Essential toddler survival tips

[missseptember]

So...am taking the plunge and going camping next month with dd who will be almost 22months when we go.
What I would really like is:
-essential survival tips for toddlers
-tips for what I should take (or things that are always recommended but never get used)

We are going to wales at the end of july so we're hoping for good weather but realistically what should dd be sleeping in?
I've bought her a nitestar baby mummy style sleeping bag. Does she need pjs, or a vest and pjs, or another layer as well?

Am a total camping virgin so any advice at all would be amazing!

Thanks

I've taken 21m old DD camping twice in the last month.

At night she sleeps in her own little tent/travel cot, on a sheepskin, in a sleeping bag, with footed pjs and two blankets. On cold nights I've also put her fleece on top of her pjs as well. She's always slept fine.

In terms of other tips I'm not sure. DD ate as per normal, although food was simple stuff like tinned pasta or sandwiches. She has a bottle with a sports cap to have water and juice out of and her own little camping chair.

She has a towelling robe which helps after showers as we just pull it over her head and off she goes.

Crocs are invaluable as she can wear them in the shower.

Things I've found super useful generally are:

washing up bowl
washing up liquid
tea towel
pegs
washing line
head torch.

One thing we didn't have this time which I've since bought is some tweezers and a spary for numbing an area as DS got a thorn in his foot and screamed the place down as we tried to get it out. Not just for camping.

Thinking of taking 14 month old DS camping in a couple of weeks, so this is an interesting thread. Is it insane? He loves being outside, so I thought it'd be a good idea, but is he a bit young, do you think?

Have emergency entertainment kit, something new and interesting you can pull out of a bag.

Also need to think about what to do if really wet weather...dry bolthole somewhere.

A gazebo is useful for extra space or even a small tent just for the extras, if your tent isn't big enough to stand up in.

Take lots of insect repellent too.

My top tip is to go with the flow when it comes to bedtimes - do not expect them to go to sleep as easily and as early as at home.

But driving round in the car till they drop off and then parking outside a bar and sitting outside where you can see them works really well

Best tip is one of those dog pegs and a set of reins......

Oh OK maybe not - sometimes the idea is nice though LOL!

Best tips are to simply keep them well fed and not over tired. Ceral bar when they wake if you tend to take a while to get brekkie together when camping, take a buggy so there's somewhere you can strap them if needed (people sometimes ditch the buggy for car space then regret badly), take lots of layers.

DS4 (26 months ) has camped with us since he was 5 weeks, and he sleeps with us but still needs a fleec PJ set to keep warm; ds3 was in a travel cot by one and IRC it was cotton vest, cotton all in one, cardi or jumper, nitestar and blankers. Cotton and layers so they don't overheat and you can strip them down- July can go either way.

My top tip would be take a travel cot if at all possible! I had a runner and it proved invaluable when setting up all our stuff, and a great time out place when he decided to keep bolting (life is very boring sitting/standing in a travel cot whilst all your little friends are having fun)!! I also found that if I knew he was warm enough with all the sleeping bags, blankets etc I slept better. Before I was constantly waking in the night to check if he was still on the air bed or mat and found he was frozen a couple of times where he had rolled off.With the travel cot I double layered everything and he slept really well.
Next tip is to take an all in one waterproof as that way they stay cleaner and dryer, therefore less to wash. wellington boots are easy for them to get on and off as are crocs.
Get your little one ready for bed well ahead oof bed time so that their night clothes warm up on them as they are moving/playing around. Don't expect them to be in bed usual ttime, I used to look longingly at couples having a glass of wine and generally looking very serene, whilst we paced up and down or drove around the site . we just accepted that we all seemed to go to bed about the same time, once we did that things seemed a lot more chilled.
Most of all, kids love camping, it builds great memories they will enjoy telling their kids about when they are older. Just keep warm, dry and well fed, forget about some of your routines you have at home and ENJOY!

These are great thanks!

I think I've accepted that bedtime routines are going to be out of the window! I'm not too worried about dd running off as I have a 10yr old sister who's quite good at entertaining her while mum and i do tea etc.

Dastardly - towelling robe is a great idea! Will have to look at getting one.
She does have a pair of crocs although might need to get her some bigger ones.

Springywho- I don't think you're insane. I was a bit at the idea of camping with a little one at first but the more I think about it, the more i think it'll be great. DD had a great time just at the camping shop running in and out of tents!

Towelling robe - I got DD's from Boden but DS's is from Jo Jo Maman and is much better quality than the Boden one.