Do camping and small children mix?

[Hilary]

Right, the situation is this - we have been offered a brilliant deal on a big tent suitable for our family. We are very tempted to buy it as ds1 starts school in September so suddenly we will need to holiday in peak times and can hardly afford a holiday in low season as it is.

Do any of you have experiences of camping with young children (4 and 2) and have you got any tips or must-haves?

Thanks,

[hmb]

Take a potty for the middle of the night 'wees'

[janh]

Hi, Hilary!

Playpen! (Travel cot does the same job of course, you'd probably have that anyway?) We had a Eurocamp hol when DS1 was not quite 2 and the cot/pen they provided was invaluable while cooking etc...of course if your 2-y-o is nearly 3 it probably doesn't apply. We went with our own tent when DS2 was just turned 1 and took our own travel cot.

Does the tent have a kitchen bay? We have a big 6 berth tent and ours doesn't, the place for the stove (under vented window) is just inside the tent door and it still bothers me even now kids are much older. With a bay it is tucked away. You need one of those proper camping stoves with 2 burners, pref with a grill too, and a folding "camp kitchen" to get it off the floor, with shelves for all the cooking kit.

You need a coolbox and some icepacks, most campsites will freeze them for you, otherwise milk etc is a problem, esp when it's warm. (If you can't get your icepacks frozen the coolbox makes a good ant-proof box for dry goods.)

Get a good camping table with height-adjustable legs. Also folding picnic chairs (sitting on the floor gets very wearing.) Also a camping gaz lantern. (Torches/battery lights inadequate.) Get airbeds from Argos, and they also have an excellent hand-pump, it's about 3' high but has double action, very efficient, and you can slot eg long sand spades into the box with it.

Take a small folding drying rack, even if you don't plan to do laundry it's useful for damp towels, pants etc.

Camping is great for kids, especially as they get older, you can let them roam quite safely, and it is a cheap hol - the only thing I hate is going to the loo in the middle of the night .

If I think of anything else I'll let you know!

Oh - what size car do you have? You'll probably need a roofbox or a trailer.

Hope I haven't put you off?

[judetheobscure]

janh - how do you carry all that lot in your rucksack?

[Lindy]

Hilary - have to admit I found camping very hard work with a baby - first year we went he was just 6 months - not too bad as he wasn't walking!, second year, 18 months, very difficult - into everything - this year we have booked a villa!!

Don't want to put you off, camping is great, DH & I are both ex-scouting types so we LOVE it but just so difficult being safety conscious at the same time with a little one. Probably a lot better when they get a bit older. On the plus side, it's great value and having your own tent means you can go off for a weekend as soon as the sun shines!

[pupuce]

Actually I was going to ask the same question.... we want to go camping but with a small tent... no kitchen or anything inside it BESIDES 4 matresses and sleeping bags. DS (3) and DD ( 1 1/2) - is it madness? We weere envisaging 2 or 3 nights only. We would use picnic tables and do BBQ.... what sort of safety issues do you have Lindy?

My main concern was more the fact that my kids might wake at 4 AM ! or that it would rain a lot !

[EmmaTMG]

We always used to go camping when I was little, probably 3 or 4 years old and I loved it. We had an old scout tent and 5 of my family and 4 of my Aunties all used to sleep in it, no separate rooms or luxuries like that, just one big tent. The sleeping bags and ground sheet had to be rolled back every morning so that the grown-ups could get the cooking on the go.
Fantasic fun and hopefully we'll be doing this next year with my own family now........Just got to get a tent!

[janh]

jude - we have a string of servants to carry it all, of course!

Hilary, you don't NEED all the stuff I mentioned, you could get by with a big igloo tent, 4 sleeping bags, one camping gaz burner, a saucepan, 4 dishes and 4 mugs, but if it's going to be your main holiday it wants to be as easy as poss or it's no fun at all, especially for The Mother who tends to get lumbered. (Incidentally kids enjoy washing up on campsites IME!)

We have gradually acquired a whole set of stuff - cutlery, plastic plates, washing-up things in bucket, matches, practical bits like dustpan & brush etc - that lives in the attic and just needs to be brought out and packed up when required without having to think about it. (One of the best things we ever found was a little folding metal frame that holds a carrier bag open, as a bin...sad I know...)

[Lindy]

pupuce - the safety points I worry about are - obviously cooking, the gaz type cooker is quite dangerous if babies/toddlers are wondering around - the same as in a normal kitchen I suppose but becuase the cooker is 'lower' and the gaz flames are 'real' it seems more dangerous than your usual cooker; knives etc at toddler level - there are limited facilites for putting everything out of reach ...... perhaps I am being neurotic, although I am usually quite laid back, I just found it really hard work (and I've only got one child!) - or was it an excuse to get DH to go mor 'upmarket' !!

[Ghosty]

Ooooh .... I admire you all! Camping and ME don't mix let alone small children. DH would love to go camping so I have told him he can take DS and I'll go to Fiji!!!

[Britabroad]

We spent a month camping withour children DS was 1 and Dd 3 1/2. We had a fantastic time.
The French campsites are amazing with great facilities ones with pools, bbqs and play areas and beaches are the best.
My friends now go together in a big group for a cheap hol in the school holiday. Sounds great.
I'd recommend the kids inflatable beds from ELC.

[tallulah]

We do Festival camping (my DH hates camping & won't go any other time). We've acquired gear over the years but started off taking very little, because of space in the car mainly.

You can do without a lot of equipment. You WILL need extra blankets- it's amazing how cold it gets at night even in the middle of August. For best effect these go UNDER the sleeping bag. Our essentials were a camping gaz burner (single), plus kettle & saucepans. (& MATCHES, which we forget nearly every year ) Coolbox. Plastic picnic set (bowls, plates, cups, cutlery). Plastic water carrier. Washing-up/washing bowl. Washing-up liquid. Drying up cloth. Sleeping bag each & lilos (again, not forgetting foot pump..). That's it. Anything else is nice but not essential.

Ours were 2, 4, 6 & 7 when we first went.

[ThomCat]

I have no experience of camping with kids, I went a couple of years ago when I was 7 months pregnant. I just wanted to sing the praises of campsites in France. We went to South West France and they were outstanding. My DH spent most of his childhood holidays camping in France. The facilities were top rate. They give their sites stars and we stayed in a 5star campsite which cost us about £10 betwwen the 2 of us per night. We camped basically on the beach, under pine trees, had fantsetic loos, a pool and restaurant etc etc etc.. I'd have no qualms about camping with kids after that experience. Sure you take a lot of stuff with you, but it's all worth it I reckon.

[chiggles]

Took our son camping last year when he was one. (Had his first birthday there) We had to get a roof rack. The only problem we found was that all he wanted to do was run around into everyone elses pitch!!... O, and that when he woke up in the night the noise always seemed louder than at home!... O, and he didn't like to sleep in the day cause there was too much to do.... O, and he liked chasing the seagulls and feeding them his dinner.
Really though it was brill. Must have been, cause we're going away again next week and then for 2 weeks on his 2nd birthday! Both camping. I have to say that it's a good idea to have a big tent for when it rains.
Enjoy it.

[Hilary]

Thank you so much for all these replies. I feel very rude as I posted it and then forgot all about it until this minute.

Lots of great suggestions and positive experiences. I feel quite keen! The boys are outdoorsy types so would probably love every minute.

In answer to a question further down, our car is a Volkswagen Golf Estate. Quite big but I can see us borrowing a rookbox all the same!

[Hilary]

I meant roofbox, obviously!

[dawniy]

hilary if you enjoy camping then your children will too. My kids love it Ds went for the first time when he was 6 weeks old!!
I feel main thing is no leaks in your tent and plenty of dry clothes. One of those round things with pegs on for drying socks etc is useful.

Pupuce- with ds the first time it was just a small tent same as you as long as you are on a good site with all the facilities you will be fine. Take plenty to amuse the kids and a decent lantern torch is a must for loo visits in the middle of the night.
hope you all enjoy it.

[janh]

Hilary, we have a weekend every year at a campsite in the Dales (Howgill Lodge, do a google) it's quite basic - esp compared with eg French sites - but might be a good place for your lot to try it out and see how you go on.

I think your lads would love it and all you have to do is grin and bear it - as long as your tent is big enough to sit inside out of the rain!

[Katherine]

oh just found this thread - don't have chance to read it all but wanted to add my bit - so sorry if I repeat anything.

We are big camping fans and the kids (4.5 and 3) love it. We've never had any major problems other than the very first night when it was hard to settle them but they've been good as gold ever since.

My tips would be to make sure you have one big bedroom. We bought a tent with a room for kids and one for us but they pile in it the morning and its such a squash so we are now upgrading to a bigger tent with more social space and one large bedroom with optional divider for later.

REgarding cooking we've got a normal height table which folds up properly for out little cooker to keep it out of reach and we do a lot of BBQs. We've found that the windbreaks are excellent to create a zone around the cooking area to keep little ones out.

We don't bother with the proper blow-ups - we got some of the self-inflating ones from a camping shop. Kids will sleep anywhere and you just need to give them a quick puff to get them really comfy. The ones with a pump take forever and tend to go down anyway.

The most useful bit of kit we've ever bought was waterproof trousers. The kids live in them even if its not wet as it keeps them clean and you don't need to worry about them sitting in mud etc. Essential once a baby starts crawling.

We've also got an excellent lamp from argos which you can recharge from the car battery.

Will read through this whole thread later (got to take kids to party now) but camping is WONDERFUL with kids. They love it and the freedom is great. You can pack up and go whenever you feel like it, pick the right spot and move on if you are not happy and its SO cheap compared to cottages etc. The only thing I don't like is that if the children cry in the night or anything then you are really conscious of disturbing other people although no-one ever complains. Its also easier if you can go with freinds and share stuff.

We went for the bank holiday weekend and had a fab time so are going again in a few weeks even though I'll be 34 weeks pg. Also planning to go again in August a few weeks after the baby is born.

[Hilary]

We have been in the Trafford Centre today in the camping shop, eyeing up all the stuff we're hoping to buy. Does anyone have any suggestions as to where to buy it all from. We have a limited budget and wonder whether a camping shop is the best place or whether there is somewhere online which will save us some money? Would any of you consider buying second hand or would you always buy new?

[janh]

We bought our enormous tent second-hand - it wasn't a huge bargain, in fact I think we paid £300 for it, but it was nearly new.

You sometimes see the whole caboodle for sale by someone who has either bought a caravan or given up completely - tent, beds, sleeping bags, stove, table etc. Might be worth scouring Loot.

[janh]

Hilary, if you google "camping equipment" there is a line of green box links down the left hand side of the page, mostly offering discounts.

[Hilary]

Is there anywhere you can go to see lots of tents up? It's hard to get much of an idea from pictures but each camping shop we go in seems to have one small tent up and that's it. We'd quite like to go in some and compare them. I'm in the north west.

[addle]

Hello,

can anyone give specific recommendations for family size tents?

thanks

addle