Camping with small children – even infants and toddlers doesn’t have to be the nightmarish experience you might think it would be. After all – you haven’t lived until you warmed a bottle over a campfire at 3:00 am! If camping is something you enjoy doing then there’s no reason that you shouldn’t enjoy it even when your children are small – with a few changes to accommodate your young family.
Obviously, the younger your children the more “stuff” you will need to bring along to make the trip enjoyable. You’ll be taking your car with you to the campsite so you have the luxury of making the car as full as you need without having to worry about the extra luggage. Keep in mind that no matter how much you pack, you will likely forget something or even run short so try to pick a campground with at least a convenience store nearby.
Another thing to consider is the trip itself. You know better than anyone how long your child will remain happy on a car ride – if necessary, choose a campground closer to home to keep everyone happy along the way. You also want to make sure that you can get to your campsite before dark in order to set up everything you need and can find everything easily.
If you have a crawler or young one just learning to walk, you’ll want to make sure you have a pack ‘n’ play that can be used for a crib and a play pen and let your baby move around while you’re setting up camp or hanging around the campfire.
You may also want to choose a campsite with flushing toilets and potable running water if you are in the potty-training phase. You can also decide to rent a cabin – there are plenty of kid-friendly campgrounds that can help you plan.
Camping with your young children can be very enjoyable with these few little tips. And don’t forget to keep your children on their same eating and sleeping schedules as much as possible – doing so will keep everyone in their happy place!