September 21st, 2009
Considering taking your family camping this fall? What better way to enjoy the beautiful weather and explore the outdoors than from a tent in the woods. This 5-part series offers tips and tricks for creating a fun, memorable family camping adventure the whole family is sure to love.
Part 1: Planning the Trip (for first-timers)
1. Get the kids involved. Talk about the things you will see and do while camping — to small children, “camping” can seem like a foreign word or concept until they have some way to experience it first-hand. Consider pitching a tent in the backyard and letting the kids play in it, to get used to the idea. You might even want to plan a backyard camping night to let them experience what it feels like to sleep in a tent (without a night light) and to hear the crickets and outdoor sounds. Make sure everyone has a flashlight and try to make this experience as fun as possible to build anticipation about the “real deal.” You might want to start a conversation about campfire safety and begin to build outdoor awareness before the official trip begins. The more prepared children are, the better they tend to fare.
2. Don’t over-schedule. If you have very small children, choose a campground relatively close to home. That way, if the kids have a meltdown (or if it pours or gets too cold), you won’t have far to travel to get them into their own beds. Try not to plan too many activities for this first camping trip. The kids are likely to be entertained for hours by other children at the campgrounds, bugs, sticks, rocks, woods, streams, the campfire, the tent, flashlights, etc. You may even want to bring easy heat-and-serve meals and save the real campfire cooking for next time (which also means less equipment to pack this time). By all means, please do remember the s’mores!
3. Expect the unexpected. Plan for contingencies such as rain, bugs, cuts, scrapes, bites, etc. The more prepared you are, the better off you’ll be — even if you never need any of those extra items. And who knows? Your kids just might fall in love with camping, which would be the best surprise of all.
In part 2, we’ll look at trip planning tips for experienced campers. Stay tuned!
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