Camping in the garden of grandparents with a 2 year old, a 3 year old and a baby - I say fun DH says not.

[Foreverexhausted]

Just toying with ideas atm for fun, inexpensive things to do over the summer with my little ones.

Grandparents have a small but big enough garden for us to camp in and I think our children would love it! DH is saying no way!

We have camped before but never with children and never in grandparents garden :)

My children are so young I can imagine them finding this really exciting and loving sleeping in a tent, having BBQ's, sitting in the garden and playing games long after it's dark, but we will have a toilet/bath/kitchen with snacks etc on hand and will probably only do it for two nights!

AIBU for thinking this could be fun?

Anyone else done this? Did it work or not?

I used to camp in our garden with the dc, but they were prob about 4 or 5 the first time. Dh and the youngest bailed to the house before 10pm. It got better and more fun as they got older.

We've camped since my youngest was about 7 months as it was fun- this is the perfect way to test out how it works for yours IMO.

How about a compromise

Tell the dc that they are going to go to sleep in the tent and get up for a midnight feast and then finish the night in real beds.

Do bbq, run around having garden fun, put dc to bed in tent (baby inside with gps) sit outside tent with dh having a glass of wine. When it gets to your bed time, either carry dc inside to bed, or if they wake give them a cup of milk and a biscuit for a midnight feast and then put them to bed inside. In the morning, if they slept through the move tell them about how they were so tired from sleeping outside that they didnt even wake up for the feast at midnight and let them eat the biscuit for breakfast.

fuck that! I’m with your DH on this!

We've garden camped for the last 2 years, working up to a campsite but it's too easy going back in for the (clean!) loo & a rum once the boy has finally gone to sleep. Also can just take the duvet out there when it's chillier. He was about 4 the first time & loved it & now at 6 is asking to sleep out each holiday. I'm hoping to hold out to the summer hols though.

SuperLoudPoppingAction the OP would be indoors with the baby and the dad with the toddlers outside.

I agree with BertrandRussell your DP should be the one indoors as it's your suggestion to begin with and he's not keen.

Sounds like fun
Look you’re either a camper or you’re not. If you are, you’re in it from day one.
If you’re not, you’re never into it

Your husband is a sage.
Tents stink at the best of time, never mind with kids in nappies 🤢

Camping . Just why? We live in a country with flush toilets, running water and soft beds yet people seem to think recreating some shit hole, third world, refugee camp in Syria is ""fun"". Christ on a bike.

As long as you can plan it so you know the weather is good - camping in the rain or wind is just bloody awful and stressful especially with children! Not something I would want to do anymore - but could be fun when the sun is shining!

Oh no camping in the garden, DH camped in the garden one night with our boys, his back has only just recovered!

I did this with my 4 year old last summer. Fucking nightmare. Fine if you don’t like sleeping, but not for me. It was too light, too exciting and too noisy which meant she didn’t contemplate lying down and going to sleep until after 11. Why does everything sound like a giant crisp packet when you’re camping? The tent rustled, the sleeping bags rustled. I was a woman on the edge. I won’t be suggesting it to DD again.

It's the only kind of camping I enjoy, or plan to do. My DS loved sleeping out in my parents garden last summer (it was hot, which may never happen again in Dublin). I have made clear that we will not be camping in the nature EVER.

The smaller ones might be too little, but you and the 3 year old could sleep out all night. DS is still telling people about it, although I think it was the barbeque s'mores he liked most.

I have always thought camping is the thing you just about endure for a music festival so that you can do the rest of the music festival, and can't imagine what possesses people to do it as a holiday in and of itself. Someone invited us to go camping with our 8 month old recently and I thought they were joking at first because I thought it sounded like such an awful idea.

Or, to put it another way: I'm team your DH on this!

Nope. Still haven't heard a version of camping that sounds remotely fun.

YABU

Also, surely the only way to sleep in a tent and on the actual floor (some dreadful inch thick camping roll aside) is drunk, so how can you do it with young children?!

Sounds horrific, but I wouldn’t go camping anyway.

Did similar when DD's were 6 and 18 months. It was great, but be warned tents are really bright during summer. If you have kids used to sleeping in the dark, it will be a late night and a very early morning. Mine loved it though!

maybe have baby sleep indoors with grandparents and me, DH (I'm sure I can talk him round) and the 2 and 3 year olds sleep in the tent

You're the one who thinks it'll be fun, YOU sleep in a tent with two toddlers.

We do a week long UK camping trip every year and have taken DS since he was 1 year old.

He's now 11 and still loves it.

I think it's a fabulous idea.

But this is Mumsnet - camping is absolutely not the done thing don't ya know?

I've done this with similar ages and it's fine, especially as you'll be in someone's garden and can de-camp if it all get's a bit too much!

I would say pick a time when the weather is warm overnight and preferably dry. Make sure everyone is really warm (mine wore fleece pyjamas and a fleece hoody with hood up as it can be quite cold at night even in summer) as they will sleep like angels as long as they're warm and dry. Mine loved it - DS4 was camping in utero and from 6 months old.

Mine would have loved it at that age (toddler age - the baby wouldn't care either way as long as he/she's warm enough and boob on tap). If it turns out to be a disaster surely you can just go inside the house and sleep there?

The OP is planning on being outside with her dh and two older kids. I don't know what the person is reading and drinking who thinks the OP is leaving the kids alone outside.

I did it with my (then) five year old last year. It was fun.

But this is Mumsnet - camping is absolutely not the done thing don't ya know? grin

My thing against camping isn't that it's cheap - I've been on, and enjoyed, some properly bargain basement holidays. Indeed one of my objections to camping (clearly this doesn't apply in OP's case) is that it really isn't as cheap as it should be for how rubbish it is if you stay at a proper campsite.