Camping with the Kids
Hints & Tips 1: Get your kids involved with planning the camping trip including helping with:
Plan where you are going camping together
Plan some local Days Out and activities for when you get there
Explore the local area online together before you go including local places of interest
How your going to get there, road route and things to look out for on the way, train or bus or coach route
What your going to take with you and need and make a list and tick everything off before you go with the kids.
Get the kids to plan some meals or draw up a menu so you know what food to take with you or where you are going to get it when you arrive at the campsite.
Plan some family evening activities such as board games, card games and try and avoid them playing computer games (they can do that at home anytime!) Ad these to the list of what your taking with you.
Set some ground rules for your camping trip in advance and get the kids to add them to the planning list. Disruptive or naughty kids can lead to you being evicted from the campsite early if other campers complain about noise, damage or nuisance kids.
Plan some things to do with the kids
Hints & Tips 2: When You Arrive at the Campsite
Give the kids worthwhile jobs to do from the minute you arrive. If you are in a tent the most important thing is to get the tent erected. It is a good idea to practice this in the garden before you live so the kids know what they have to do to help rather than learning for the first time after a long car journey! Jobs, depending on their age, such as:
Get the kids to help erecting the tent
Filling up the water bottle
Explore and drawing a simple map of the campsite so everyone knows where the drinking water, toilet and showers, shop etc. are
Get them to set up their bedroom
Tick everything of your planning list (from Tip 1!) so you know you have everything you need
Try not to arrive too late in the day so once your all set up you take the kids to any play area on an exploratory walk to burn off some steam after the journey
Don’t pitch your tent too close to the next tent
Get the kids involved in making the first meal, perhaps they have planned from Tip 1.
Get them involved in organising the family activity for the first night (see Tip 1) a good board or card game or quiz for example.
Before bed time on the first night remind the kids that there are other campers on site so they have to be quiet (set this out in ground rules before you go camping! see Tip 1)
Make sure the kids have a good book to read at bed time, and read it with them if needed if they are not immediately sleepy at bed time. Computer games are only likely to wake them up more!
If the kids can’t get to sleep and reading a book fails, take them for a evening walk away form the other campers trying to get to sleep until they feel tired.
Unhappy camping neighbours are only going to spoil the camping trip by complaining so make sure the kids understand thye need to respect other campers.
Have some activities planned for each day
Hints and Tips 3: When You Leave
Get the kids to help taking the tent down (jobs could have been agreed in your trip planning before you left (Tip 1)
Get the kids to help loading the car
When packed have a last treat planned for the kids as a reward for good behavour during the camping trip. Perhaps they chose this treat as part of the camping trip planning in Tip 1?
Ideas for Days Out With The Kids
Our central camping directory on Campsite Directory features over 2000 UK campsites but also features over 500 Days Out and Places to Visit! There are theme parks, zoos and wildlife parks, museums and more in the “Days Out” directory.
Hints and Tips: Practical Hints and Tips
Don’t travel too far for your first camping trip
Make sure your tent and camping equipment fits your needs
A good sized tent (helps with indoor activites if it rains!)
Use as good a quality equipment as you can afford
Make sleeping arrangements as comfortable as possible and off the ground, camp beds, lilos, camping mats (to avoid the bumps and stones!)
Have a waterproof tent and ground sheet (built in ground sheet in the sleeping sections)to keep any rain and water out (wet bedding particularly often leads to going home early!)
Depending on time of year have warm clothes, enough clothes and perhaps an umbrella or parasol for shade in summer
Take sun cream and use it on the kids in summer (sun burn is no fun!)
Take hats in Summer (sun stroke is no fun either!)
Sleeping equipment fits the needs and is comfortable?
How and what are you going to cook and eat?
Plan for sunny and rainy days and a backup plan