Giving kids a bath while camping - solutions?

[The Adam Blaster]

How does everyone keep or get the munchkins clean at the end of the day?
From talking with my wife, this is a hang-up for her when it comes to camping, so I need a solution.
It looks like I'm going to be forced towards buying some sort of travel trailer to accomodate her concerns, but even looking at those, not many are either A) built very sturdily or B) have an actual bath "tub" where we could plunk the little one down for a proper bath time.

I have thought of a little inflatable pool, but it's a bit cumbersome when inflated...

Any other great solutions that you folks have used in the past?

 

[Corey]

When my kids were small, we always bathed (no soap) in the creek or river where we were camped at.
I always camp near a water source.

Drip dry the kids in their camping chairs and wrap with a towel until done.

You can always get a Zodi Hotman Extreme like I use to rinse them off too.
The Zodi can also double as a plate/pan/utensil rinser when doing the dishes.

 

[ryguy]

Camping is an excuse for my kid to be dirty.

 

[bucketosudz]

How about something like this with a bit of warm water and a nice towel?

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...21x00003a&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=04911014000P

 

[nwoods]

We use WetWipes for everyday cleanups. Or a washcloth and pot of water on the stove....if absolutely necessary. They far prefer to be dirty.

 

[Errant]

How old are the munchkins? How about using a tote filled with water? A Pellican or Action Packer or something similar. Something that you've already got on hand to carry your gear to/from camp, that way it's dual purpose and not taking up extra space.

 

[INSAYN]

We use WetWipes for everyday cleanups. Or a washcloth and pot of water on the stove....if absolutely necessary. They far prefer to be dirty.

We started spit baths on our kids with their WetWipes too. And it works so well, that the entire 4 person family have fully adopted this technique. In our truck camper we have only 36 gallon water capacity (including the water in the water heater). We can go a week easy on this with 15 or more gallons to spare. By the way our kids are 9 and 13.

The tricks we pull:
* Costco "Kirkland" brand unscented wetwipes. It's a big box of several resealable bags of wipes.

* We open a new bag of wetwipes and toss the resealable bag they are in. We put them in one of those food storage containers that have the four locking sides and the silicon oring. Add some extra water to the container, and these things will have more than enough liquid to do the job right.

*My son and I both have our hair buzzed short between 1/8" - 1/4", so no need to use anything more than a WetWipe to keep our heads clean.

*Can do a solid spit bath with just a few wipes each. And one each for me and my son for the hair.

*Wife wears a ball cap while camping, so she gets away with only needing to use water and shampoo a few times during the week. My daughter usually can get away with using waterless shampoo half the time, and a real rinse the other half.

So, if you have small kids (boys at that), you will have it easy.

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

camping is an excuse for my kid to be dirty.

x2

 

[SilverBullet]

We store a bunch of camping supplies in a large plastic tub. During long camping trips, that tub becomes a standing wash basic for hot water/wash cloth baths. No sitting and playing, but at least the water stays in the area we want it.

We usually camp in a tent trailer, so water on the floor is a bad thing.

 

[Paladin]

Adam, when in Canada, do as the Canadians: Jump in a lake.

At our cabin, we bath the kids in a large plastic tub. An inflatable pool would work great too. But honestly, your wife maybe needs to relax about it a little bit. How long are you talking about camping?

Topics like this always make me chuckle about the differences between those in the SW and elsewhere. Bathing with wet naps. Living on 2 gallons of water per day... I don't know how you guys do it. I can easily burn through 10 gallons per day without anybody even bathing in it. Just a different way of living when water is abundant.

 

[The Adam Blaster]

My son is 2 1/2 right now, and we haven't camped since my wife was pregnant with him. We got pregnant within the first 5 months of being married, so we actually haven't been camping since being married.
We had several weekend - 4 days trips while just dating though, always with some sort of bathroom facilities close by though.
I guess i have to admit my wife just is not that interested in really "roughing" it at all. lol
As for her relaxing about this issue... there are things in this world that I have the power to change, and things I do not. In a marriage it's very important to know the difference!

When in the warmer and more humid months, I definitely appreciate a good shower at the end of the day myself.

There's a lot of great ideas in here, that little inflatable tub is a pretty inexpensive option. And I do have a medium-sized action packer that would work as well.
And at the moment the issue of cleanliness and warmth are the 2 reasons keeping us from getting out and enjoying some natural vacations.

 

[xcmountain80]

Sea to Summit Kitchen Sink? I'm going to try this this weekend....

A

http://www.seatosummit.com/products/display/13

 

[Ray Hyland]

When our kids were small we used a washcloth and had them stand on a rubber floor mat from the truck outside the tent. My wife was anal about them being clean.

Eventually she relaxed a bit, and we started to use wetwipes...

Now they just bath when we get home, or play in a creek (when they are not frozen).

Ray

 

[articulate]

Sea to Summit Kitchen Sink? I'm going to try this this weekend....

A

http://www.seatosummit.com/products/display/13

We thought the same thing. This sink is the Seattle Sports version, and turns out it's a little small for plopping a kid right in it.

However! This method works okay: standing on the rubber floor mats (or what ever) and getting her wet. Yeah, we have a 12-volt pump for the water tank, but you could just as easily use a cup and dip into a sink full of soapy water. Then rinse.

Admittedly, the poor thing gets super cold because of wind chill factor, even in summer. Plenty of hollering and crying.

 

[Photomike]

If we are traveling with my wife then we try and hit a campground with a shower every two or three days. If it is me and the boys we have lakes and streams in many places. All I have to tell my 7 year old is that Survivorman would just use the stream and he is in, have to be careful because he was ready to hit a frozen mountain stream one time.

If we are not able to do the stream/ shower then a bucket of warm water and a facecloth will do. Like someone else the boys all have their hair shaved so not a big problem with that.

A few other solutions are:

If traveling then stop at a YMCA or a public swimming pool, for a few bucks you can shower, have a nice swim and a break.

Stopping during the day at a campground with a shower. I have asked a few campgrounds and the response is go ahead and use the showers for free, to drop $5 and enjoy, to they are coin operated go for it.

Many great suggestions from others. Don't let the lack of bath/shower stop you from enjoying - life is way too short.