New to camping with the family!

[mccustomize]

Short breakdown of the scenario

I'm used to camping by myself, very minimalist, but adding a wife and 2 young boys to the equation has me thinking I'm not prepared.

First trip will be a small 1 night, 2 day stay at a state park. There is a 40% chance of rain, and temps in the 50s. Now for myself I would simply pack coveralls, my small tent, some firewood, and be set.

Do any of the more experienced guys on here have more of a family-oriented checklist? I'm not talking food wise or clothing wise, we have that covered, more along the lines of keeping the boys safe and entertained. I did purchase a 6 person tent (more than enough room), air mattress, sleeping bags, pillows.

As far as my vehicle goes I have just about anything I could possibly need (even for a much longer trip) mechanical/tool wise.

Any ideas gentlemen?????

I am very nervous since myself and the wife love the outdoors (especially myself) and I want the boys to have a lasting impression to develop their love of the outdoors.

 

[phobucket]

Hi, I just started camping more with my boys (4 and 7) this fall, usually just the 3 of us, so I understand the need to keep them entertained. My biggest recommendation is to make sure the sleeping environment is dry and warm. (something I learned after a couple cold nights...) Also, being able to rustle up a hot breakfast makes all the difference on a cold morning. So in short, I feel like I'm packing more cooking supplies than I would have if traveling alone. The other thing that has helped me is giving my kids a job to do.

Here are some things my kids do while we camp:

• Gather kindling (while I unpack)
• Help push the rods into the tent
• Set up the bedding inside the tent (while I start the fire)
• Set up the table / plates (while I cook)

 

[LilPoppa]

I took my 5 and 3 (now 6 and 4 (girl and boy)) year olds camping just about every week this summer. I would bring colouring books and activity pads, which they used quite a bit. Usually we download a movie on the tablet and watch that before bed. I found, especially after the first couple trips, they would entertain themselves quite easily. I think the trick is to normalize heading out and playing in the woods. Once they were familiar with some of our regular spots, they would start playing as soon as we arrived. We would either camp in the back of my Explorer at spots accessed by logging roads, or in a tent if we canoed somewhere. Never in an established park-like campground, but that's my own preference. I gave myself an internal fist bump when, in September, they started asking me to take them somewhere they've, "never been before."

I must say, I was a little disappointed at their indifference to poking fire with a stick. I used to love that.

 

[Butch1979]

LilPoppa makes a good point with a movie on the Ipad. If the weather gets bad, you'll need something for entertainment ASAP. I really hate to take the family camping and then bring "movies", however it's a good fall back plan.

Maybe some books talking about different animals, trees they might see and make it a learning experience. Our girl is still relatively small (less the 2 years old) so we have a Chariot stroller to pull her behind our bikes and a Kelty backpack we use for hiking and carrying her snacks and such.

Keeping them comfortable and entertained is the most important part of being able to do it again

 

[warejn]

I agree with all the others. I spent most of my life camping outside. All summer I was at work and we would only use a sleeping bag or tarp. A weeklong trip to baja involved a sleeping bag and an extra pair of socks.

Now it's an f250 and a pop up. I have a 2.5 year old and a 4 month old. The key is keeping the 2.5 year old busy. He loves collecting fire wood, playing cars and his strider bike. He also has started to love kites. I try to bring a few small gifts ( like a new coloring book) that I will give out every so often.

The warm part is huge as well. We had a cold night this fall on Wolf Creek Pass and he was pretty miserable in the morning.

I have to say, camping with my kids is pretty cool. I think. It's good to introduce them to it early so they are used to it.

 

[nwoods]

FRS Radios provide hours of fun. Show them what poison ivy looks like,tell to be mindful of other hazards, (snakes, spiders, etc... Depending on your region), then wind them up and let them go!

 

[nwoods]

Oh, it would help if you have big climb-able rocks nearby

 

[nwoods]

The kids aren't not the challenge, they are immensely adaptable. You said you wife is outdoorsy (win!), but keeping her warm and dry at ALL times is rule number 1 through 97

 

[mccustomize]

Haha some great replies in here guys, as I type this my boys are running around the house with toy long rifles, and toy pistols in the waistband shooting "zombies" SO I think they will be fine. The 3 year old has a strider bike as well and the oldest loves his bike so I think we will take a hike/bike to Gorman falls (2 mile round trip) Should be alright for them.

The weather is looking up a bit so I don't think I will be too concerned with the cold and they were both stoked to help pick out sleeping bags. Even though my wife loves the outdoors (she is a photographer) she also has MS. So sometimes normal, routine activities wreak havoc on her body if her MS is flaring.

Of course some fishing will be on the activities list as well, hopefully good enough that we can cook our catch.

Thanks for all the helpful ideas fellas!

 

[nwoods]

Check out www.AdventureParents.com for some additional inspiration as well.

 

[mph]

Keep you expectations to a minimum...Keep taking them out...Things will get better and better...In a very short while, you will be saying "remember when..."

 

[coolfeet]

First time camping with the family

I agree that keeping your family warm and dry is the most important. The first time that I went family camping was on the California coast. The weather was warm. The campground had electricity at each campsite, so we took advantage of it by plugging in our electric wok for making dinners. The following year I outfitted our family with a white gas Coleman stove, Coleman tent and extra blankets to keep the kids warm because they always crawled out of the sleeping bags. This worked fine in California as the night time temperatures always stayed in the 60s.

I failed in keeping everyone warm at Bryce Canyon NP when the temperature dropped into the 30s at night. I have a nice down bag and I was fine. My wife and kids complained about being cold. I solved that problem by getting everyone warmer bags.

We never bothered with "entertaining" our kids. My wife bought 2 bug catchers at the dollar store before we left and that kept them amused for 2 weeks. They kept everything from bugs to snacks in them. We brought books on tape to listen stories on the road while we drove. We still do this 10 years later and really enjoy it.

Bring a 5 gallon water jug so you always have water. Bring several dish washing basins to make washing dishes easy.

Keep everyone warm.
Feed them well.
Keep everything simple.
Bring lots of flashlights.

Enjoy the peace and quiet of being outdoors.

 

[Firesong]

Great for kids and camping - GLOWSTICKS.

 

[Butch1979]

Great for kids and camping - GLOWSTICKS.

So true!

 

[fo' runnin']

I've taken my family out camping once since my son was born. He was right at 2 years old when we went (just 6 months ago) and I totally forgot to keep my expectations to a minimum and I expected way to much out of my wife (I'm extremely experienced with camping and she's been once or maybe twice in her life). So, what I learned from my experience was to definitely (like mentioned above) keep your expectations to a minimum. Have LOTS of patience with EVERYONE, and keep them comfortable and entertained! We ended up having a blast, but I did ruffle my wives feathers a time or two on accident expecting a bit too much out of her... lol!