We recently took two camping trips, as in tenting in the woods with a fire pit but no running water or electricity etc. First, we took 9 teenage girls. The next week we took 10 teenage boys. Both times we took our 18 month old toddler. And we had fun! Micah loved being outside so much! They were good trips with only minor injuries and lots of good memories.
5 Tips For Camping with a Toddler
1) Bring proper sleeping options
At home, Micah sleeps in his own room in his own crib. Camping, we wanted him in our tent for safety and ease, but he needed his own sleep spot. So, we brought out PeaPod sleep tent! It worked great because it trapped him, fit inside our tent, and he loved having his our personal tent.
2) Encourage exploration
Kids need to explore their worlds. Allow your toddler to do just that: play with bugs, pet lizards, poke sticks at the fire, touch the bushes and dig in the dirt. Micah was a very dirty, scratched-up-legs mess within 12 hours of arrival. Dirt is ok.
3) Supervise everything
While dirty is fine, you still want to avoid injury. So, pick a safe site (no dangerous cliffs etc) and then be close at hand anytime fire or anything dangerous is involved. Let the little man explore but don’t get too close to edges and make sure they are always in sight. Micah understands “no” now and will pause and most often stop when told no, so as long as he was close enough to hear us tell him no, he would pause to give us time to get to him and avoid trouble, or shake his own head and walk away.
4) Bring snacks and lots to drink.
At home your toddler probably snacks and drinks a lot throughout the day. Make sure this is also an option while camping. Plus, campfire food is different. So, we encouraged Micah to eat whatever we ate, but had healthy snacks and lots of water available for the rest of the day. Camping takes planning ahead for yourselves and for the little one.
5) Be flexible!
Things won’t go perfectly according to plan. On the girls’ trip, Micah totally skipped his nap the first day from pure excitement. On the boys’ trip, he woke up about midnight freaking out and ended up sleeping the most of both nights with us. Both times he woke up with the sunrise rather than sleeping in his curtained room until 8am like at home. Take a deep breath and enjoy the ride.
I have never been camping, but I can imagine that no matter how much fun it can be, doing it with a toddler must be a lot of work! But you tips here look like very sound and reasonable advice!
Brave! Looks like your little guy had fun. I love that little sleeping tent – that would be great for the beach too.
great tips! thanks i love camping
Oh great tips! I love the sleeping pod! That is so neat!
I havent taken my kids camping yet. I never even thought of doing it with a toddler but maybe I should. We bought a tent last year but only used it in the yard once. Thanks!
We love camping! The little one is 7 months old, and we plan on taking him with us soon. We’ll be hiking/fishing as well. Any advice on not overpacking? I tend to do this a lot. Also, what are some of your favorite products for camping with baby?
It has been a long time since we camped with toddlers (they are 27 and 24 now!) but man, is #5 the best piece of advice. Don’t try to force people in general, but toddlers for sure, into the preconceived “plan” for your camping adventure. That leads to meltdowns all around!
This looks like an awesome time! That little tent is an fantastic idea too!
F*ckin¦ awesome issues here. I am very happy to see your article. Thanks so much and i am taking a look forward to touch you. Will you kindly drop me a mail?
I am incessantly thought about this, thanks for putting up.
Wohh just what I was searching for, regards for posting.
I’d forever want to be update on new blog posts on this internet site, bookmarked! .
Hi, Neat post. There’s a problem with your website in internet explorer, would check this… IE still is the market leader and a huge portion of people will miss your fantastic writing due to this problem.
Thanks a bunch for sharing this with all of us you actually understand what you are talking approximately! Bookmarked. Please also discuss with my site =). We can have a hyperlink trade contract between us!
Thanks for a marvelous posting! I really enjoyed reading it, you happen to be a great author.I will ensure that I bookmark your blog and definitely will come back down the road. I want to encourage continue your great job, have a nice holiday weekend!
It?¦s actually a cool and helpful piece of information. I?¦m happy that you just shared this useful info with us. Please stay us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.
I am curious to find out what blog system you’re working with? I’m experiencing some small security problems with my latest website and I would like to find something more safeguarded. Do you have any solutions?
Enjoyed looking through this, very good stuff, thanks.
Way cool, some valid points! I appreciate you making this article available, the rest of the site is also high quality. Have a fun.
Unquestionably believe that which you stated. Your favorite justification appeared to be on the net the simplest thing to be aware of. I say to you, I certainly get irked while people think about worries that they plainly do not know about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top and defined out the whole thing without having side-effects , people can take a signal. Will probably be back to get more. Thanks
Very efficiently written article. It will be useful to anybody who usess it, including yours truly :). Keep up the good work – can’r wait to read more posts.
Great goods from you, man. I have understand your stuff previous to and you’re just extremely great. I really like what you’ve acquired here, really like what you are stating and the way in which you say it. You make it enjoyable and you still take care of to keep it sensible. I cant wait to read far more from you. This is really a wonderful web site.
Hi there just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in your post seem to be running off the screen in Safari. I’m not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with internet browser compatibility but I figured I’d post to let you know. The layout look great though! Hope you get the issue resolved soon. Thanks
Some times its a pain in the ass to read what website owners wrote but this internet site is really user pleasant! .
Hello there! I know this is kind of off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this website? I’m getting tired of WordPress because I’ve had problems with hackers and I’m looking at options for another platform. I would be fantastic if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.
I think this web site has some real excellent info for everyone :D. “Morality, like art, means a drawing a line someplace.” by Oscar Wilde.
Woah! I’m really loving the template/theme of this website. It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s difficult to get that “perfect balance” between superb usability and visual appeal. I must say you have done a very good job with this. Also, the blog loads super quick for me on Opera. Excellent Blog!
Some really nice and utilitarian info on this web site, too I conceive the style has superb features.
Excellent post. I was checking continuously this blog and I’m impressed! Very useful information particularly the last part 🙂 I care for such information a lot. I was seeking this certain information for a long time. Thank you and best of luck.
Super-Duper website! I am loving it!! Will be back later to read some more. I am taking your feeds also.
Nice post. I learn something more challenging on different blogs everyday. It will always be stimulating to read content from other writers and practice a little something from their store. I’d prefer to use some with the content on my blog whether you don’t mind. Natually I’ll give you a link on your web blog. Thanks for sharing.