Top tips for first time camping with kids

This is your early warning message reminding you that summer holidays are incoming.  Your chaotic little delights will be in your house, eating your snacks, making lots of noise, and there is nothing you can do about it.  Unless you are taking them away of course.

Camping is always a great thing to do with the entire family, although the first time you take your naughty nippers with you, it can be overwhelming.  What if they don’t take to the great outdoors?

It can feel like a bit of a gamble.  But it needn’t be that way.  Camping is fun, it is adventure, and it is a great way to carve a future filled with more affordable holidays.

Here are our top tips for first time camping with kids.

Location is important when camping with young kids first time

Before having kids, the idea of a remote location was nothing short of idyllic.  Nobody telling you what to do, when to get up, or where to be.  Bliss.  Thing is, kids have this way of upsetting the apple cart.

I recommend doing remote locations, only if they are remotely near toilets, showers, shops, and playgrounds.  For their first time, it might be a bit daunting for them that there is no civilisation; and their first fire-cooked sausage sandwich might not go down well.

Best to play it safe and choose somewhere with a hint of civilisation nearby.

Don’t trust a weather report

After more than fifty years of weather reports and technological advances, sometimes the weather predictions can be wildly inaccurate.  Looking at you Alexa. 

You don’t want to get caught out with a little one in tow.  Especially if this is their first time.  Make sure, even if you are heading out in the beating height of July, that you pack for all seasons.  It only takes one downpour to ruin the memories of camping for your little one.

Bring a little bit of entertainment for them

No matter what you are doing in the day, the evenings camping can be a little bit lacklustre if you’re a hyperactive moon monkey who has enjoyed a day of sugar.  If you have chosen a campsite that doesn’t have onsite entertainment, you may need to create some of your own.

You can either bring a library of board games to help them settle down with.  Or perhaps you want to burn off the last remnants of candy floss by getting them running around.  Frisbees, footballs, and cricket sets are perfect for this.

They will appreciate this just as much as any trip to the beach or theme park.

It might get a little dark for first time children

One of the best parts of camping is the dark.  You never know such complete darkness like the one that feels a million miles away from the nearest streetlight.  And as beautiful and mysterious as that might be for the grown adult, it can be frightening for kids on their first time away.

You don’t need blaring spotlights, or torches that burn with the light of a million suns.  However, a few little lamps, glow sticks, or torches close to hand wouldn’t hurt as the youngsters get acclimatised to the dark.  This is a cost-effective way of helping your kids settle on their first camping adventure.

A good tent, good air mattresses, and other comforts are a great investment

If you’re Bear Grylls and reading this, you have probably rolled your eyes so often you’re getting dizzy.  However, no matter how hardcore you are, your little Gryllets haven’t had the experience you have.  Above all, you want camping to be a positive thing for them.  So perhaps leave the compass, spile, and hunting rifles at home.

Getting a strong tent and an easy to blow up air mattress might seem like glamping – or cheating.  For your kids though, it is a starting point on their journey to becoming ultra-survivalists.  It might seem like a hefty investment at first, but good quality gear will last a long time.

Wherever you are taking your family, check out our online shop for all your camping essentials.