Are you thinking about camping with children? We survived living in a tent for months with children. It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t amazing. It was surely an experience! With that being said, I wanted to take a minute to share some tips for your next camping trip with children.
Tenting with kids is a fun experience. You’ll get to take your kids out of the home and into the great outdoors to enjoy an adventure of a lifetime. As you camp with children you’ll have new opportunities to teach them new skills. Your children will learn how to collect sticks, make a fire, and cook a meal over a campfire. Your children will begin to learn that there’s more fun than electronics in this world. Your children will learn how to work together as a family and begin to have a solid appreciation for you, their parents.
If you’re about to hit the great outdoors and go on a camping trip with children, then please read these tips to make sure this is the best time ever!
Think About the Weather for Food Options
If it’s going to be hot, select cold meals like sandwiches, salads, etc. If it gets chilly during the evening, hot meals will be welcomed. Take what you wish, and take what is going to not spoil for a minimum of 3 days. Take one thing sweet, sour, crunchy, chewy and as several sources of high-quality protein as you’ll manage. Keep in mind how much these snacks will weigh for times when you may need to carry snacks in a hiking backpack. Keep your food stored in a tight container that’s not going to attract critters. We once had a skunk visit our campsite during our tenting with kids adventure!
Bring Some Meals to Cook Over the Campfire
We love cooking over the campfire. There’s one thing very satisfying about building the campfire from scratch and then cooking your food over it. You’ll feel very accomplished, and your kids will too if you have them help that is! Keep in mind that preparation over the fire takes more time and work than just cooking in a kitchen. It’s best to collect campfire wood or buy it from a local campfire place before the dark of night sets in! We bought our campfire from a local person who sells it at the end of his driveway. We kept that man’s firewood business running strong during our days of being homeless with kids.
Additional Tips for Meal Planning While Camping
Remember everything takes longer and is tougher to prepare outdoors. One thing that may be simple when cooking at home, will be much more difficult during your camping with children trip. A straightforward task like buttering bread can be quite the ordeal when you’re cooking within the wind/rain/heat/mosquitoes. Consider getting a tent that can cover the food prep area, such as a canopy with a screened net around it.
Always keep an eye on your children. Regardless of their age, it’s best to set boundaries and rules. It took us staying at one campground a few times before we would let our children venture off on their own to check out the campground. Just set rules, expectations and follow through with consequences to ensure your children can stay safe while exploring the campground and great outdoors together.
Camping with children can be a fun experience if you prepare appropriately. We didn’t really plan our camping trip, but that’s another story altogether. Everything worked out fine in the end and let me tell you what, it’s always good to choose a campground that has a shower!