Camping with kids is a great way to bond with your children and teach them essential life skills. Camping doesn’t have to be a complicated part of the fun is the simplicity of it.
There are only two rules to camping: have fun and leave it better than you found it.
About the author
Jessica is the founder of According To Jessica, and a work-from-home mom of two. She has camped, driven across the country, and traveled internationally with her children. Jessica loves to write about traveling with toddlers, camping with kids, and Airbnb design as she has a background in interior design. You can follow Jessica on Instagram @accordingtojessicablog.
5 Tips For Camping With Kids
After reading this article, you will feel more prepared for camping with your kids. With a little bit of planning and foresight, you’re sure to have a fantastic camping experience.
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1. Choose A Kid Friendly Campsite
When looking for a camping ground and campsite good for a family, first look for signs that the camping location is safe, secure, and offers fun “doings”. You should look for:
Electricity
Not all campsites have electricity available. Camping with electricity means you can more easily charge your devices and use your normal day-to-day tools.
However, if electricity isn’t available, it’s not a lost cause. You can pack a battery bank to keep your phone charged and make sure you have enough propane to fuel your griddle or camping stove. It’s just best to know beforehand so you can pack accordingly.
Campsite Recreational Activities
Knowing what activities are available at your campground can help you plan your trip. Some of the most highly sought-after activities are swimming pools, playgrounds, hiking trails, an accessible lake, horseshoes, and canoeing.
Location of Campsite
The location of your campsite is a crucial part of having a successful camping trip. Do you need your site next to the bathrooms and showers? Would you like to avoid spots right next to the road? Campsites on or near a busy road can be loud and also dangerous.
Campsite Amenities
Campsite amenities are essential when choosing a campground. Family-friendly amenities include toilets, showers, running water, and firepits. For those families who like to have their pets tag along, find a campground that is pet friendly.
Boondocking or backpacking with your kids is possible. It requires more thought and planning. If you’re planning to backpack, there almost certainly won’t be showers or electricity so plan to pack a charging bank, loads of water, and baby wipes.
2. Bring Essential Kid Camping Gear
The goal is for your kids to be comfortable. Packing essential kids’ camping gear, like hiking boots, quality socks, a hydration backpack, and a comfortable sleeping bag or cot will be complete game changers.
It is essential to have high-quality shoes and socks for camping and hiking. Invest in quality, all-season performance socks as blisters are the worst!
Tip: Make sure your kid’s shoes are broken in before the trip and pack bandaids in your backpack just in case blisters occur.
3. Plan Fun Activities
Camping allows for many fun activities that you wouldn’t normally be able to do. Having the items necessary to do these activities is helpful when making camping a wonderful experience. Popular camping activities include:
Build a Fire
Building a fire is a simple yet fun activity for kids. It teaches your kids, fire building basics, fire safety, and what replaces your microwave at home.
Once the fire is roaring, you can roast marshmallows and tell stories around the campfire. It’s a ton of fun for the whole family.
Kayaking
If the campground offers it, go kayaking or canoeing. The campground will typically supply size-appropriate life jackets, but check first.
Hiking
Hiking is one of the classic adventure activities that can be done while camping. It is a great way to get movement and fresh air into your day.
Tip: When hiking with kids make sure to pack snacks and take lots of breaks.
Play Camping Games
Once you’ve exhausted the campground’s activities, you can pull out some camping games. A few fun games to play include:
- basket toss
- Plan a scavenger hunt
- Checkers
- magnetic darts
- sledding
- bocce ball
4. Pack Lots of Snacks
Camping isn’t about roughing it for the sake of roughing it. It’s simply an opportunity to spend quality time together outdoors.
Some great camping snacks to pack are:
- Cereal bars
- Pre-packaged trail mix
- Applesauce pouches
- Beef jerky
5. Permit Yourself to Relax
As parents planning, packing, and preparing for camping can be stressful. Do your best to relax and enjoy this precious time with your family. Let the kids play in the dirt, dig up rocks and swim in the creek.
Let your family eat pre-packaged foods that are easy to make. Dinner doesn’t have to be fancy! The memories of eating fire-roasted hotdogs and chips every night for dinner will be memorable.
Tip: Allow yourself to be in the moment with your family. That’s when you can make memories of a lifetime.
At the end of the night, if you want to watch a movie, pull out the iPad and use your hotspot. Permit yourself to relax and enjoy your family and all the benefits that camping has to offer.
Benefits of Camping With Kids
There are so many benefits to camping with your kids. Some of the major benefits are:
Education
Camping allows you to teach your children essential life and survival skills. It’s so easy to point out a toad or explain why the water in the creek is constantly moving while you’re out hiking.
Organically kids can learn how to build a fire, cook without a microwave, pick out constellations, identify plants, see animals and so much more.
Camping is such a fun way to learn with all 5 senses.
Your kids are absorbing all of that beautiful knowledge in a way that is organic and engaging.
Being Active
When you camp, you’re more likely to be moving your body. You may be riding your bike, hiking, or canoeing but your body is moving.
Fresh Air
There’s nothing like breathing in fresh air for a few days. There are so many benefits to fresh air like increasing your energy and mood, improving circulation and heart rate, and giving you a sense of peace and calmness. You’re sure to leave feeling refreshed.
Connection
When you get out of your comfort zone and spend quality time outdoors moving and learning, you’re building a stronger connection with your family and friends. Instead of being in your own world on your phone or watching tv you are cooking and eating together. You are having deep and meaningful conversations. You are not only connecting with each other but also with nature. Connecting with nature has so many health benefits such as lower incidence of mental health conditions and overall positivity.
Tips For Camping With Kids Wrap-Up
There are a few essential tips for camping with kids. These tips coupled with some forethought and planning will make your family camping trip extremely memorable.
Knowing what amenities that campsite has is very important when planning a trip with kids. It is good to know if there are bathrooms and electricity on-site. Having an idea of what type of activities the campsite has to offer is helpful when planning activities for your family. Do you need to bring a kayak or have a bunch of games on hand to play?
Eating together as a family and having an abundance of snacks is a must when outside doing physical activities. Plus it makes the trip memorable.
Ultimately camping is about kicking back, relaxing, and enjoying time with the people you love in scenic places. Whether it be in the mountains, desert, beaches, or your backyard, you’re sure to enjoy a camping experience with your kids.
