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Camping

Our UK Camping forum has all the information you need on finding the right equipment for your tent or caravan.

Original poster

Camping with 18 month old - TELL ME THE TRUTH!!!

29 replies

MoreSpamThanGlam · 23/01/2008 17:44

Am I out of my mind?

Was thinking of going to Bestival with some friends and their kids.

Ive got a 13 yr old dd and 8 yr old ds.

Does anyone know where I can get one of those baby rucksacks. I am broke as broke can be and was thinking this might be a nice sort of holiday/weekend.

Can you fit a travel cot in a tent?

Am I just in complete and utter denial and it will be a nightmare?

I went camping with xdh and kids before baby came along and LOVED IT, but think I might be being a bit optomistic to take baby as well.

OP posts:
Original poster
MoreSpamThanGlam · 23/01/2008 18:13

Bump

OP posts:
Fennel · 23/01/2008 19:53

We have camped loads with toddlers and it's not at all a crazy thing to do. the worst for us was the way it made them a bit wild and they would go to sleep late and wake early but at a festival you'd expect that anyway. All of ours adored camping.

we never used a travel cot. just put them in a sleeping bag with extra blankets around.

Original poster
MoreSpamThanGlam · 23/01/2008 22:13

Thanks Fennel

Did you all sleep in one room in the tent or 2?

OP posts:
moopymoo · 23/01/2008 22:17

weve done it. its better now they are older - i think this summer will be great for us as ds2 is now 3.5 but expect very early rising with an 18mnth old. we have a vis a vis tent - 2 bedrooms facing - and will put kids in other room together this year though have had lo in with us up til now. go have fun worst case scenario you will be knackered on your return!

Fennel · 24/01/2008 10:58

We found it best for one of us to sleep next to the baby/toddler, to settle them when they rustle or wake, check they are warm enough, stop them rampaging etc.

We did have our two toddlers in a separate compartment at one stage. They partied and rioted. Which was a lot of fun for them but a bit tedious for us.

Sometimes we would use a buggy to put a child to sleep in and then just move them when asleep, that worked for us.

Browny · 24/01/2008 11:07

When we first took our ds2 camping he was only 12 months old and yes, a travel cot fitted perfectly in our two bedroomed tent, Apollo 6 I think the tent is called (it has a large living area too).

Despite all the usual noises at night, from people unzipping tents to use the loo and late night laughing etc, he never woke up, but then again he was a very good sleeper. I have lovely memories of him waking up in the morning, standing up in his travel cot looking confused as to where he was . Have a lovely time.

tarantula · 24/01/2008 11:25

We have taken dd camping from 6 mnths and shes always had a great time. Never used a travel cot as our tents are too small. Used sleeping bag and she was fine. Year before last we went to an eco site in Weymouth and had a great time. I think a festival would be great as the atmosphere is more relaxed/ I'm not keen on 'proper' campsites (marked off areas and roads and stuff) tbh esp with young kids.

Fennel · 24/01/2008 11:28

Go for the family field for camping at a festival, they can be really noisy otherwise.

we took ours to a festival last summer, it was small which I thought would be better but it did mean there wasn't a quiet or family field for sleeping so it was very noisy til about 5am every night.

though you can extract revenge by sending your toddlers out to play at 7am round your noisy neighbours' tents.

ThePettyandIllinformedGoat · 24/01/2008 11:33

you can fit a travel cot in some tents but dd prefered to sleep with us. check out freecycle for baby rucksack things. though i would recommend taking a buggy for naps and general getting out of the way during tent erection (we didn't take a buggy and it was a pita)

ThePettyandIllinformedGoat · 24/01/2008 11:34

oh and it was really good fun dd loves camping

shlea · 06/02/2008 20:56

HI I have camped with my daughter when she was 18 months old and my son who was 6. We managed to put our travel cot up and we used our babies car seat as a high chair and strapped her in so that she stayed put whilst feeding her. Since then we have camped evey year and we have managed to get a baby mummy sleeping bag for her to sleep in.
Camping is so cheap and so much fun and the kids get loads of fresh air which knockes them out at night.
We also like the fact that we are away from the tv and computer games and there are loads of kids to make friends with even us parents make friends too.
Rain or shine I recommend camping to anyone.

Waswondering · 06/02/2008 21:03

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

paow · 11/02/2008 10:37

Wow this is really encouraging!
I would looove to go to a festie this year and ds will be 20 months this summer.

snowleopard · 11/02/2008 10:43

Yes it can be great. I'd put the tent up in advance, in garden or park etc, and test the travel cot and other mattresses etc in it to make sure. And if there's a chance you could get wet or cold, make sure you take a sealed plastic bag with spare warm clothes and blanket - the only thing that freaks me out about camping is the thought of 2yo DS getting too cold and having nowhere to go to warm up. Have not had a problem with him sleeping though, and he loves camping.

dylsmum1998 · 12/02/2008 21:20

Hi i went camping for the first time last summer with my then 8 yr old 16 month old and my ex- cos i didnt wanna go first time by myself. we all loved it. babe slept in with her dad and i slept in with my son, except our last night when i got both children somehow . we had a 2 bedroom tent and just used sleeping bags. we were all up playing early and to bed late- best holiday i've ever had! so relaxing and lovely. planning on doing it by myself this year with the kiddies

queenrollo · 12/02/2008 21:38

took my ds to Glastonbury last year......if i can cope with a hyper 20 month old in the mudfest that was Glasto then anyone can. I did have ds sleeping on a Thomas the Tank Engine travel bed, wrapped up in lots of blankets and he was plenty warm enough.

Taking him to a couple of smaller festivals this year......although in a campervan this time.....he may well be too excited to sleep

paow · 13/02/2008 11:08

Oh wow Queenr, that's so cool.
Can I ask you, did you get round to seeing any bands, or did you stay most of your time in the kiddies field?
Also, did you carry ds around in a backpack?

EachPeachPearMum · 09/03/2008 21:40

Do a trial run first so she knows what she's in for!
Our dd HATED camping last year, at 16 mo.
She screamed so badly the second night that after 2 hours we decided to pack the tent in the semi dark and go home at 5.30 am! It was not a good experience!

This year we're going to camp in the garden a few times first to get her in the mood

eternalstudent · 09/03/2008 21:44

We're thinking of doing Bestival too, DD will be about the same age...

We took her to the Secret Garden Party last year and it was fine, but she couldn't really move around much then and we had many mates with hippy wagons so cleaning all her stuff was easy.

It was ok, she was up at the sparrows fart every morning though which made it REALLY hard work.

Original poster
MoreSpamThanGlam · 09/03/2008 21:45

Can anyone recommend a tent then that is suitable for a travel cot?

I have got 2 other dcs too, so will need plenty of room.

ta

OP posts:
Moominpappa · 09/03/2008 21:51

Our DC love camping, but get very over excited and very over tired - late to sleep (don't assume the fresh air will knock them out!) and early to wake, and complete refusal to consider napping. Hard work, in our experience - although still good fun (TBH, DW wouldn't include the last bit of that sentence!!!!)

eternalstudent · 09/03/2008 21:51

We have a Col;eman 2 bedroom jobber. You can get it on Amazon for cheaper than elsewhere. It's brill but you def need 2 adults to put it up.

snotbuster · 09/03/2008 22:03

I've been to two festivals with DS when he was 9months and 18 months. The first time I borrowed a sansomnite ( I think) mini travel cot that folded up really small when not in use. Second time (and on other non-festie) camping trips he just slept next to me in tent.
Is a completely different experience from going to a festival without a toddler but great fun. 18 months is a good age as he was still happy to be in the pushchair quite a lot. Best ones (for muddy fields) are 3 wheelers. Went to Sunrise on that occasion which was fab as it had a great kids area. In the evenings we pushed him (and same age friend's DD) around until they fell asleep in their buggies and then we sat and had a beer.
You do need to remember to take warm clothes for evenings even in mid-summer.
I wrote my mobile number on DS arm (just in case) but the only time he went more than 10 ft from me (not even out of my sight) he was immediately noticed by a steward.

smallone · 09/03/2008 22:10

I've camped with dd at 4 months, 7 months and 9 months and am going again in may when she'll be 16 months. Previously its been fab, she's been no bother at all. 4 months was easy as she stayed put and was breastfed. 7 months I got a littlelife travel cot which I moved out of the tent in the day and used as a playpen, it has a sun canopy attached. We have an old 5man Vango tent and the travel cot does take up alot of floor space but I feel its worth it as I wasn't 100% confident I wouldn't roll on her when I was all done up in my sleeping bag. Have got one of those "strap to a chair" travel highchairs which I either leave free standing or attach to a relevant stable object. Most back carriers will stand free tho and could be used as a highchair instead.

The hardest thing I found was temperature regulation. She was warm during the day and then bam at about 5pm she would go freezing cold. Once I sussed this out I could make a pre-emptive strike with a snugglesuit. At night she had far more on than I ever thought would be safe - esp at 4months when you're paranoid about them overheating! She ended up in vest,socks, fleecy sleepsuit, babygrowbag, baby blanket,wooly hat and gloves and full adult sized fleece blanket folded into quarters. When she woke up in the night for a feed her glove had come off and her little hand was like an ice block!

Needless to say I have now invested in a vango baby sleeping bag! Am hoping that this will prevent me having to build baby mountain!

A product I loved was my husbands krill lamp, its like a glow stick but is battery powered and you can turn it on and off. We've got a green one and it is plenty to see by without the glare of a torch.

This time will be the first time camping with her truely mobile so I'm expecting a bit more work and muck, but thats all part of the fun! Need to get and all in one waterproof but haven't decided on one yet - any tips?

lennygrrl · 09/03/2008 22:17

Message withdrawn