I remember the days of camping before children. Grab a bag of clothes, sleeping bag and tent, and make a quick stop at the store for some food. My friends and I could plan a camping trip in fifteen minutes and be out the door a half hour later. Camping with kids is a whole different ballgame.
Most of the friends I know that camp with their kids have a trailer to sleep in. They have found that this is the easiest route to take. Turning on a generator to run your blow dryer is not my idea of camping. So how can you “rough it” with kids?
This is another great teaching opportunity. Survival. Necessity. Make a list of what you must take to survive your camping trip. Talk to your kids about what is a necessary item. Have them pack these first. Then talk about what they would like to make camping more fun or easier. See if there is room to pack some of these things.
Know that food is half the battle. Figure out how you are going to cook your food, and plan accordingly. You don’t want to spend all day cooking, and you don’t want to be sitting around the fire at 8:00 at night waiting for that chicken to cook.
Don’t get caught up in “what are we going to do”. You are out in nature! Explore it. Go for walks, find a place to camp by a river or lake, watch the stars, dig in the dirt. Show your children that entertainment can be found in the simple things.
Keeping it simple will make your camping trip more fun and less work for you. With a little pre-planning, you can have a great time camping with your kids.
Most of the friends I know that camp with their kids have a trailer to sleep in. They have found that this is the easiest route to take. Turning on a generator to run your blow dryer is not my idea of camping. So how can you “rough it” with kids?
This is another great teaching opportunity. Survival. Necessity. Make a list of what you must take to survive your camping trip. Talk to your kids about what is a necessary item. Have them pack these first. Then talk about what they would like to make camping more fun or easier. See if there is room to pack some of these things.
Know that food is half the battle. Figure out how you are going to cook your food, and plan accordingly. You don’t want to spend all day cooking, and you don’t want to be sitting around the fire at 8:00 at night waiting for that chicken to cook.
Don’t get caught up in “what are we going to do”. You are out in nature! Explore it. Go for walks, find a place to camp by a river or lake, watch the stars, dig in the dirt. Show your children that entertainment can be found in the simple things.
Keeping it simple will make your camping trip more fun and less work for you. With a little pre-planning, you can have a great time camping with your kids.
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