The only camping with kids tips article you need to read

In this post, you will find my best camping with kids tips. As you’ve probably worked out by now we love camping with kids and have been taking our own kids camping for many years now. Perhaps you have been camping with your children for a while and just want to find a few tips to make things easier or perhaps you are considering taking your children camping for the first time. Either way, I’m sure you’ll find some tips that will make your next camping trip a big success.

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Tips for camping with kids

Before you leave home:

The key to a successful camping trip is all in the preparation. From choosing the right kit, to picking the right site and even packing the car right, there are so many ways to make your camping trips easier.

• Choose the best tent for your family that you can afford. There are so many different brands and styles of tents on the market to suit every families needs and budget.
• We love tunnel tents for camping with young children, with all the bedrooms together at one end. Blackout linings for bedroom pods are essential with kids in my opinion.
• If you buy a second-hand tent or if this is your second year of using your tent, make sure you reseal your tent.
• If your tent is new to you, practice putting your tent up in the garden. Better yet, why not spend a night in it in your garden. Practising putting up and taking down your tent is essential. It’s a lot easier than if you arrive on-site and put it up for the first time. It also makes sense to check that there isn’t a fault or missing part from your new tent. Camping in the garden helps you work out what things you need to take with you whilst you have the luxury of running inside to pick it up.
• Make a checklist of everything you need to pack for camping with your family. You can use this list each time you go camping and be sure that you never forget the airbed pump!
• Pack more clothes than you think your kids will need, in my experience clothes get wet, muddy etc far more than when you are at home.
• Pack the car so the tent, mallet and tent pegs are easy to reach as soon you arrive at the campsite. It’s also a good idea to have snacks and things to entertain the kids when you arrive.
• Choose a campsite that is right for you. Location and facilities are things to consider.
• Have the directions for finding the campsite handy. Also, make sure you know how early and late you can arrive at the campsite.
• Plan the meals you will be cooking whilst you are away and pack the food and cooking equipment you need to cook these meals. Here are some ideas to get you started – quick and easy camping meals
• Prepare your kids for their first camping trip with these indoor camping for kids ideas.

When you arrive at the campsite:

Once you arrive at your destination, this can be one of the most stressful parts of camping if you have young children and you’re not prepared.

• If you can choose your own pitch, look for one that is fairly flat, in a good location for your preferences and with a nice view.
• Think about if you want to be near the facilities block or the kids’ playground? there are pros and cons of both.
• Avoid pitching near a tree for lots of reasons but hedges are great for offering some shelter.
• Decide which you want to pitch your tent, where do you want the door to be? Think about how to make the best of the views if you are lucky enough to have any.
• Before you put your groundsheet down, remove ant sticks, stones etc that could damage your tent.
• Time your arrival if you can to suit your family. With very young children we used to love timing our arrival with nap time in the hope they’d stay asleep in the car whilst we pitched the tent.
• If this isn’t possible, be prepared with snacks and things to keep them entertained if they won’t help set up the tent.
• If they still sit in pushchairs then make the most of it, there’s nothing worse than helping put up the tent whilst watching to make sure young kids don’t wander off.
• Will they stay in the car with snacks and entertainment?
• Other ideas are getting them to help you hold up the tent poles whilst the tent is being pitched. Any little tasks that you can give them that will keep them in your view.
• If you packed the car right it is easy to get the tent out first and pitch it before emptying anything else out of the tent. Always a bonus, especially if it is raining.
• Once the tent is up you can start to empty the car and make your tent more homely for your family.
• Don’t forget to plan when your first meal on-site needs to be. Cooking outdoors can take a little longer than on a traditional stove in your home so plan ahead.

Whilst you are camping:

• Get the children to help out with chores. My kids love helping with the washing up, walking around the campsite to take the rubbish to the bins etc.
• Try to keep your tent organised and tidy. There is nothing worse than not being able to find what you need. We love packing cubes for separating everyone’s clothes. I also like storage tubs if you have the space in the car and if not bags for life or folding camping storage. Keeping food together, kitchen tools and the kid’s toys etc makes it a lot easier to find what you want when you need it.
• Keep all the things you need for trips to the facilities block in a bag ready to go.
• Take a combination of things to keep your kids entertained in the tent and outdoors as well as on the car journey too. Plan for rainy days and early mornings!
• Find loads of ideas for camping activities for kids of all ages here.
• I tend to buy a few cheap colouring books or sticker books that can be used in the car and in the tent too. We take a few small card games and then the girls pick a few small toys to bring too. We always have beach toys, bubbles and a ball too. I have a full post with lots more ideas for camping toys for kids.

Keeping clean

• We always have a toiletries bag ready with toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, shower gel etc.
• A campsite shower essential for me is a pair of flip flops for everyone to wear in the showers.
• Microfibre towels are fantastic for camping as they dry so fast.
• Always have a spare bag with you so you can keep wet and dry things separate. Tote bags are perfect because you can hang them on hooks that you’ll usually find on the back of shower cubicle doors.
• I use dry bags for keeping our laundry in as they squash down so small and are lightweight as well as waterproof.
• If you want to wash at your tent we love these * collapsible buckets that fold down to be like a bag but add water and they really keep their shape. Just add warm water, soap and a flannel and you can have a wash down anywhere. Also good for washing clothes in. Pack some handwash, some pegs and a wash line and you can do bits of laundry if you need to.
• If you want a camping shower and the facilities are closed then how about packing a camping shower. We love our * Colapz camping shower, click through this link and get 5% off your purchase. Not only does it pack up small, but it’s also really powerful. It’s essential on our trips now, perfect for showering kids or just washing sand off tiny toes.
• A * Flexi tub makes a good bath for small children too. You can take it to the showers and use it to bath small kids.

Cooking at the campsite

• Planning what you will cook if you are only going away for a night or two really helps so that you take all the food and pots/pans etc that you need.
• Take plenty of snacks, it’s true what they say about kids eating more when they are outdoors all day.
• A good coolbox is essential. If we are going for a weekend we take our Coleman passive coolbox. Find out more in my Coleman 28QT Xtreme cooler review. It’s so good, it keeps food cold/fresh easily for 2 nights/3 days.
• If we are going away for longer and have an electric hook up then we like an electric cooler box but some sites do have freezers where you can refreeze your cool packs and keep your standard coolbox working longer.
• Find more tips for how to keep food cold while camping.

Family camping breakfasts

A good breakfast is important to set you up for the day. We have all sorts of different breakfasts. Sometimes we have cereal, milk and fruit, other days we might have a cooked breakfast. Don’t fall for those camping toasters that sit on top of your camping stove. They take ages to toast bread!

Here are a few breakfast ideas that do work:

• Cereal
• Fruit and yoghurt
• Pancakes, make the pancake mix at home and store it in your coolbox.
• Eggs, scrambled, fried, boiled, however you like them
• Bacon or sausage butties
• croissants or pain au chocolate for a real treat

Lunch ideas

Lunch is usually a picnic that we make at breakfast and take out with us for the day. Any picnic favourites will work.

Here are a few ideas:

• Sandwiches, we always take cheese, cheese spread and peanut butter with us. Peanut butter is great as you don’t need to keep it cold.
• Wraps or filled pitta breads are great and tend to keep a bit longer when camping.
• Quiche if your kids will eat it cold.
• Sausage rolls or Scotch eggs.
• Crisps
• Biscuits
• Fruit
• Salad or raw veg

Evening meal ideas

Think about the types of food your kids will eat that are easy to cook on a camping stove. Especially for your first night, you could take something you’ve made at home and reheat on site. Things like chilli or spaghetti bolognese work well and you can simply reheat and cook some pasta or rice to go with it.

Some times we plan to eat out, think fish and chips by the sea, a nice pub meal or similar. Even if we eat out at lunchtime (which is what we did all the time when the kids were young), then our evening meal at the tent would be more picnic style.

When the weather is really bad, making cooking outdoors impossible we have called into a shop and bought things like quiche, ready-cooked chicken, sausage rolls etc. Things that can be eaten cold in the tent. My family love “picky” teas like this.

For cooking we have a basic 1 ring * camping stove and a * Coleman party grill. We love the flexbility this combination gives us to BBQ on the party grill whilst boiling rice, pasta or vegetables on the stove. We also love one pan dishes whilst camping too.

Here are things we find easy to cook on camping stoves:

• Pasta with sauce and some vegetables like green beans that you can boil with the pasta or with some salad or raw vegetables on the side. Sometimes we add cooked meat or fish (tinned tuna is great for camping).
• My kids favourite is a BBQ. Things like burgers and/or sausages, in a bread bun with salad or raw veg on the side. Bake beans is another side dish idea.
• A risotto dish is great as it’s a one pan dish or a paella, especially if you can get some fresh sea food to add.

At night:

• Expect bedtime to be later than usual, especially on your first night. We find it much easier to go with the flow and try to tire the kids out before even trying to put them to bed, even if this means they go to bed a little later. In our experience, they still end up asleep earlier than if we try to put them to bed at their usual bedtime (as we put up a real battle).
• Take a potty for night-time toilet trips. No one wants to be taking kids across the campsite at 2 am!
• Make sure you pack key night time essentials for your kids. Things like their favourite night time cuddly toy and a couple of books for bedtime stories.
• Good sleeping bags and something to sleep on is essential. We take our normal pillows from home too.
• Pack extra blankets in case it drops cold.
• We pack long sleeve PJs even in the middle of summer as well as vests and socks to sleep in. At the beginning and end of the camping season, I often pack warm hats too.

Packing up camp:

• Get the children to be involved in taking down the tent. They can follow you around with the peg bag and collect the pegs as you pull them up.
• Another great job is rolling down the folded up tent to remove any air and compress the tent for putting it bag in it’s bag.

So there you have my best tips for camping with young kids. I hope whether you are a new camper or an experienced camper then I hope you have found a few tips that will help your next trip even better. I for one can’t wait to get back to camping this year.

More camping posts

• This post will be really helpful if you are camping with toddlers.
• Find out a lot more about our favourite family tent – Coleman pinto mountain 5 plus XL review
• Find out why adventure is so good for everyone here.
• Find our Family camping essentials from OLPRO here

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