Over this past weekend, I got to witness my little sister experience her very first camping trip ever. She's four years old, and while there were ups and downs, overall she definitely seemed to have a good time. During the trip, this got me thinking about camping in general. I've been camping since I was a baby. I don't remember this of course, but my parents took me camping when I was only six weeks old and I haven't stopped camping since. We have our designated spots, our camping journal, the works. After camping with my baby siblings, I've definitely got some ideas about what to do when taking young kids camping.
1) Keep the kids occupied at all times. Anyone who's taken care of a kid knows it's important to keep them busy. This is even more important when you're camping. If a kid gets too bored, they could wander off into the wilderness, and then you end up spending most of your camping trip trying to find your kid instead of having fun with them.
2) Make them feel like they're helping. Little kids love to feel like they're helping you! My baby brother and sister wanted to be involved with helping put up the tent so much. My dad had them hold onto the stake bag and hand each of us the stakes, and even let them hit the mallet a couple times after he'd already gotten them in. They didn't actually do much in the way of helping, but having them do that one small job made them feel like they helped and it made them happier with the trip in general.
3) If they're having fun, unless it's dangerous, don't stop them! Unless they're about to try climbing a rock that they shouldn't or if they're about to do something else that would just lead to disaster, don't get in the way of their fun! If a pair of pliers keeps them satisfied because they can trim small twigs into even smaller ones, just let them do it! They're not doing any harm to anyone, plus they're having fun. (This actually happened, my dad had a camping tool set that had pliers in it and it kept the kids busy almost the entire time we were packing up the campsite)
4) Keep to the rules you give. If you tell them not to go past a certain tree in each direction without an adult, be sure to stick to it. If they think they can push your limits in the wilderness, they might decide to try testing the waters when you get back to civilization, which would be no fun for anybody.
5) Don't forget to take pictures! This one might sound dumb, but it's really very important as your kids get older. I'm sure parents have already figured this out, but you got to document your kids' lives. I don't remember every fun thing I did even a few weeks ago, so reminders from pictures and journals always help. Having these for your kids when they're older will be great. They might get annoyed with how many pictures you're taking now, but later they'll like to have all the memories. Don't forget to keep taking pictures of them even when they're older! The younger times are still as great as the older times, in two different ways.
Kids are difficult, as anyone who has ever had a kid or even just babysat a kid would know. Over time, you'll start doing more, like camping. My parents started early with me camping at six weeks old, which isn't common, but it's a great story to have now. The more variety in memories now, while they're still young enough to want to spend time with you, the better. Every single moment won't always be fun, but it's the fun moments you'll remember as time passes. Camping is tons of fun, and your kids will enjoy it too.
