Roundup: Top tips for camping with babies and toddlers (and preschoolers!)
Who’s ready to go camping with babies, toddlers, and preschoolers this summer?! I realized over Father’s Day weekend that we’ve been camping with kids for 10 years already–what an anniversary! We’ve certainly learned a thing or two along the way. 😉
Here is a roundup of tips to help you plan and prepare, and pack for your summer camping trip(s) with confidence. Have a tip you would add? Please share below!
Tips to help plan and prepare for camping with babies and toddlers + preschoolers:
HELPING TODDLERS AND PRESCHOOLERS PREPARE FOR CAMPING:
Sure, pitching the tent in a backyard overnight is not a bad way to reintroduce your child to camp life after a long winter, but if you don’t opt for that, you might want to at least run through some of these situations to help your child–and yourself work out some of the potential kinks in camping with small kids. See Why and How to Practice Camping with Little Kids.
MEAL PLANNING:
“Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify, simplify!” – H.D. Thoreau. In that spirit, I offer a handful of our family’s favorites that have vastly simplified car camping trips with our kids. And so far, I haven’t heard any complaints. See Five Easy Foods to Pack for Camping with Little Kids.
RESERVING (AND CHOOSING) YOUR CAMPSITE:
Wondering where to pitch your tent or park your campervan when camping with babies and toddlers? Be sure to read Three Campsites to Avoid when Camping with Babies, Toddlers, and Little Kids.
TEACHING TODDLERS AND PRESCHOOLERS TO BE AWARE OF WILDLIFE AND HARMFUL INSECTS:
If this is your first time camping with a toddler or preschooler, remember that the likelihood of certain wildlife and insect encounters actually increases when you have small children (aka insatiably curious and fearless explorers) in camp. You can read about some of our surprises in Scorpions, Ticks, and Bears–Oh, My! and you might want to keep these helpful links handy in case there is any possibility of crossing paths with bears, snakes, scorpions at your camping destination. Also, I’ve included some helpful information on tick life cycles and preventing tick bites in the new edition Travels with Baby: The Ultimate Guide. Knowledge is power!
What to pack for camping trips with babies and toddlers:
USE THE MEMORY-JOGGING LIST FOR CAMPING WITH BABIES AND TODDLERS:
For a list of helpful items and things you might not think of, see the book excerpt featured in the post: Packing List for Camping with Babies and Toddlers.
HELPFUL GADGETS AND GEAR FOR YOUR FAMILY’S CAMPSITE:
For more ideas and recommendations (and easy shopping!), check out my Amazon quick List for Camping with Babies, Toddlers and Young Children.
Safe journeys,
Shelly Rivoli, author of the award-winning Travels with Baby guidebooks
Twitter Facebook Travels with Baby on Facebook Pinterest
Curious about this content? See my editorial content disclosure.
