What I Have Learned About Camping with Little Kids

So if you have been reading my blog anytime in the last two years, then you know that we like to camp and go often. To avoid another show and tell about our weekend, I am going to instead share what I have learned about car camping with little kids (3 and under) in a group. I probably still have lots to learn and this is by no means an extensive list, but this is at least a starting point if your thinking about going car camping with little ones, which I have learned is night and day different than the lightweight world of backpack, primitive camping. And I am also going to throw in some pictures from this past weekend too : ).

1. Where To Camp- In Texas there are both private and public camp sites (public meaning state parks, private meaning you will usually pay more). No two campsites are the same and here are just a few things to think about:
- Cost- Is it per tent/site or per day?
- How far is it from home?
- Does it have running water?
- Does it have bathrooms?
- Does it have a playground?
- What activities does it offer? canoeing, fishing, hiking, rock climbing
2. Tent- I wouldn't say that bigger is better, but you definately want enough space for everyone and everything, like pack 'n' play, dog crate, air mattress, etc. I also think it's been a plus to be able to stand up when changing your clothes and moving in and out of the tent. The only other thing I will point out here is that I would insist on a no shoes in the tent rule. This will help keep your home away from home from getting torn up and make clean up easier. Even with the rule I would add a little dustbroom/pan.

3 Sleeping-  Bailey shares a full size air mattress with me and sleeps in a sleeping bag with a blanket on top of air mattress and on top of the sleeping bag. Blake sleeps in a pack 'n' play. Warning: I don't really know how to help make sleeping in a pack in play warmer, so I wouldn't suggest camping overnight in 40 degrees or colder weather unless your little one will stay in a sleeping bag or under covers.
4. Clothing- four complete sets of clothing plus jammies. You will also need jackets/gloves/tobaggan if it's cold, rain jacket if there's a chance of rain, and maybe swimsuit if it's warm. You might get away with less, but why would you want to risk it. If your thinking that is a crazy number of clothing, let me just offer some possible scenarios that might warrant four changes of clothing- YOUR CHILD:
-spills hot chocolate or other beverage on themselves
- falls into the water or just gets too wet playing near the water

Why such a sad face? Well, Bailey had just fallen into the water. Could it have been avoided? Yes, but that would have involved listening to mommy instead of walking out onto the tree bridge. Was the water deep? Only thigh deep on Bailey. Once in the water she held onto the tree bridge while Mr. Joel saved her. What was the consequence? Staying in wet, very cold clothes for awhile. Did she learn a lesson? Only time will tell.



-gets sick (just this last weekend we had one kid with it coming out one end and another kid with it coming out the other end)
-gets really dirty either playing or self-feeding themselves

- has a potty accident ( I definately suggest bringing your own potty even if your child is potty trained because it will save you from making extra trips to the camp bathrooms)
5. Shoes- If you are going to have the no shoes in the tent rule, then I would suggest your children have slip on shoes or ones they can put on themselves. We use crocs or rainboots for Bailey. These both work great because they are waterproof. Also, if you are going to go hiking then you need to pay attention to the surface of the bottom of the shoe so that your little one isn't slipping.
6. Lighting- Obviously you will want a lantern for the group and you will also have the campfire, but I was more thinking of how your kids will see once it's dark and how you will see them. We have a flashlight that we pack for Bailey, but a headlamp is probably is the near future. That's great for them to be able to see, but I would also suggest getting glowlights and maybe even giving each family a specific color. That way you can relax by the campfire and when you look around to check on your kid you can tell by color of glowlight where your kid is. This was an idea that we learned from the Tulls and other Mezgers.
7. Food- Two words- marshmallows and hotdogs. I would suggest atleast two bags of marshmallows and atleast two, maybe three hotdogs per kid. Plus, plenty of wipes and paper towels. My only other words of advice are keep it as simple and clean as possible.
8. Other Activities- Personally we have a no technology rule because the whole reason we go camping is to get away from all that, but you might need some other activities. Here are a few we have used and hope to use in the future:
- go on a marshmallow roasting stick hunt
- have a scavenger hunt

This past weekend we had a scavenger hunt and one of the things on the list was to find a stick that looks like a Y. He was so proud to find the biggest one of the group.



- play washers
- card/domino games
- reading a book
- other games like chase; redlight, green light; hot potato
- bike ride
- campfire songs
- rock painting
- camping journal
- blow bubbles
- toys, balls, frisbees
- make a map of the campsite
- pretend with what you have

Tea Party at Camp Ben McCullough

9. Other Must Haves- kid sized camping chairs, general camping rules and rules that lead to self-sufficiency (for example, if they want to roast marshmallows then they have to find their own stick and after being shown how to do it, they must roast it themselves)

 Please elaborate or comment on this list if you have figured out something that works for your family. Happy Capming!