Camping With Kids – A Must Do For Families

Camping with kids requires a little extra planning, packing, and fun. Kids love to go camping and they are sure to remember these trips forever. It is an excellent way to plan a family outing and give your kids an opportunity to appreciate and experience the outdoors. It is also inexpensive. With a little extra preparation, you are going to plan the most fun and memorable family camping trip.

First of all, be sure to pack a little common sense, some patience, and tolerance. I can guarantee you that everything will not go 100% correctly. Children are unpredictable, wildlife is unpredictable, and you are going to be off schedule and out of your comfort zone. With that being said, there are a few steps you can take in order to make things run as smoothly as possible:

Make sure that your campsite is family friendly. Unless you and your family camp frequently, your children are unlikely to appreciate great scenery; they just don't have the "life" experience. Pick a location that has plenty of outdoor activities, water activities, or family oriented games to keep them entertained.
Make a checklist of everything that you will need to pack for each child. DO NOT try to pack off the top of your head! I forget to pack things when I’m going to my mother’s house for a few days and it is a pain in the neck. Imagine finding your campsite and getting settled in for the night only to remember that you don’t have something that the kids will need. Ugh!
Brush up on those basic emergency procedures. Kids are accident prone and you want to make sure that you are prepared to handle sun burns, burns, snake bites, CPR, skin irritations, etc. In the event of an accident, you will be glad that you took a little extra time to be precautious.
Don’t forget that they are children! If you will be car camping, RV camping, van camping, or traveling long distances, make sure that you allow the children time to stretch their legs and burn some of their energy off. Remember that toddlers and preschoolers have small attention spans and that young children will not be able to hike as far as you. Bring plenty of snacks and invest into a family first aid kit.
Let them be a part of the process. Include them in the planning, setting up, cooking, cleaning, and fun. Camping is also a way for children to see how well their family can work together without all the electronics, distractions, and stress of work and school. It is also supposed to be relaxing times for everyone so don’t assign all the responsibilities to you; outsource some of them.
Use this trip to teach your children about conservation and physical education. They will be able to absorb information from the trip that they will never even be introduced to in school.
For crying out loud let them get dirty. Don’t you dare take your kids camping and cringe at the thought of them jumping in mud puddles or making mud pies. It is all a part of the process. Just be sure to pack extra clothes if possible.

Make sure your plans consider the kids. Be safe!

This video is particularly helpful because it's a good demonstration of how to prepare your kids for a trip.
Definitely not endorsing hunting, but this video has some pretty good ideas, and can be useful for kids. 15 minutes, my friends, so be prepared!

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