S/o- camping with baby/kids- advice on gear?

[Anonymous]

Hello, I'm an expectant FTM and DH and I really enjoy camping (mostly car camping) and would like to continue to camp with kids. Would love advice from people who have BTDT and also on specific gear we will want. How young is too young to take kids camping?

[Anonymous]

Once they're crawling, a booster seat for sitting by campfire or at the table, or just to corral them. LOTS of wipes and extra pants. They get grimy crawling everywhere.

[Anonymous]

We love love love camping with kids. When the baby isn't mobile, it's pretty easy to just bring them and like an ergo carrier or something, and you're fine. When they get mobile - watch out. We brought an old pack and play that we got at goodwill - it was so much easier to leave the 12month old in that while we try to cook and clean up.

Kids get used to camping, and they learn how to help. It's awesome camping with our now 6 year old. She's so much fun to camp with now.

[Anonymous]

We started camping with our first child (now 5 yo) when he was almost 2 and with our baby at 4 months. Our older child LOVES it, and loves to help set up the tent, gather kindling, etc. A comfortable baby carrier is a must. We go cushy and use a queen size air mattress and double sleeping bag (though the 5 yo now has his own sleeping bag). Once the kids are 2-3 yo, these are fun: glow bracelets, their own little headlamp, a small box for catching bugs. For infants, layers of cloths and a warm hat are good for sleeping. Have fun!

[Anonymous]

OP here- thanks for this advice. It's making me feel reassured that this can be done. I have a lot of friends who told me to wait until my kids are five to go camping, and I would hate to miss out on that time.

[Anonymous]

Our kid was 2.5 when we did the first camping trip. I agree that for kids who are younger and also mobile, a place to hem them in is a great idea.

We have foam puzzle mats (thick foam mats that insulate sound on floors a bit) on our apartment floor because we have a downstairs neighbor. We always take them camping and line the floor of the tent with them -- makes a nice soft cushy surface on the tent floor.

A good carrier is a must with a baby, I would imagine.

[Anonymous]

With small kids my only real restriction is to aim for decent weather. With a real little one I'd want warm because of the need for safe sleeping and I'd worry about both keeping them warm and airway free. Once they're mobile that's not really a concern and it's just the need to keep them contained. for us it's pretty straightforward by 2.5/3, and now that they are 4 & 6 it's basically the same as camping ever was, with the caveat that we look for sites / activities that appeal to kids, make sure to bring extra spare clothing, and never, ever forget the s'mores or hot chocolate

[Anonymous]

A second vote for those foam mats. I got some at costco. Amazing.

[Anonymous]

We finally took our two kids camping this summer and it was a big success. They are 7 and 5, old enough to hike 3 miles and hold it to walk with mom to the bathroom...we got a very big tent and inflatable mattresses, princess sleeping bags and a portable DVD player. Usual gear, camp stove, dishpan, good cooler and a small rubbermaid bin to lug food & cooking gear back and forth from the car.
Before that we always got a hotel room (or a cabin or vacation rental.) Little kids have issues with comfort (heat regulation in summer, biting bugs, scared of the dark etc.) and I had issues with sanitation myself - i.e. not wanting to deal with dirty diapers, showers in a camp bathhouse, washing dishes with a baby crying etc.
Saw a family at Assateague with a couple of kids and a baby. In the sand and the heat of the campsite the baby (in a playpen) and mom looked miserable. The dad was drinking a beer in his camp chair, he seemed to be having a good time.

[Anonymous]

My solution - I took a few years off from family camping and only went weekend camping with a group of girl friends. So nice when someone has to go potty and you don't have to wipe their butt or walk them to the bathhouse
Took day hikes with DH when my parents or someone else watched the babies at the house wherever we were based (Yosemite, Captiva, Donner Lake...)

[Anonymous]

We've been car camping with our 2.5 year old since she was about five months old. The trick for us was to buy an enormous tent and to bring the pack n play. She has never been able to co-sleep, she just crawls all over and talks. We're able to put her down for naps in the tent and to put her to bed at night and then go sit by the fire for a while longer before going to sleep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We finally took our two kids camping this summer and it was a big success. They are 7 and 5, old enough to hike 3 miles and hold it to walk with mom to the bathroom...we got a very big tent and inflatable mattresses, princess sleeping bags and a portable DVD player. Usual gear, camp stove, dishpan, good cooler and a small rubbermaid bin to lug food & cooking gear back and forth from the car.
Before that we always got a hotel room (or a cabin or vacation rental.) Little kids have issues with comfort (heat regulation in summer, biting bugs, scared of the dark etc.) and I had issues with sanitation myself - i.e. not wanting to deal with dirty diapers, showers in a camp bathhouse, washing dishes with a baby crying etc.
Saw a family at Assateague with a couple of kids and a baby. In the sand and the heat of the campsite the baby (in a playpen) and mom looked miserable. The dad was drinking a beer in his camp chair, he seemed to be having a good time.

Oh man, this reminds me of me. My dh grilling and drinking beer, while I deal with the kids. I waited until the kids are older too. That is much better.