Camping with Children

Have you ever gone camping in a tent? It was fun right! How about camping in a tent with young children? Fun, but not exactly easy. Here are some tips on how to successfully camp in tent with young children.

My husband and I have three young kids from the age of 2 to 8 years old. We love to camp and have done so since we met. It's something that brings us together as a family, but isn't always easy with the kiddos. However, we have figured out some "cheats" to make camping easier and more enjoyable for everyone.

The bigger the tent, the more room and more privacy possible. We have a 20' x 20' tent which is our main tent. The tent has 4 rooms, 3 of which are able to be closed of from the others. Unfortunately, having 4 rooms also means 4 outside access doors. We often worry about the kids getting out before we hear them wake up. Our solution?? Basic padlocks attached to the outside zippers. In reality if someone wanted to get into the tent a padlock probably won't keep them out. However, for my little ones it keeps them in. The only door we don't padlock is ours considering the kids would have to move us to get out. My oldest has her own tent which is positioned right next to the big tent.

All tents come with a rain sheet. However, rain sheets on tents have a tendency to fail or leak. To combat this we invested in a large tarp. We bought a 24' x 60' tarp which is more then enough to cover our tent. Why buy a tarp so large? At many of the camp grounds we have camped at there is a picnic table available. By having such a large tarp we are able to not only cover our tents, but also create a canopy over the picnic table to keep us out of the rain when we are eating. On those cold nights having the tarp on top of the existing rain sheet can also help hold in the heat.

Cold nights are always a drag when camping, except for the fun of sitting by a warm camp fire of course. Air mattress are a must when camping considering how hard the ground is. However the air in the mattress gets cold and can make it hard to stay warm. Assuming you have either power at the camp site or a small generator for power, using heater blankets makes sleeping much more enjoyable. If you sleep with the heating blanket between you and the air mattress it will create a heat seal. Small electric heaters can also help warm up the tent however, many campgrounds have rules against the use of these due to the energy usage needed to run them.

Cooking can be a challenge if you don't have a good fire pit or dry firewood. Building a fire pit can make all the difference, if you have the ability to use river rocks I recommend it. They are usually smoother and rounded making it easier to build with. If you have an old grill grate to use as a topper it allows you to have a good cooking surface. If it's raining, it can be difficult to cook over an open fire. Again, assuming you have some source of power, a small electric cook top make a huge difference. If you do choose to use an electric cook top though I do recommend not going for the cheapest option. The cheaper the system the longer it takes to simply boil water.

Water is an essential resource that you can't live without. whether you need it for drinking, cooking, or washing dishes. Many camp grounds have water at every site. However, if there is no water provided, search for natural spring water stations. If none are available, you can boil and filter river or brook water. I recommend you do your research on an area first though to make sure to choose the cleanest water available.

If you are camping where there are no restrooms or shower rooms available, there are a couple options. Small compositing toilets don't take up much room. A five gallon bucket, a compost garbage bag, and a pool noodle sliced down the middle so it can fit over the rim of the bucket as a seat works just as well. But what about showers? You can purchase shower tents and shower bags that can be heated with the sun. We bought a 6 gallon solar shower bag from our local outdoor fitters. You simply fill the bag to full line and set the bag on an even surface in a highly sunny area with the clear side facing up towards the sun. The black backing on one side absorbs the heat, therefore heating the water. Once the water is warm enough, simply hang the shower bag in the shower tent or from a tree and have a nice warm shower. I do recommend that you test the water before you use it to make sure it's not hot enough to burn you.

Any and all items listed above are available at most outdoor fitting stores. They can also be found online on various sites. If you are camping in a pay to stay campground make sure to follow the rules and keep your site neat and tidy. Don't let your children wander and be careful about letting them talk to random campers. Some people can take this as a lack of supervision. Be respectful of the other campers as you would want the same. Being friendly is never a bad thing but remember many people who go camping do so to get away from the world. And remember kids love to get dirty and though I wouldn't say to discourage this but do make sure they are cleaned up and looking tidy.

Camping should be fun, not stressful. I hope that these tips can help future campers. There is nothing better then being one with nature and having family adventures, especially with children take advantage of their curiosity and make every day and new adventure.