18 month old camping

[penguinparty00]

Is it silly to think we can go camping this summer with an 18 month old? We are really into camping and hope to continue this with the little one but not sure if this is even possible, he will be 18 months when we go but I've no idea where to begin .. what will he sleep in? What will I need? Any help from fellow campers who have travelled with little ones would be so appreciated, we have 2 holidays all booked and paid for so there's no getting out of it apart from to just not go.

We’ve always camped since kids were 6 months old. We used to take a travel cot, then those toddler air beds with slightly raised sides, then normal air beds.

I can’t remember needing anything specific apart from potty for any wee’s, plenty of warm clothes, changes of clothes for when they get filthy etc.

Someone who’s camped more recently might help, mine are now 16 and 18 so maybe I can’t remember the chaos, we’ve just always done it x

Oooo maybe a spare single air bed as often kids would end up with me on double air bed and husband would be relegated to kids bed (or floor if they have travel cot) - quickly realised he needed proper spare mattress thing.

Depends how they sleep. My 3 howled the place down (private site we rent between friends) and the younger two (5 and 4) still continually get up with various complaints up until about 1am.

We always think maybe this time they’ll go to sleep and they just never do. We don’t have this at home either so it’s specific to camping.

We took our 1 year old, a 13 yr old, and a 10 yr old camping.
We brought a playpen and he slept in that for naps and at bedtime, I could easily move it outside I can't remember anything else just usual camping equipment. We were in a large tent with an attached screened tent where we put the picnic table in and hung out in there at night when all the mosquitoes were out. Enjoy!

My tips...
A tent that can be put up by one adult so the other can supervise toddler
Fleece sleepsuit over normal sleepsuit as they wriggle out of covers.
Dont go for a site with too many facilities that attract large groups as they are the noisiest and most crowded. More basic sites are quieter and have more space.

Its great as you can put them to sleep and then sit outside the tent, unlike a hotel room where you have to tiptoe around them.

Travel cot if crawling/walking. Can also be used to keep baby safe if you both need to do something - like putting up a tent!
We've camped with kids of all ages and it's been fine. The one time we went with a crawler and no space in the tent for the travel cot was horrible though!

Took my 8 month old and was joined by a friend who had an 8 week old baby, it was fine! Travel cot, spare everything, puddlesuit!! Lots of layers to wrap up in. Lots of wet wipes and bags for dirty clothes/boots to keep them separate from clean. Solar shower bag filled with water and left hanging near the tent is handy for quick hand washes/ face washes to limit wet wipes and trips to the toilet block.

Yes those toddler beds with the sides so they don't roll off. Can't think of anything else apart from loads of changes of clothes.

Time travelling around sleeps. Set off half an hour or so before sleep, feed finger food, a few toys, drift off to sleep and pedal to the metal. Wake up, drink, feed, a few toys and you can get a long way before needing to stop.

Or don’t go too far away and get the tent set up before wake up.

At home, I would never have dc on my lap while I was on the toilet. So, for stops, park at the far end of the car park, carry/cuddle child to toilet and down. Then do your thing. My dc would then be happy to walk around before back into the car for a second driving session.

Sounds awfully complicated to be taking travel cots etc. Ours slept in a child sized sleeping bag in the sleeping compartment next to us. Other than that a low table that they could eat their dinner off was useful as they were too small to hold their plate on their laps. No extra equipment at all, just plenty of changes of clothes and YY to a puddle suit and wellies.

Definitely go. Take a travel cot or if you are breastfeeding cosleep

We used a travel cot when tiny, then progressed to a ready bed, which work well for camping.

Make sure tent has a sewn in ground sheet, so they can't disappear in the gap between ground sheet and tent. To be honest most tents do nowadays anyway.
Zip up the doors so the zip is at the top of the door rather than the bottom, so little fingers can't reach. I camped for years with 4 children, from when they were babies. No real problems, used a combination of travel cots and co sleeping if it was colder.
I used lots of the little battery hanging lights as night lights, so they could still see me if they woke in the night.
Crocs are useful for them as quick slip on and off shoes when going in and out of the tent.

Blow up beds offer no insulation from the ground.

SIMs (self inflating mats) are much warmer as they have a layer of memory foam inside. Or you can put foam playmates down under your blow up beds.

Zip the bedroom door zip up to the top, out of reach, to prevent escape attempts.

MN has a Camping board, under Travel. Lots of experienced parent campers!

Kids love camping of any age

Yep, totally doable. We used the dinghy style beds then migrated to ReadyBeds. With a roll mat underneath for an extra layer and a fleece blanket between bed and sheet. Fleece onesies over pyjamas too. And loads more blankets!

Travel cot. And pack it where you can get it out straight away.

It’s the first thing we unpack, toss toddler in with finger foods and toys whilst you get the tent up.

If you’re buying new kit there are tents with black out bedroom areas, otherwise just accept that you will have early morning starts - have some quiet toys and instant food available - I put them in the tent pocket by my head then fire them at the travel city as needed.

Layer up massively with winter vest, long sleeve tee, pjs and fleece under a grow bag or sleeping bag.

Take more clothes than you think you’ll need as crawling makes for ridiculously wet damp trousers. Snow suit or puddle suit fab and a high vis one useful if you have a runner!

It’s a great age really - not potty training so no need to be balancing camp loos in the tent or trudging over to a toilet block at toddler intervals. Lots of fresh air and running around opportunities so some really good heavy sleeping.

And the ability to sit outside the tent and enjoy being adults rather than sitting in the dark in a hotel room.

If you get a choice of where to pitch, aim to be as far away as possible from any child’s playground unless you want to be pushing swings from the moment you unzip the tent in the morning.

We like a site on a farm or with animals somewhere. Easy activity is going to count the piggies or watching the tractor or whatever it might be.

And take a giant squashy plastic bucket. 3 inches of water and a squirt of fairy liquid and you’ve got an instant bathtub, and the sides are high enough that it keeps the wind off. You’ve also got something to swill bedding in if disaster happens. And works as a good containment device instead of a high chair - dump child and food in it together and you’ll not be picking mud and grass out of dropped meals.

Took my eldest in a trailer tent when he was 12 months old, 2nd one when he was 4 months old (he pulled himself up on the awning tent pole and stood for the first time - can still remember it!) and youngest when she was 10 weeks old! They all had warm all in ones to sleep in as they wriggled out of whatever bedding they were in. Eventually they settled into children sized sleeping bags. Baby was in carrycot at 10 weeks but following year all 3 slept on the bed part of the trailer tent. the worst thing for us was the early mornings - many morning spent pushing on or other of them in a pushchair whilst watching the sun rise to avoid disturbing other campers at 4.30am! DH used to do this shift as 1. I'd been awake in the night feeding younger children and 2. he had the ability to go back to sleep very easily for 3-4 hours once I took over at 7am and did breakfast and suchlike .

For bathing we used a Sainsburys Reward box - filled it with warm water from the kettle and bubbles and they happily splashed away in the awning or outside if it was warm enough.

My big tip would be to take as many empty buckets as you have space for - we had a tummy bug one year - both boys and DH suffered whilst I had to make the treks to the campsite toilets emptying the containers of vomit. I was almost phobic at the time too but had to cure myself pretty darn quick. 🤢

We camp a lot. I have to say thst camping with under 2s was a bit stressful though not to say I would totally avoid it. It depends on sleep really. Lots of under 2s still wake and cry which is very stressful if you are near other tents. They also tend to wake very early..what will you do st 5 or 6 to ensure they are quiet.

Some campsites I've been to have a barn or similar you can go early in the morning to get toddlers out of the tent.

Camping massively easier for us after our kids stopped waking early or in the night. A friend of mine drove home at 6am with her 1 year old after a massive crying session!

Take ALL the blankets!! Preferably wool or fleece ones. Remember one underneath is worth two on top!

And cotton is the enemy! It attracts damp and gets very cold.

We camped over summer when our DS was about 14 months. We stayed in my inlaws big tent and he slept in his travel cot (little life arc 2 - packs away into a little rucksacks). It was enjoyable, but his sleep went completely to pot as it was light until late and early in the morning. We had a good time but left completely knackered!

We did it. It wasnt a disaster.

Things to understand:

• it's hard for them to go to sleep when its still light
• they will wake at dawn

Basically we couldnt get our son down earlier than 9pm, and he woke at about 5.30 every day. He needed a whopper nap every day to make up the time.after about 4 days we were all a bit tired. The night it rained a lot wasn't great.

Ah thank you all so so much after reading all your comments I'm definitely thinking it could be fun!

Travel cot. Useful for keeping your child in one place, we also chucked a blanket over it at night so it was darker for sleep.
Pack lots of spare clothes, wellies. And lots of finger food, snacks.
Dd was 17 months for her first camping trip. She took her first steps in the local pub.
Still camps at nearly 15! ( same tent too!)