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3 Keys to Happy Campers
Camping with kids when they are happy is a fantastic family
experience. Camping with unhappy kids could put a very quick end
to your family adventures in the great outdoors. There are
plenty of ways to have avoid bad camping experiences, but here
are my picks for the three most important.
Don't take over. We spend most of our lives "organizing"
our kids, making sure they get up, dressed, off to school, to
weekly activities and play dates. It's an easy trap to try to
organize their camping experience too. This is especially easy
to do when it looks like their first choices of activities
involve sleeping in the tent all day or throwing rocks at one
another across the firepit.
However, one of the most fundamental lessons camping can teach
is that you are responsible for your own experience. Mother
Nature is a great provider of natural consequences. Don't put up
your tent right, you'll get wet. Don't collect firewood, you
won't eat hot food. Do collect firewood, and discover the
mesmerizing dance of a night campfire. Get up the energy to
paddle to the middle of the lake in the middle of the night, and
see stars like they were meant to be seen. Step back, and let
your kids learn from their own experiences. You might just pick
up a little something too.
Avoid constipation. Think I'm kidding? I used to take
city kids on month long canoe trips, and several of them showed
insane talent for "poop in the woods" avoidance. Some made it as
long as a week before they gave in and took Mr. Trowel off to
dig a hole. Kids like routine and predictability, some kids a
lot more than others. When that routine is turned upside down,
even by fun activities like camping, it can cause system backup.
That can lead to stomach troubles, cramps, and really stinky
farts (amongst the 2-12 year old set, this is serious business,
and might be for you too, if you're sharing a tent).
Fortunately, there's a really easy fix for camping constipation.
Eat beans. I used to serve chili the first night out on trail.
Vegetarian chili with 5 kinds of beans. Sometimes it took a day
or two, but no kid could hold out a week against my 5 bean
chili. Other forms of fiber help too - oatmeal for breakfast,
dried fruit in your gorp. Also have your kids drink lots of
water, especially if fiber isn't a really common part of their
diet.
Keep the sleeping bag dry. Let's face it, sleeping
comfortably is pretty important to all of us, but a wet sleeping
bag can make a kid totally miserable. This is especially true if
your child's sleeping bag is one of the big box store $20
variety. You know, the ones that weigh 15 pounds (dry!) and are
made of cotton. Get one of those wet, and your camping trip is
over, it will take until next year to dry. Even a good kids
sleeping bag can get wet, however, and it's not easy to convince
a kid to climb into a soggy bag to sleep.
The key to keeping a sleeping bag dry is to keep its
surroundings dry. If you're going to be in wet conditions (rainy
season, or paddling on a lake), prepare your gear. Put kids
sleeping bags, and any other gear you treasure into dry bags,
garbage bags, or some other water barrier. Put a tent cloth
under your tent (properly!) so you keep water out of the tent.
Teach your kids good tent etiquette so they don't crawl all over
the tent in their wet boots, or dump a mug of hot chocolate over
their sleeping bag.
About the author:
Debora Geary is the owner of an online store carrying a wide
selection of quality outdoor kids sleeping bags.
3 Keys to Happy Campers
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