Mum and son camping trip

[MAMA1kk]

Please give me you top solo mum (dad doesn't get as many holidays as me 😊) camping tips.

How do you pitch your tent yourself ?
What was the epic fail you don't want someone to repeat ?
I love my time just me and my boy (7) and want to do this so much just getting the tent up solo ⛺️....

Practice before you go and get your son to help. I have had many epic fails as a single parent - just repeat the mantra, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!

No tips but have you tried YHA family room? They also have some YHA with glamping pods for a good price.

Have you considered glamping instead, or a place with pre-erected tents? A yurt? All the fun of camping without the hardship. It can be expensive buying tents, sleeping bags, cooking stuff etc.

I did it with my son when he was 7 with a giant inflatable tent in the wind! It’s definitely doable! We had so much fun camping together just us.

Definitely practise putting up (and taking down) the tent before you go. Keep the meals simple. Take plenty games, decks of cards etc.

What tent do you have?
I agree practice if you can but most tents are self explanatory.

My epic fails tend to be things like:
-forgetting toilet roll.
-Not taking something for under the bed, the ground gets cold and it’s important to heat up.
-not taking extra pegs and hitting hard ground which resulted in bent pegs.

So now all of those go in the camping kit!

You don’t need a man for camping, you’ve got this.

I should have said, we already have all the gear (a little idea) as we go a few times a year as a family.
But I desperately want to make the most of a week I am just off this year with him without hubby.
It makes £ sense to use what we have rather than paying for something already there (pods etc) but I have not totally ruled this out.
I think the best thing is to find somewhere and see if I can get the tent up just the two of us.

Sounds like a great idea. A practice run is a good idea. We had one family sized tent that I struggled to put up with my son when he was a similar age because neither of us were tall enough!

I'm sure you will have a lovely time.

Could your husband join you for the first and last weekend so that he can help you set up and take down?

My epic fail was the main tent pole breaking in a storm. We just booked into a local B&B, had a hot shower, fish and chips, a cooked breakfast and then went back to the campsite and cleared up. Even when it goes wrong camping is fantastic.

My top tips to take camping to another level. Hot water bottles, fairy lights, cushions, blankets, a rug for the floor, a door mat for wet days (to stop the mud and grass coming into the tent) and shoes you can slip on and off for night time wees. Happy camping!

Ive been a single parent since my son was 3 (now 16). We have camped since he was 4 , he obviously wasn’t a huge help when he was younger but your son at 7 will be able to help with tasks .
Have a practice erecting the tent before you go and set out what he can do to help . It will be a great adventure , you often find other campers are willing to help too .

I'm a single parent who camps multiple times a year with two primary aged kids. I can do the tent myself, but the campsites I go to have friendly people who always offer to help me.

I would say choosing the right campsite is the most important. There's one I go to every year, the kids always make friends, lots of things to do. It's in Kent, let me know if you want a recommendation.

The two hardest bits for me is leaving the kids to have a shower, because I've got two close in age they are prone to bickering and fighting so I don't like leaving them too long, and secondly doing all the cooking and washing up on your own is a right drag. The kids "help" obviously but they aren't great at it. I tend to choose campsites that have fridges available, a shop and good washing facilities. My favourite has a pizza oven and cooks fresh pizzas and chickens on Fridays and Saturdays so I always plan to eat those and don't have to cook/wash up in the evenings which really helps.

Easy things for brekky and lunch. We always bring a kite, hours of fun, and I do bring the tablet so the kids can have some downtime and watch a film to chill in the evenings as needed sometimes

Having another adult around does make it easier but there's a real sense of achievement doing on your own! If you find other friendly families near by then it helps as you can help each other out. I usually find another single parent and we help each other if we need another pair of hands

Buy a tent that’s easy to pitch. If you already have the tent, practice in the garden.

Oh and think about how to get your things from the car to the plot by yourself. As a single adult I would never bring fairy lights, cushions, blanketa, rugs etc unless you absolutely need them as it's too many trips to carry everything if you can't park by your pitch! I bring as little as possible to keep things comfortable but anything like lights for decorative purposes only are out. Packing everything up at the end by yourself is a long process even with the essentials.

I camped for years as a single mum, and we had a beast of a canvas frame tent. It took me 20 minutes to get up on a good day 30 if the DC "helped".

At the age of 7, your DS should be capable of handing you tent pegs when you need them, and hopefully standing THERE and holding THAT bit up on demand 😆

I often found the worst bit was having to face blowing the air mattresses up after having speed erected the tent, but happily DS1 took over that job at the age of 8/9.

At the age of 7 DC can help by doing things like taking the recycling to wherever it goes and going to get the morning croissant order if you're in France.

The other good thing is that at that age he's old enough to play with the other kids on the campsite while you chill out.

Nowadays mine are 10 and 16 and they each have their own tent which they put up, and I sleep in the van. Which is rather lovely 😊

I would never, never camp at a site where you couldn't park next to the tent.

Oh I much prefer them, so much nicer to let the kids run around when you know cars aren't driving around near tents. And the few times I have, you get people opening all the doors and playing music from the car which I find so anti social. My favourite campsite has a car park near the showers/toilet block and a short walk to your pitch, and provide wheelbarrows.

Agree with your about the air beds though. Best investment was battery powered pump, needs massive batteries and still takes a while but not so sweaty pumping them up 😆

I always go for very very quiet sites, preferably with a no amplified music policy, and very few people driving in/ out at the worst of times. Field, toilets, tap and permission to have a campfire is all I need.

Happily, so many campers nowadays are convinced that you need an EHU that these simple sites really thin out the crowds. But I sleep in my van, plus we use it as an auxiliary cupboard.

I think no- car sites are the most anti family thing I have ever seen, having witnessed the distress on the faces of all the families at "family friendly" Camp Bestival struggling to haul all their belongings from one side of the site to the other on those stupid little folding trolleys with toddlers in tow (our wheelbarrow attracted much envy 😆)

A small no-car campsite is not like going to bestival and walking 2 miles with your stuff nor anti family 🤣

I agree those finding trollies are terrible, I've got a metal sack barrow that works a treat so also feel smug at bestival etc.

OK, you do you.

Just as long as the OP knows that she does not, in fact, have to choose a site where you are obliged to carry all your gear across a field.

My biggest fail was forgetting the camp stove. I have dietary needs and can't eat at most on site places. I lived on snacks and anything you can cook in a toaster. As for putting the tent up try and get your son helping as it will make it easier, even just passing things or holding poles while you hammer pegs in.

Do a practice run in the garden for a night or two.

I took both DC around this age with a pole tent. A lovely camper same and helped me to put it up. I had practiced at home and knew I could do it but their help was wonderful.

Thankyou all for your support and encouragement 🥰 planning has commenced !

What sort of tent do you have? A 7 yo can be really helpful, all they need to do is hold a pole while you put in the relevant guy, etc. Or sit on the corner of the groundsheet to stop it blowing away while you peg the other end.

If you have a tunnel tent there is a video on YouTube , The Cross Camping Method , how to put up a tunnel tent single handed.

For solo parent camping (I have done plenty) think about nightime toilet trips. You won’t want to leave your child alone and asleep in the tent . A bucket with lid or camping toilet is your friend.

This is the kind of practicalities I'm talking 👏 thankyou 😁