Your 1 top tip/advice: camping with young kids

[Queenhoneybee]

Camping with a 2yr old & 6 yr old this weekend. What's your 1 piece of advice, top tip or item that I need to know about?

Top tips! 1.Make a list so you don't forget anything. 2. Check you know how to pitch your tent before you go. 3. Don't forget the mallet!
This is what I learnt on our recent trip!

As joopy says, and also take lots of layers of clothing, nights can be cold. Put something underneath or on top of your sleeping mat/air bed to insulate it further e.g. sleeping mat with old duvet or towel on top then your sleeping bag. If it's chilly at night, wear socks to bed. Have slip on shoes or crocs type things handy to slip on at night should you need to visit the loo, also handy for in the mornings when heading to the showers.

My number 1 tip for going camping with young kids:

1. Don't go camping with young kids

(in all seriousness, don't forget the insect repellent)

Wellies
Baby wipes
Shorts

Don't forget the nappies (which I did when ds2 wasn't dry at night).

Take thermal vests and long johns to wear under pjs as it gets cold. And thermal socks. Ds2 used to sleep in a junior sleeping bag on top of a couple of large folded towels, covered with a giant folded fleece blanket.

Cartons of milk shake are good as a breakfast drink.

Head torches are good for trips to the toilet block when it's dark.

Once, I sorted the kids and all the various travel cots, nappies, teddies, baby food etc. DH's job was to sort the tent and camping equipment. When we got to the site, four hours' drive away, it turns out he'd forgotten the tent poles. Without which the tent couldn't stay upright.

How we laughed!

Oh DH, you silly old sausage, I said.

Or not!!

Don't stress about dirt - let them go feral for a bit.
My kids spent a week in a ditch in the New Forest, and couldn't have been happier.

Thanks for your info everyone!

One thing around eating/drinking. Camping furniture is flimsy and easily tipped in a crowded tent. Sit them outside to eat on little stools/boxes and try to have drinks in lidded cups. Clearing up a spilled bowl of cornflakes from your tent floor is no fun! Make sure you have kitchen paper towel to hand (spill kit)

Have the 2YO at least in with you rather than in a separate pod: it will save you the 15 mins I had many years ago on waking to find my toddler gone at 5am.....she was wandering the campsite eating a bag of crisps given to her by a kindly early riser and had no idea how to get back to us.

Potty/potette - for you as much as them. Don't rely on campsite facilities in the middle of the night when it's pouring rain

Crocs and easy to dress clothes!!

Wellies and onesies for the kids.

Take an over door hook if you are going to be taking children in the shower with you, there are never enough hooks to keep all your stuff off the floor.

Have a secret stash of sticker books, crayons, comics etc. There will be a time, especially if it rains, when you just want five minutes peace.

If they sleep with a stuffed toy, don't leave it at home and definitely don't lose it halfway through the holiday!

If your toddler is in a seperate pod, leave it zipped up with the zippers at th top, out if reach. To avoid an escape.

Door mat for just outside the tent. That patch of grass quickly turns into mud as it gets so much footfall.

Clothes pegs and string for washing line but also v useful for bin bags etc

Pop up garden bags for laundry / shoe storage

Definitely crocs for in / out of tent.

Brioche. Lots of brioche. Camping cooking takes aaaaaaages so good to have easy snack to chuck at them.

Outdoor games e.g. Throw a beanbag into a 'target'

iPad. Seriously, camping is hard work with little ones and an iPad gave everyone some downtime.

Wellies/crocs, onesies for evening/morning, iPads, warm hats for evenings. Anything to do with bubbles - we've got bubble guns, those big bubbleblowers. If it is hot then those pump water pistols are great (I think Morrisons sell them for like £2). Loads of wipes to put everywhere. Poncho towels are useful for campsite showers. Marshmallows (obv) - maybe a few bags so they can share with any new mates? Footballs. Metal cars always successful with mine - and I always forget.

Please don't take bubbles camping! The bubble mix wrecks the waterproofing on tents, especially canvas ones!

OP - wee bucket for night time is essential. :)

Flip flops for the shower, and a big bag that you just use for showers, so you know where all your stuff is and you can just grab it in the morning, and take a hook you can put over the door

Wellies and waterproofs so you're not confined to your tent in the rain

Microfiber towels

Mini table for drawing and games. Decathlon do a great folding one that's really small, but has room inside to store colouring books and small games

Bin bags, loo roll, baby wipes, mini dustpan and brush, kitchen roll, insect repellant

Absolutely no bubbles!!!!!

My best bit of advice is to forget bed"time" completely. Don't try to keep them to their bedtime, but do maintain as much of the bedtime routine as possible. We still have milk, stories and the usual bedtime songs, but much later than usual!

Haha, yes. Definitely forget bed time. Even my 3yo wasn't in bed before 10pm on the last trip

Aaaargh!

Newquay, please tell me where you are planning on camping, so I can avoid you and your bubbles.

Bubbles are detergent. Do not put detergent in tents!

Kid with bubbles near my tent get one warning then they're confiscated. Their parents can let them blow bubbles on their own sodding tent and it's always the ones staying in caravans

Waterproof all in ones are great for toddlers. Also onesies as said above. If you can get ones without feet they are better as they can then wear their wellies with them in the evenings/mornings before getting dressed.

Take brioches or similar amd then keep them by you at night so when they wake at stupid o'clock you can chuck "breakfast" at them without getting out of your warm sleeping bag (I am very bad in the mornings).

Before you go to bed, leave each child a surprise 'first breakfast' by their bed. A cereal bar or brioche or little pot of dried fruit or dry cereal; whatever. They always wake up hungry and this buys precious quiet time in the morning.

If you are successful in adjusting your kids' body clock so they wake later than you, enjoy it 😊

Make sure you take clothes for all weather's. So wellies and full waterproof and shorts, t-shirts and flip flops and pretty much everything between. whatever the weather is meant to be like, you can't guarentee it and you may well have the complete opposite.
Take baby wipes, they are excellent for cleaning many things.
Have young dc in the bedroom with you, much easier for night wakings.
Take snacks and colouring/games to entertain if the weather is bad.
Picnic rugs for the tent floor, if they get spilt on or dirty you can take them outside and shake the bits of them.
Absolutely no shoes on in the tent.