Camping with small grandchildren

[VAfan]

We plan to take our 2yr old granddaughter camping this spring. Our travel trailer is a typical 27ft layout with a bed at one end and bath at the other. No obvious “best solution” for a sleeping arrangement so we can stay up past 8:00pm.

Anyone have experience / advice regarding camping with small grandchildren?

[Biker1mike]

Grand kid has been camping (and living) with us her entire life, now 8. We always let her decide where to sleep. She loved her own bunk when 2. Now in the popup she wants the smaller bunk end and to have grand-ma sleep with her. Other nights she wants the bunk to herself.
With our kids we had a baby monitor so we could sit outside and the nervous mom could hear the kids. Even with three little girls in the camper they would talk about five minutes and then crash.
Have a blast !

[Tom_Diane]

VAfan wrote:
We plan to take our 2yr old granddaughter camping this spring. Our travel trailer is a typical 27ft layout with a bed at one end and bath at the other. No obvious “best solution” for a sleeping arrangement so we can stay up past 8:00pm.

Anyone have experience / advice regarding camping with small grandchildren?

My grandkids have come to call me a worry wart. My wife will encourage it. I'm trying to cover all the bases. Advice or experience with us is that we always liked to have them between us and the door incase of sleep walking or god forbid an intruder.
When they were little we made sure the smoke alarms worked. They at 3 and 4 years of age they wanted to sleep on the floor in their themed sleeping bags, so we had a Barbie, Princess or Dora or sponge Bob sleeping bags. and a Dinosaur one for the Grandson. They would find a spot on the floor and slip to the bags.

[Tom_Diane]

Executive wrote:
She's camping with you....at 2, let her sleep between you....Dennis

X 2

[DutchmenSport]

Tom Trostel wrote:
We used an Intex Kidz Travel Bed on the floor.

travel bed

Access Denied!

[Veebyes]

Wherever the motor stopped running, that is where it stayed.



This is why, now an adult, she can sleep anywhere.



We never made special accomodations for the kids when small. There was no being especially quiet for them. They adapt to noise & less than perfect bedding as at home.

[Tom_Trostel]

We used an Intex Kidz Travel Bed on the floor.

travel bed

[Veebyes]

Babys & small children don't care where they crash.

Our daughter spent her first night onboard this at 6 days old.

[VAfan]

Thanks everyone…..lots of great info. Good chance we all will be worn out and staying up later won’t be a problem.

[tatest]

My grandson that age will sleep on the couch, dinette lowered to a bed, or if he is really tired, he will just sack out on the floor anywhere. Last visit, I put him on the floor on a self inflating mattress, he loved it.

We used a PackNPlay for a long time, but he started resisting it at 18 months, and it is a real problem getting him into one before he is asleep. Simply recoginises it for the prison that it is.

His mom just found him something called a PeaPod, kind of a small mesh tent. He loves it, but we are not sure how it is going to work. Says "Mommy night night" to get her to put it up for him, but doesn't always go to sleep when in it.

Grand-daughters (twins) started RVing with us age 3. Slept together in dinette until too big, then together on sofa. Bedtime, tney would go down when told, talk and play until asleep. But that's twins.

Small children can, and do, sleep anywhere, any time they are ready to sleep. So RVing, or tent camping, it is a matter of your goals. Are you trying to find them a place to sleep, are are you trying to find a place to confine them for the night. If confinement is the goal, PackNPlay can sometimes work to age 3-4 depending on size and agility, but I don't expect toddlers to go happily into their prison cell while awake.

[doxiemom11]

We have had our grandson with us numerous times from age 2 on. At first I laid down with him on the queen bed until he fell asleep. I then got up,and placed him on the floor next to the bed on a cushy bed that was made up and ready for him. That way he never woke up not knowing where he was without me being right there and aware that he was awake. As he has grown, he now sleeps on the sofa bed, and thinks he's very special because he has his own bed at our "house". (We are full-time). He likes to watch a movie on the front tv, so at the appropriate time he gets to watch a movie and it never fails - he is usually asleep within a few minutes (he's 4 now). We then continue with life and he never wakes up.

[kalynzoo]

Put her (in my case them) to bed in the big bed. Usually requires at least one story. Then later in the evening move them to the front couch bed. Works for us.

[Merrykalia]

We have two DD's, now aged 9 and 6.

They both began camping when they were 4 months and have loved it ever since.

They make sleeping bags for little ones that have the blow-up mattress attached. Our girls used theirs when "camping" at grandma and grandpas house until they outgrew the mattress. Now, they have a camping cot that they use since she won't put them upstairs by themselves.

If that doesn't work or if you can't find one, just use a sleeping bag. When kids are that age, they can sleep on anything.

Put them to bed in your room and let them lay on the floor while you lay on the bed and then after she goes to sleep, enjoy the evening.

Make sure she gets plenty of sleep since she will be going (and you will too) from daylight until whenever.

[jjriker]

We had our four year old grandson with us last summer for a few days at a time. We had a twin size airbed that we blew up at bedtime. We pulled the recliners out from the wall a bit and made a small "bedroom" area for him between the recliners and the wall. He loved it, called it his sleeping cave. It also worked great because if we got up before he woke up in the morning, he wasn't right in the middle of the floor and we could grab our coffee and go outside.

[michigansandzil]

I found that when we were camping with toddlers, they were extra tired and that we only needed to be quiet for 5 minutes to let them drift off. After that, they were out cold and we could turn on the lights, cook, talk, go out to the fire, watch TV, shower, whatever.....they slept right through it.

I would just put her wherever you want her to sleep for the night, provided it's convenient for you. If she's sleeping on the dinette, put her to sleep on the dinette.

I will say that I recall my daughter's first ever camping trip. She was 18 months and went to sleep well, but woke up disoriented and very afraid and cried. We ended up getting a nightlight to leave on all the time and that helped her to remember where she was when she woke up in the middle of the night. After the first night, she wasn't as afraid, but she would often come into bed with us in the middle of the night.