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Original poster

Washing toddlers

27 replies

speedymama · 09/08/2006 11:58

This might seem like a silly question but how do you wash your toddlers at a campsite?

DH and I are planning to take DTS camping next year when they are 3yo. When we use to camp before we had children, we used the shower blocks but I don't think this is a practical option for a 3yo. I was planning to take a bowl and use that to wash them. What do the experience campers do?

TIA

OP posts:
MaloryFascinatorTowers · 09/08/2006 11:58

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foxinsocks · 09/08/2006 12:01

why isn't a shower practical (or is it the shower blocks you don't like)?

would think a quick shower is the easiest

Bozza · 09/08/2006 12:05

When we were kids my Mum used to put water in an inflatable dinghy next to the tent.

AllyH · 09/08/2006 12:06

My 3yr old doesn't like showers - so guess would have to be the sink for her!

We've not been yet so will have to see - otherwise lots of swimming!!

Nemo1977 · 09/08/2006 12:06

speedymama we take ds 2.10yrs and dd 8mths into the shower with us. No problems at all with doing that as long as you take one each. Some campsites even have seperate bathroom/baby facilities.

Laura032004 · 09/08/2006 12:16

Have showered DS at campsites since he was a baby. Often there is a room with a single bath, which is great if you clean it first!

Original poster
speedymama · 09/08/2006 12:33

DTS hate the shower so impractical for us. Looks like I will be filling a bowl with warm water instead.

OP posts:
MrsBadger · 09/08/2006 12:35

lots of the Forestry Commission campsites have 'baby wahsing facilities' ie a big belfast-type sink in the shower block, which may or may not be of use to you...

snowlenin · 09/08/2006 12:39

A small, cheap paddling pool might make a good baby bath that's also light and easy to pack small. (We've got one from ELC that was a fiver) You could even take it into the shower block and fill it from the shower, if it's not a fixed shower head.

sandyballs · 09/08/2006 12:44

Mine rarely get washed when we camp, much to DH's horror . I wipe the food off their faces after they eat but pretty much leave everything else. Doesn't do them any harm. They have a good soak in the bath when they get back. That's assuming you are only camping for a few days, not weeks . They don't end up smelly like adults.

UniSarah · 09/08/2006 16:54

Mum used to wash us standing in a bowl in the tent with a flannel. did this till we were quite big kids and could be trusted to wash our selfs. even then i had to show her my soap to prove i'd used it! I think she knew me well. i was happy to be grubby kid at 9.
we didn't go to the kind of sites that had shower blocks every hundred yards. oh and we went swimming a lot too, now i know why.

jessicaandrebeccasmummy · 09/08/2006 16:55

we had our forst trip with a 9 month old and 2 yr old - THE SINK!

Went swimming lots too which helped!!!

Original poster
speedymama · 09/08/2006 16:56

I can't swim - must get round to learning. DH can swim but not very well.

OP posts:
madmarchingforfreedomhare · 09/08/2006 16:57

WE used one of the plastic containers we packed our stuff in as a bath.

Waswondering · 09/08/2006 17:02

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tassis · 09/08/2006 18:24

we were in a caravan last summer when ds was 2y 1 m and he'd not really been in a shower before except at swimming pool. he loved it!

handlemecarefully · 09/08/2006 18:30

My youngest (2.4) had previously been fearful of showers - but I dragged him in against his will, clutched him to me and showered him for a frantic minute or so (it was the only practical option and he was filthy) - he yelled and wriggled and screamed "No, no"

The next day he trotted into the shower block as meekly as a lamb....

Tommy · 09/08/2006 18:35

we were like unisarah - I remember lots of standing up in a washing up bowl while Mum spaped us down and then rinsed.
We did go swimming alot as well

Skribble · 09/08/2006 20:11

I remember being stood in a washing up bowl for a sponge down.

MIL used a big bucket, the kind of thing you get for toys or gardening. They took all the kids toys, buckets and spades in it in the car then filled it for water for playing in and soapy warm water for a wash.

handlemecarefully · 09/08/2006 21:17

Actually on the basis of the campsite I have just returned from, I suspect ds came out of the shower dirtier than what he went in (they were that grim!)

SecurMummy · 09/08/2006 21:25

I have worked on getting my little ones happy in the shower forjust this reason!

Having said that you are right HMC some of them are awful (but I only ever go to those sites once ) I think the solution to these is a handy spray or anti-bac wipes!

I would suggest taking a large plastic box with all your groceries in then use it for washing whilst you are there?

Bucketsofdinosaurs · 13/08/2006 22:04

You don't need to be able to swim to take 3yr olds in a shallow pool.

We're taking our 3yr old and 18m for our first big camp (well 5 days) next month and I don't plan to wash them at all. There is a pool there (guess what, it's Sandy Balls ) and if they get too mucky to come in the tent I'll hold them under the shower like the horrid mummy I am (they hate it too).

sallystrawberry · 13/08/2006 22:17

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FourJays · 13/08/2006 22:20

If it's for a week or so - go swimming. For a few days - don't bother, baby wipe 'em as necessary!

Janbo25 · 14/08/2006 07:02

a few sites I have been to have had full size baths which was great because I had a bath with my ds 18 months. There are also some sites which have family bathrooms that are available to hire for the duration of your stay which might be a practical option??