Tent camping is one of my if not my favorite thing to do outside of hunting. I have a 2 year old boy that I cannot wait to take with me camping. As with anything, it depends on the child on when the "right" time to take them on their first camping trip. I want to take him out this summer and do an overnight trip. Is it to soon? What are your thoughts or when did you take your child out for the first time.
My daughter is almost 2, and like you, I love tent camping and was once an avid backpacker. No way I would take my daughter tent camping right now. She loves her structure and routine too much. Plus she still sleeps in a crib. We rented a cabin this weekend, which was our first trip other than to grandparents house, to see how that did and it worked quite well. Was a great little weekend getaway. We will probably keep renting cabins for our "camping" till she is at least 4 or 5.
I had my daughter tent camping at 3 then we moved up to a pop up camper a year later but that was for me not her. My wife is the tent camper not me unless I'm in the back country then I don't mind it.
I took my son when he was three, he loved it. We spent a long weekend in the Adirondacks, I brought plenty of outside toys to keep him occupied. He was dirty and happy. I most likely will take him again this summer as well...
It's never too soon, as long as you are prepared for the changes from how things used to be! I have 2 little ones... 3.5 (girl) & 1.5 (boy). Camping with kids is not impossible, but it is certainly more limiting than before children. Obviously, you have to watch little ones a lot, but it is workable and rewarding! Last summer, the family camped a total of 3 times for a total of 10+ days. the boy was obviously not walking yet - so he spent a lot of time in camp in a pack-n-play type enclosure, net enclosed eating shelter or on my back/front in a pack. Hiking, swimming, fishing, etc - he was in the pack on mom or dad's back/front. the girl was 2.5 so very mobile. 1 5 days trip we had friends with other kids along so that gave her an outlet for playing around camp & doing activities away from camp or nearby with supervision. This will be the 4th year camping with the 3.5 year old - she went first at 6 months. just like at home, someone has to be responsible for the kids at all times. be sure and bring typical kid food, toys & activities, baby wipes, etc. be aware that your activities will likely be dumbed down activity and time wise for the kids. be aware that naps & the at home routine should still be followed as much as possible... but naps might be in the car while traveling to/from activities away from camp - plan your day accordingly. don't forget appropriate clothing, sunscreen, bug spray... everything YOU would need and more! uncomfortable kids are cranky kids! last year on our annual camping trip it rained for 3 days... we spent a LOT of time in shelter, playing games, coloring, etc just like we would have at home. there are lots of online resources to help plan your trip with kids and make it as successful as possible: http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/camping-kids.html http://www.lovetheoutdoors.com/camping/tips/kids.htm Good luck!
Okie is right. Start them young. We have a cabin on the U.P. but we often like to take 1-2 night trips to a state forest about two hours north of us. We use a tent of course. We started taking Miriam when she was six months and Michelle when she was even younger. They are used to going everywhere with us, so camping was not any different. The campground is on a huge lake, so we use and inflatable boat and spend a lot of time fishing, which they love. They also like to prowl through the woods and fields, pretending they are little animals. So we spend a lot of time doing that, even when we aren't camping. When they were too young to get around on their own, daddy would carry them. For diapers, you just get a sealable bucket and take them home with you. Don't forget the mosquito repellant.
If you want to test the waters, camp in the back yard on a decent spring night and see how they do. That way if things go haywire you can just go inside.
My daughter was only 2 last summer on her first tent trip. She had a blast! Myles (5) is already begging to get the tent out this spring.
We had a folding collapsible crib. It was about half the size of a regular crib. We used it at home too. We bought it at a yard sale and sold it at a yard sale since I can't have anymore children. There are many different kinds of portable/collapsible cribs. Once the crib was no longer needed, they started sharing a sleeping bag. My husband and I also share a sleeping bag. Once the girls are asleep, ....... You just have to remember that you have very small, non-adult persons along, so your activities have to take that into account. Since they're always with us unless we're actually at work, it comes naturally for us.
Your tent must be a lot bigger than mine Guess I'll have to upgrade from my barely 2 person, lightweight backpacking tent
Right, you have to readjust to a kind of "family style" camping. It's not as elegant as the backpacking style, but it's a load of fun and gets the kids out enjoying being outside more. As I said, they go everywhere but work with us anyway, so all of us crawling into a tent together is completely natural. Our tent isn't that big, just big enough for two regular adult bags with extra space to move around and put some extra stuff along side.
I'll stick with cabins till she gets out of her crib, which I guess will be soon, or within the year at least. We kinda screwed ourselves with how rigid we were with her schedule, so much that now if something is off, she gets fussy and is messed up for a few nights. We will be more relaxed with our second, whenever that may come.
I take my boys out camping for Father's Day every year. My youngest (2 now) stayed out with us this last year. This year we are looking at doing a Father's Day hike with a friend of mine and I plan on taking all 4 with us.
we certainly had to upgrade our tent from the 2 person... unfortunately, I originally upgraded after kid #1 was born to this 3p model. I guess I need to upgrade again... or just use 2 tents? http://marmot.com/products/details/limelight-3p we managed last year with my son because he was just 6 months old, we'll have to see how this year goes. I suspect it will not be comfortable. however, we'll probably end up using 2 tents... it'll probably end up being me alone in my old 2p tent and the wife and kids in the limelight. they like the idea of sleeping with Dad, but always gravitate towards mom... insofar as where they sleep... arguments against sleeping safety aside, we sleep in a pile at home (much to my disapproval - the kids always start out in their own beds, but always end up in ours before morning) so we sleep in a dogpile in the tent.
I was going to suggest a couple camp outs in the back yard also to see how things go. Growing up I spent many a night in the back yard camped out.
I just picked up the Big Agnes 6 pack for the family trips and the North Face Triarch 2 man for myself.
