At what age did your kids stop camping with you?

Having four boys:
38,36,30(all with families) and 18

( they have all been camping with us all their lives).
In fact, the first three have their own RV's and we all go to the same place camping together.

rockhillmanor wrote:
Make them go!
I was 16 and did not want to go on vacation with my parents and they made me go........I am 'to this day grateful' that they made me go with them.

We went out west and did Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse back when you had to climb a wooden ladder to get up there and meet the family who carved it! And on the way back one day we stayed on the banks of the Big Thompson River, CO. Changed my whole outlook on life and I believe it was that day by the river is why I RV now and have a great respect for all things nature. :C

Wow, I could have written this myself! Just returned from our big summer trip with new (1st) tt, 16yo dd and 18yo ds. Did the same trip to the Black Hills, Mt. Rushmore ect... I was so concerned about the kids being bored. Well, they LOVED it!! DS asked why we can't do this more often (he loved the outdoors, hiking, building fires) and said he could easily live like this.

Our camping (tent 1976) started when oldest girl was 2 and new baby girl(6 weeks) Kept it up till they were around 15 or 16 years old, we even brought their friends too so they would keep going. Then it was school, boys and jobs, more important to them than us. Good time for us to put a lid on it cause of the very last tent camping trip was a total mess too much rain and mud. Fast forward to 2006. Both graduated college, married and 3 new grandkids between them. I had always wanted an RV and after a health scare we decided let's do it, get back into camping except this time have some home comfort, no more ground sleeping for us. Now we take our grandkids, twin girls and 2 boys, in fact just got back last week being with the boys. Next week we head to Bristol TN for the race, less grandkids:( they will all be back in school but the boy's parents will join us. So you may go years with them, then they stop but start up again only they add to the number.

Thank you! I think we are going to get a 32 ft toy hauler (brand TBD) and I'll be happy for the memories we make now and can always change rigs later on as needed.

I enjoyed the stories!

Interest probably started waning around middle school

My DS(Dear Son) is 34 and been in the Navy 16 years.He is now serving on a Cruiser heading for the middle east.He just emailed me and said he was looking forward to returning to Colorado and going on a camping trip in RMNP.




retired Marine on left
soon to be retired CPO on right

Two sons now 28 and 30 began camping with us before they could walk. We started in tents and graduated to an 18 foot TT about 20 years ago. I think during high school camping became less interesting to them. We recently upgraded the TT to 23 feet with slide-out to accommodate their occasional visits with us while camping, and to make room for DIL and GKs. BTW although the kids are less likely to camp with us I found my siblings and in-laws are more likely to.

Finally, I got most of the acronyms used in this thread but DS and DD. What do these stand for?

Thanks

Our daughter is 34 and her son is 6. She is a school administrator and she and the grandson occasionally take trips with us during the summer (since she is off during the summer).

Hhg

I noticed among family and friends that kids start losing interest in camping with their parents once they get after school jobs and start dating. It's the beginning of their independence from their parents and the start of making their own lives. Of course there are always exceptions.

DS 21 and still wants to go. sometimes he brings his girlfriend. In the spring and fall when he is away at college, he'll drive his car (if we are someplace close) and meet us in a campground. Those times he just wants to unwind. Now it just costs me more for beer.