Camping with children varies from short outdoor excursions to two to three-week-long expeditions. Children themselves are different too: little princesses, tomboys, sensible contemplators.
“I think my baby is too young for camping…”
It’s even easier with babies: you don’t have to think about special diets and making sure the food doesn’t spoil. If the baby is breastfed, all these issues are easily resolved.
Just as easy to solve the issue with leisure time: fed baby in the fresh air a lot of sleep.
It is easiest to go camping with toddlers. In the fresh air they sleep a lot, and also parents do not have to worry about entertainment and carry a lot of food
With children after 1.5 years is more complicated: you have to take toys and make sure that a curious child doesn’t crawl away and put something in his mouth. The child itself is heavier and bigger. An extra supply of food also comes in handy.
In this period it is convenient to camp permanently and make small trips out of it to get back before the overnight stay. This way you only carry your child, and a tent, sleeping bag, camping chairs and a stock of clothes are waiting for you in the camp. And it’s psychologically easier for the child – very soon they start to perceive the camp as home.
When a child is 5 to 7 years old, he can already be entrusted to carry his own small backpack. He walks on his own, but he gets tired quickly, so frequent stops are needed. Such a child can’t do a long day hike of many kilometers, but he can help in the camp, for example, to gather dead wood for the fire. If this is offered not in the form of work, but as a new game, he will do it gladly.
From the age of 8, a healthy child can do almost any route. Children walk on an equal footing with their parents and you don’t have to worry about them getting tired (parents will get tired sooner). But they can get bored. Close up the question of leisure time, about this we will tell further.
Teenagers from 12 years already full participants of a campaign, have a rucksack and are capable to observe rules of safety. But in my experience they often have problems getting their bearings. It is better not to let them go alone. Even on short radial outings – only with adults.
Well and appetite of “growing bodies” in the nature is excellent – it is necessary to take it into account while calculating food reserve.
It’s good to take a baby on foot when he’s small and light, or when he’s grown up and goes on his own. But in the period when it is already heavy enough to “ride” all the way on their parents, and can’t walk on their own feet for a long time, it’s better to change the format to one that is comfortable and convenient for you.
The first hike with children is better organized in a warm season and comfortable for you duration. Some start with a picnic, while others are ready to go straight away for a month.
“What if you don’t have the most necessary things on hand…”
There’s a simple rule: you don’t take what you might need, but what you can’t do without. Here’s a list of things you’ll need in any case.
The tent
Those who are going to buy it and think: two-or three-seat, I advise to opt for three-seat. Kids grow up fast and the triple tent will soon become too big for every three of us.
Thermal underwear
If your child is already walking, you’ll need two sets: a ‘sporty’ one to walk in and an ‘ordinary’ one for bedtime. The baby does not need a ‘sports’ set. But woollen socks are a must.