Camping - dad and 3yr old son, advice please

louisehj

Hi all,

My DH and our 3 yr old son are going on a camping trip with a group of dads and kids from the playgroup. Its 2 nights. He has never been before. Any idea of good things to take? They are going to the lake district, first week of aug. We have a 6 man tent never used before which they will be taking.

Thanks!!
Louise

RedBern

wellies! Waterproof coat and trousers (nothing worse than being wet when camping).

Take lots of clothes for night time- it can get really chilly at night - socks to sleep in as well. Toys - footballs and bat and ball - indoor toys as well in case it is very wet and you're confined to barracks! Nice treats as a reward when it really is cold and wet (sorry - this doesn't seem very optimistic!) - oh and sun cream - enjoy!!

mummytofour

Balls colouring pens and paper, baby wipes.

hardpressed

Has he practised putting up the tent? Not easy to do on your own when your keeping an eye on a 3yr old.

tsstss7

small padlock to fasten tent shut in night to stop 3yr old wondering off to find a toilet / etc - this happened to me and my ex-oh when ds1 was little - he managed to climb over both and get out of tent without waking us. Think the light/ noise through open tent flap woke us though as we woke to find him toddling off to talk to the campers next to us.

louisehj

hardpressed wrote: »

Has he practised putting up the tent? Not easy to do on your own when your keeping an eye on a 3yr old.

He has put the tent up once before. He is having a go this week again to make sure its all ok.

BillScarab

If there's a group of them goign the best thing would be for one or two to watch he children while the rest get all of the tents up. It will be a lot easier than everyone tryign to do there own with young children under their feet.

Other than that, buy your sone a cheap head torch. They useful and children sem to love them. Take insect repellent and maybe some citronella candels to try and keep the bugs away. Also make sure someone has a first aid kit.

flea72

being male, they prob wont be looking at washing, but if the mood does strike, i would advise a pair of flipflops or crocs so you can have something on your feet in the shower

i wouldnt advise locking yourself in the tent as suggested above, its hard enough to find the zip in a hurry (should a fire, etc. arise) let alone a key for a padlock - best to hang something like a bell on the zip, so the noise awakens you

also a lidded bucket is handy in the night, saves traipsing across a wet field at 3am

i dont know how dry your son is at night, but sleeping outdoors can have an affect on the bladder (must be the cold), but i find my kids are more likely to wet the bed, when camping than if at home, so make sure your bedding can be washed/tumble dried, so you can get it done in the day, ready again for the night

Dont know what the food plans are, but spag bol, curry/rice, tend to be easy to cook, or if like my kids, anything tinned so sausages/beans, ravioli, hotdogs, beef stew, etc.

hth Flea