Camping with Kids - Lynnwood,WA

I took my kids when they were little babies to now, my eldest being 14. I don't feel there is an appropriate age! Just bring a portable bassinett for babies, the rest can sleep in sleeping bags and will have a blast!! Don't forget the schmores!

We camp all the time and started them early. As long as they are warm enough they will love it. Let them get dirty. Start with just 1 night and go from there. Camping is a great family activity.

My son loves camping he will be 3 in August. The first time we went he was only 4 months old. He has always loved being outside. We are actually going camping this weekend. I just told my son about it this morning and he is packing his backpack as I type this. LOL! He already has his sleeping bag, clothes, flashlight and some toys. He will unpack and repack many times before we actually leave.

Here are some things I do....
If you are camping in a dark area get glow sticks or the neckless kind. We always attach a glow stick to the back of my son's pants and the dog's collar so that we can always see them.

As far as bedtime goes my son is usually so tired that he passes out with out any problems. Last camping trip he actually asked to go to bed.

Food...we just bring what we would eat at home. If we are trying to make it easy and not have to cook we bring dehydrated meals.

let the kids get dirty...I bring wipes and soap to wash there hands and face other then that I will give them a nice long bath when we get home. some times two baths! LOL!

I over packed toys the first few times that we went. Now I just bring some plastic animals and cars. Once it is dark we have books and flash cards. Use nature as their toy! Lots of cool thing to explore.

Take lots of walks and look for animals that you might not see at home. We saw deer last summer and my son still asks evertime if there will be deer there. Even when we go to the desert.

Remember to relax and let them enjoy the great outdoors. Oh and you will probably come home with some rocks, pinecones, sticks or any other random thing that they just can't leave without.

Each time gets easier and more fun!

Hope you have a great time!!!!

We have camped every year of my life. lol So when hubby and I started having kids we continued the trend...

Here are my tips...
#1. Get a large tent... Large enough for air mattresses for all large people and a play pen for any infants to sleep in. Extra space is awesome if it starts raining. Pack a few small toys to play with in the tent...

If you want to you can "practice" Set the tent up in the back yard and have camp outs at home...

I don't think you can "turn " a kid against camping unless you wait too long... As in introducing it to them once they have an opinion on what THEY think is cool and not cool...

A couple trucks or cars, blocks, sand toys, etc... are good to take. Also two or three books... Mainly stick with outdoors games but candy land would be good also...

we are doing our first camping trip for memorial day - only two nights! with my three and a half year old i figure it's a good trial run...other than that...i have no idea! we're going to wing it!

I just had to add my 2 cents. We are HUGE campers!!! We started when the kids were infants. My oldest would have been 1 when we started and my oldest was 8 months. We set up one of our tents in the back yard around April and me and my older child sleep in this until it gets warmer out and then my little one will join us. I think camping is so great for kids. I know that it has realy made our family a much stronger and closer family. We to bring lots of food from home and lots of games. I see there is another mom out there that sleeps by the door :) LOL I do this to as my 2 year old loves to go for walks :) We bring coloring books, light sticks, lots of fun doller store stuff for them to do that if it gets lost or broken, i'm not going to care. We do a lot of smores and popcorn to eat! Good luck and have lots of fun!!!

My husband and I have always enjoyed camping, and having kids never stopped us. We've camped every summer of our 9 year marriage with our kids at all different ages, although never for a whole week.

Our girls love camping, and we don't even bring games from home. They play around the campsite, we take family walks, they go fishing with dad, we take our blow-up rowboat out on lakes . . .When they were 2 and 4 they loved to play in the tent during the day - the more invisible we were, the better for their imaginary games!

Now we're looking ahead to camping our way to WI next month. Our girls are now 8, 5 1/2, 2, and I'm pregnant, so it will be even more fun with the big girls able to help out more like they've always wanted to and having our 2 year old toddling around discovering new sticks and bugs and whatnot.

Just stay relaxed, don't try to plan too much, and remember that camping is the time and place to get dirty and run around having a good time! Age doesn't really matter!

I started bringing my son camping at 18mo and I plan on taking my new baby camping starting around 10mo old. I never brought board games camping, I would bring things like shovels, big trucks, balls, bikes etc (outside toys). Kids adapt quickly and will probably enjoy the new experiences. I think variety is important and your kids are plenty old enough. Good luck.

We started taking our kids last summer (haven't before because we were moving around and short on money while we were in the military) and my youngest son was under 2 last summer. He had a blast. We all did. If it makes you nervous though then get a couple of air mattresses for the tent and go to a campround with showers that you can take the kids into with you. Also, the food doesn't really have to be different. I cook plenty of normal stuff while camping on a camp stove and roasted on the fire.

Anyways, I think your kids are fully old enough as long as you keep them busy exploring the great outdoors.

Get out there and let them roll in the dirt, eat chips all day, stay up late, pee in the woods (well maybe not that one if there is a bathroom) :)
We took our 4 year old and 2 year old camping last summer. It was the most fun we have had as a family! There were no showers (only babywipes) for 4 days. It was great. Just us and nature and tons of great food. we took a little box of games (like cards, coloring books, and dice) nothing fancy like they have at home. They dont need to have those same luxuries. We went for walks, fished, rode bikes (they did while I walked), played in the woods, picked pine cones. My 2 year old got lost for a couple minutes (Scariest 2 minutes of my life!) not to scare you or anything. :) We got filthy dirty and loved every minute of it!!!

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Get out there and let them roll in the dirt, eat chips all day, stay up late, pee in the woods (well maybe not that one if there is a bathroom) :)
We took our 4 year old and 2 year old camping last summer. It was the most fun we have had as a family! There were no showers (only babywipes) for 4 days. It was great. Just us and nature and tons of great food. we took a little box of games (like cards, coloring books, and dice) nothing fancy like they have at home. They dont need to have those same luxuries. We went for walks, fished, rode bikes (they did while I walked), played in the woods, picked pine cones. My 2 year old got lost for a couple minutes (Scariest 2 minutes of my life!) not to scare you or anything. :) We got filthy dirty and loved every minute of it!!!

We just took out 9 month old and 2.5 year old camping (at a "rustic" cabin). One of the things I did to make it more familiar was I made most of our meals ahead and then frozen them. It was a simple reheat while we were camping instead of things being totally abnormal. I would also recommend trying a shorter trip (maybe 2 nights) vs. a whole week to let them have a taste but still get them home before they get turned off by it.

For things to bring, we didn't have any toys and still had a great time.

We went camping last summer with a 7 month old and 2 1/2. so I don't think there is a too young. The main things is how much do you want to bring with you to make them comfortable.
We used sleeping bags and sleeping mats (our friends used air mattress). The baby I put in a bouncy seat instead of taking a packnplay.
Start with just overnight. Then no bathing isn't an issue and they can deal with one or two meals that are different.
We brought toys like a ball, large truck and things that are good outside.

My husband and I JUST had this conversation the other day. My oldest is 3 and my youngest is almost 10 months. We really want to go camping this summer. We're planning to do a night in the backyard, just to introduce my oldest to the tent, sleeping on the ground, etc. Then we're going camping at a campground close to us. We figure we'll be close enough that if it's a disaster, we can bail if we have to. I'm looking for campgrounds that have a pool and a playground that way we'll have something to do during the day. My daughter has a little 12 inch bike we'll probably take too.I know lots of people that take their kids camping really early in life. I'm excited :D

How exciting for you guys! We love camping. Admittedly, though, more than two nights is too much for us at this time. We started going camping with our son when he was 18 months. The showers are usually VERY cold (or at least are unpredictable.) I agree with the previous poster about bathing the kids when home, sometimes twice =) Your kids will spend so much time discovering things outdoors, you probably will not need much from home by way of entertainment.

The best purchase we ever made for camping entertainment was a headlamp for our son. He can explore at dusk without you worrying about losing him, and reading in the tent was a treat with the headlamp. One rainy trip, we laid around in the tent for an hour making shadows with our hands and the headlamp. He simply loves having his own light. And flashlights have a tendency of being misplaced.

Do your kids have bikes? If the campground has a beach, you can bring sand toys. Bat/ball and soccer ball are staples, too.

By the way, just make the same food that you make at home. You may find that you need to pick up a plastic egg carton so you can bring fresh eggs. We found ours at REI, but I'm sure any store with camping gear sells it. Freeze your water bottles (assuming they are BPA-free) so you don't have to worry about ice melting all over your cooler, too.

Have fun!

We took our son camping for the first time at a few months old. But only for a few days... many of our friends get their emt certs, buy a satellite phone in case of emergency, and take their kids (from infancy on) back country for weeks at a time.

Personally... I'm a lazy camper... no BC for me unless I'm being paid very very well for it (I can and have been back of beyond... but it's not really my thing). We've done lots and lots of tents, silver bullet trailers, cabins... we;ve camped on the beach, in state parks, at concerts (hey you're from nseattle, be sure to check out lake chelan and the little river campspot near the bridge the Gorge)... but the common thread is my car. As in it's within 50 feet of where I am. Lazy & loving it. Kiddo has, too. The camping that is. As babies, they don't know any different. As soon as they become toddlers though, it starts being exciting. <grinning> Even backyard camping is exciting.

My son's first camping trip was when he was 6 months old and my daughter was only two weeks old the first time we took her. We dont take much games or anything like that, we just enjoy our time outdoors hiking, going for walks to the river/pond/lake and looking for wildlife. Kids are more apt to try foods that they themselves cook or prepare. Go for an overnight and see how they handle it, if they like the outdoors as much as you say they do they should do just fine.

When we wanted to take my oldest camping, she was about 5 at the time, we set up a tent in the backyard and slept outside for one night. We told her what the rules were (staying in the tent, etc) and sort of tested the water to see how she'd do. She did great and loved sleeping in the tent.
So for our first camping trip we booked at a camp site only about 15 minutes outside town and we only stayed for 2 nights. It was far enough away that we were camping, but close enough that if it didn't work we could go back really easily. Now of course she loves it and we take her every summer.
This year I'm going to do it with my 4 month old in tow! All will be fine!
My advice is to just take it in baby steps and see how the kids do!
Have fun!

i didnt see these suggestions in the other postings...we have a solar shower we take camping. fill it up, put it in the sun, leave it all day and you have very hot water. you may find yourself dumping some out and adding cold. be sure and test it before sticking the kids under it. i also used to make us a shower/potty enclosure out of old sheets clothespinned to laundry line strung around trees. shower at one end, potty at the other. if your tent is big enough put your porta potty inside at night. if you dont have a manufactured potty, you can make one out of a five gallon bucket (like an old kitty litter bucket) and a toilet seat for the kids at night. nothing is less fun that having to get up in the middle of the night for an outhouse run. i always took bubbles and a bug catcher when he was really little (we started camping with him at around 1 yr old because he had a cast on up until that age and we didnt want it getting filthy) and a game that had hoops and darts to throw at them, cards, bean bags, and we recently saw this cool game at a park with different level bars and bolo type balls that you tossed at the bars and got points. it looked like a blast. have fun!

I loved camping as a kid, and I'm excited to take my three year old on his first trip in a few weeks.

One activity kids often enjoy is gathering collections. As teacher, I often start this game as "let's make a campfire" and then begin putting small sticks into a pile. Usually the kids will either join up with me in building a pretend campfire, or they'll make their own. (This usually indicates to me that they need a little downtime, and so this gives them space while keeping them safely close.) If you are camping at a place that's short on sticks just use your imagination: rocks, pinecones, pine needles, acorns, dandelions...the idea is the collection, not a perfect product. Campfire play can go on as long/short as you or the kids like and is a perfect idea for those "I don't know what to do" moments.

You can bring a few action figures or dolls that can get dirty and have the kids build 'houses' for them.

You can have the children use sidewalk chalk to 'mark a trail' from one spot to another. Good time-user and motivation for short walks, because they can then have the fun of following their trail back.

Marbles are fun. Buy a bag and plan on losing some. If you don't have a marble shooter, they can move them with sticks or use them for whatever suits their imaginations.

A length of rope is great. Tie it in a loop and leave it on the ground, see what the kids come up with. Jump ropes-one for each child- work too.

Bring a basket or bag for each child to collect small treasures in. You never know what they think is a treasure.

If you have a book that labels the flora and fauna, bring it along. We love our Audubon guide to the Pacific NW...lots of great pictures to keep the kids busy and helps with identification. Usborne, too, makes some great educational books. If that doesn't work, you can always go online and print out pictures of animals and easily-identifiable plants and staple it together for a book. There are also laminated naturalist cards to be had.

A new pad of paper for each kid and some markers or crayons is always helpful.

I hope this gives you some ideas. Dump trucks and shovels, etc. are also loads of fun... I saw a lot of good suggestions posted. Just let them enjoy the nature and I hope you have a great time.")

Our boys are 6 and 2 and we camp every summer with them and we have since day one. If you ask our oldest where he wants to go on vacation - it's always camping. We typically camp near water so we can fish and swim. We take trucks, books, bikes and each boy gets to fill his backpack with his favorite toys. We go on walks with the dog, play in the water, go for boat rides, fish, bike rides, eat, build camp fires, roast marshmellows and read. It's a great time to bond as a family and rely on each other for entertainment!
The most important thing to remember is to have fun! The kids WILL get dirty, but that's ok. Take lots of wipes. Your kids will do fine. All kids love new adventures. It's all in how you present it.
Enjoy :)

We took our daughter when she was 4. She was WAY into Dora the Explorer at the time and we called her "Julia the explorer!" and did all kinds of hiking and discovering. She learned how to fish then and had a blast! Bedtime was a little bit of an issue b/c she didn't want us to leave her, but we told her that we were just outside the tent. She did fine.
My 2 1/2 year old is still WAY too crazy to go camping with, but I can't wait until we can take the kids camping again!

We took our first son camping at 4 months and the twins just this past weekend for the first time (they are 10 months yesterday). My parents took us camping as kids and started that when I was 2. They took my little sister camping at 6 weeks! It's never too early. We have a tent-trailer, which makes it easier (did the whole tent thing with the first, but loving the tent trailer as everyone has their own place to sleep and it goes up so quickly!). We just bring a few toys and a screened-in tent. It's good because there is so much to see and do and explore that you don't really need that many things from home. A few "camping only" toys might be good. A flashlight can amuse children for ages, too! Our oldest is three and just loves the whole idea of being outdoors so barely touches his toys. Just do it for a weekend and if it's a disaster you can always come home a day early! But I think they'll love it...

We starting camping when our oldest was 3 and youngest an infant. We camped with other families with small children and took turns watching the small ones and letting them crawl and play in one of our tents. Sharing with another family was lots of fun, we shared planned meals and responsibilities and enjoyed camp fires together. Both the adults and children have friends to play with.
My husband and I would sleep covering the opening in the tent by sleeping in front of it. If our older (3 y) woke and needed to go potty, an adult with a flashlight would go with them.
Every year we would go on an huge camp out with 5 to 10 families and take up a bunch of camps in a row. That was lots of fun for everyone. This is all car camping in places with facilities too. My younger son when he was about 3 spent part of the first day once wanting to hang out in the car, while he took in the surroundings but joined in when he was ready. Both my children have wonderful memories of camping.

We took our son on his first camping trip when he was one, and have gone several times every summer since. We bring a toy truck, small shovels, and just let them play in the dirt and trees, that is what being out in nature is all about! When they where babies we had a large tend so we could use the portable crib, but once the youngest was 2 we went to sleeping bags for all, and they have never had a problem. The only issue we have now is that we have moved to Alaska and the extended day light makes it hard for them to sleep in the tent sometimes, so we recently got a small camper. I do not think kids are ever too young to enjoy spending time in the great outdoors!

We started getting into camping when my two older children were 5yrs and 1 yr. Then we didn't go again because I found out I was pregnant with number 3. We started up with camping again when our youngest was 2 yrs,4 yrs and 8yrs. Its nice its inexpensive, most of the time we pick places that are fairly close to our house. I would see less then one hour away. In case of bad weather we can be home quickly.
We are camping Memorial Day weekend with another family. This will be the first time we ever cabin camped. We are very excited. I brought nerf guns, fishing rods,frisbee, I bring our aqua doodle every where. Plus its so nice to teacher our children to respect other living things .

We go camping at least once every summer and started while our kids were infants (used portable bassinet, as infant, playpen at 1 year). Our 4 & 6 year old love it now and are already begging to go (our other child is only 13 months so he probably doesn't remember last year's trip). Just make sure you bring really warm pajamas and lots of blankets. We usually only do 1 night trips and we don't bring any games. We go on walks and enjoy nature, the fire, and smores. We bring bracelet / necklace type glow sticks which the kids love! They are wonderful because it helps you keep track of exactly where they are as it gets dark and works as a night light in the tent. We also bring an MP3 player with speakers and some quiet music to help them fall asleep. Also make sure you have a first aid kit, because scrapes are common while camping with kids! If you are worried about how your kids will adjust try an indoor camping trip first. Set up a tent in the living room; make foil dinners in your oven; and you can even make a pretend fire (or if you have a fire place a real fire) and eat marshmallow. Most kids love camping and are not turned off to it easily.

I used to take my daughter camping when she was little. I worried about her getting out of the tent during the night and wandering off to the lake. I always slept in the doorway so I would know if she was up. We brought lots of food from home and we ate basically the same. Water will boil on a camp fire if you're just patient. I fixed lots of fried potatoes and then scrambled eggs with them for breakfast. We had lots of hamburgers and hot dogs too.

I do agree that you might want to ease into it without going too far from home so if you need to come home in the middle of the night you'll be close.

Hi M.,

You've already got a ton of great responses!! Baby wipes work great for wipe downs. For activities, I would bring cars/trucks/tractors to drive in the dirt, bubbles, soccer/base/balls, sand toys, a wagon if possible to keep it all in (and they will love pulling it around), tricycles, pretty much anything that you don't mind getting a little dirty. Maybe a few books or colors/coloring books for downtime in the evening. Your kids will sleep great because they will be worn out from being so busy all day.
For food, you can keep it simple: Breakfast: Pancakes, cereal/milk, breakfast bars. Lunch: Sandwiches, chips, fruit (no bananas - apparently mosquitos like to bite those who have eaten them). Dinner, Spaghetti (have the sauce premade and then just reheat while boiling the noodles), Tacos, BBQ hot dogs/hamburgers, salads. So much stuff can be premade and kept in a cooler.

Enjoy your camping trip - this makes me want to go now!! :)

We have been camping with our boys since they were babies. For toys we would bring bubbles, crayons/paper, toy cars, anything that can get dirty. Once suggestion for food is to pre-cook some meals, put them in Ziploc baggies, push out as much air as possible and lay flat in freezer. When you're ready to go, toss these in the cooler and they will help keep other items cold. You can buy pancake mix in a jug that only requires water to mix. No extra bowls or spoons to prepare. If you do them on your first morning then you have a container for water to wash with. We also take anti-bacterial gel & diaper wipes (I like them better than wet ones and our kids are older). Good luck and enjoy your adventure.

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We have been camping with our boys since they were babies. For toys we would bring bubbles, crayons/paper, toy cars, anything that can get dirty. Once suggestion for food is to pre-cook some meals, put them in Ziploc baggies, push out as much air as possible and lay flat in freezer. When you're ready to go, toss these in the cooler and they will help keep other items cold. You can buy pancake mix in a jug that only requires water to mix. No extra bowls or spoons to prepare. If you do them on your first morning then you have a container for water to wash with. We also take anti-bacterial gel & diaper wipes (I like them better than wet ones and our kids are older). Good luck and enjoy your adventure.