List of camping gear?
What is on your list of much needed/appreciated gear when you are camping with young children?
Forum Discussion
3, 6, 5, TT or 5er: Bicycles, tricycles, scooters, or those motorized battery operated cars the kids can drive. Anything with wheels.
Take some length of rope, a bucket, some wooden clothes pens, small shovel or beach sand shovel kit, and turn the kids loose.
I mention all the above, because safety is important, as is personal hygiene. In all your planning, plan on skinned knees, smashed hands, bumped heads, tears, blood and snot. Be prepared.
Kids will eat simple, especially when camping. And kids love to do the Smores, marshmallows, hot dogs on a stick stuff. Cereal in the morning, quick foods, because they will not want to wait for a cooked breakfast before they take of and play. Preparing meals with the kids when camping is a great learning experience also, and is doing dishes, running trash to the dumpster, and helping with all the things you do to set camp and break camp. Keep them involved, use the experience as a teaching experience as well as entertainment. Keep them involved with everything you're doing so they have some ownership in the experience. Also, give them choices: should we hike trail #1 or trail #3. No, we are not climbing trees right now! (you get the idea). Teach them to work together (on their level), everything from starting a campfire to washing dishes. Make them responsible for fixing up their own bed. Why not teach them early. We did with ours. By the time they were 6, they were doing their own laundry. We folded, but they got it in the machine and to the dryer.
You don't need to take a whole lot of stuff for the kids. Let them bring along their favorite toys (within reason, remember space is limited) and when they want to play with those toys, let them.
Transportation, make sure you are transporting the kids safely, whatever avenue you use. Don't short change or cheat anything there. Car seats or booster seats required with seat belts ... do it ... don't make exceptions, no matter how much they complain.
One of the best things you can do is get each kid their own sleeping bag instead of blankets and sheets and comforters. They roll up clean, easy for the kids to be responsible for and each one has their own. This saves a LOT of problems. Keep your home blankets at home!
Depending upon your individual tastes, it's always fun to get walkie-talkies for each member of the family, all on the same signal. It helps you communicate with the kids, kind of keep track of them, and severs as a safety feature also. They might be a little pricy when you get one for each family member, but get the type people use on their motor boats, marine style, which is water resistant and very durable. Not only will the kids have fun with each other, but you'll have fun with them too.
If you have a girl, let her bring her favorite doll, or favorite toy, or whatever it is. If you have a boy, let him bring his hand held video game.
Bring DVD's for the kids (that means having a television and a DVD player), but most newer campers have them installed already.
Hope this helps. Only you know your kids and what they really need, but when packing and planning, keep each of these ideas in mind for each member of the family.
Sorry for the long rant, I'm having flash back memories with my own 2 kids, boy and girl, camping as a family from the time they were born to about 16 years of age.
Take some length of rope, a bucket, some wooden clothes pens, small shovel or beach sand shovel kit, and turn the kids loose.
I mention all the above, because safety is important, as is personal hygiene. In all your planning, plan on skinned knees, smashed hands, bumped heads, tears, blood and snot. Be prepared.
Kids will eat simple, especially when camping. And kids love to do the Smores, marshmallows, hot dogs on a stick stuff. Cereal in the morning, quick foods, because they will not want to wait for a cooked breakfast before they take of and play. Preparing meals with the kids when camping is a great learning experience also, and is doing dishes, running trash to the dumpster, and helping with all the things you do to set camp and break camp. Keep them involved, use the experience as a teaching experience as well as entertainment. Keep them involved with everything you're doing so they have some ownership in the experience. Also, give them choices: should we hike trail #1 or trail #3. No, we are not climbing trees right now! (you get the idea). Teach them to work together (on their level), everything from starting a campfire to washing dishes. Make them responsible for fixing up their own bed. Why not teach them early. We did with ours. By the time they were 6, they were doing their own laundry. We folded, but they got it in the machine and to the dryer.
You don't need to take a whole lot of stuff for the kids. Let them bring along their favorite toys (within reason, remember space is limited) and when they want to play with those toys, let them.
Transportation, make sure you are transporting the kids safely, whatever avenue you use. Don't short change or cheat anything there. Car seats or booster seats required with seat belts ... do it ... don't make exceptions, no matter how much they complain.
One of the best things you can do is get each kid their own sleeping bag instead of blankets and sheets and comforters. They roll up clean, easy for the kids to be responsible for and each one has their own. This saves a LOT of problems. Keep your home blankets at home!
Depending upon your individual tastes, it's always fun to get walkie-talkies for each member of the family, all on the same signal. It helps you communicate with the kids, kind of keep track of them, and severs as a safety feature also. They might be a little pricy when you get one for each family member, but get the type people use on their motor boats, marine style, which is water resistant and very durable. Not only will the kids have fun with each other, but you'll have fun with them too.
If you have a girl, let her bring her favorite doll, or favorite toy, or whatever it is. If you have a boy, let him bring his hand held video game.
Bring DVD's for the kids (that means having a television and a DVD player), but most newer campers have them installed already.
Hope this helps. Only you know your kids and what they really need, but when packing and planning, keep each of these ideas in mind for each member of the family.
Sorry for the long rant, I'm having flash back memories with my own 2 kids, boy and girl, camping as a family from the time they were born to about 16 years of age.
