when it comes to shopping for the food beforehand. Going shopping to get the food that your children have helped to decide on will be a far more interesting prospect for them!

Above all plan to have fun! With no times restraints and plenty of fresh air camping is great for children and adults a like. Just relax and go with the flow. Try not to get too obsessed with bed times but take advantage of any afternoon naps that might come along! Camping with young children is fun!