Reply to Family camping trip is making me question all my parenting choices

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]She sounds quite precocious. Since she’s realized at, the tender age of four, that camping stinks. [/quote]

+1 nothing wrong with your kid. Camping sucks.[/quote]

I agree.

Think about it: camping is making yourself uncomfortable on purpose. People built houses and invented electricity and running water for a reason. You understand the benefit of camping as an adult (sleeping under the stars! it's very economical!) but for a 4 year old, all they can focus on is being away from the comforts of home and surrounded by a lot of potentially scary stuff (dark, animals in the dark noises, bugs, why does the tent smell bad, potty is far away and in another building with a very loud flusher, etc). Four year olds don't have adult communication and coping skills: tantrums and refusing to do things are their last resort.

Plus, group family vacations come with all kinds of crazy dynamics. Is there sibling rivalry among the adult children in the group that is being passed down to the grandkids? Are the adults in your family biased against only children and automatically cast them as spoiled and indulged just because you listen to your kid and treat her like a fellow human being worthy of dignity and respect?

tl;dr Camping sucks, camping with family can suck even more, and your kid is trying to tell you that it's not working for her, at all. I totally sympathize that it is frustrating, but I don't think her reactions are abnormal, at all.[/quote]

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