View Full Version : has anyone gone camping with small children?
We are thinking about an inexpensive holiday before i return to work from maternity leave and are thinking about taking the tent or hiring a static caravan for a week in may? I have a 10 month old daughter and im looking for advice and tips for camping with wee ones! im worried she will get cold in a tent but dont want to be stuck in 1 area with a static caravan..big dilemmas!
I would go with the caravan personally. I took my youngest son who at the time was about 18 months, it was difficult but we chose a lovely campsite. Make sure you check out the facilities as we ended up bathing him in the sink after doing the dishes. Suggest a layback buggie with a rainhood/sun canopy. Also check the site has a small playpark. If you can, take a playpen/travelcot. (Wish we had last year). Choose an area to go to with lots of things that will interest a tot, animal parks etc. Not sure how far you plan to travel but there is a nice animal park on the Black Isle. My elder two loved it when they were little.
Also another suggestion which can be relatively cheap is a holiday centre such as Butlins. Tried that with the elder two when they were little and it was great.
Hope that helps!
we were thinking about going to the lake district we have been camping there before but that was before children....i have a travel cot my sister has a backpack type carrier which doubles up as a high chair which im gonna borrow big travelsystem pram or cheap and nasty buggy? dog or no dog?Hmmm suppose i will have to put her in disposable nappies and use jars of food instead of homemade..how much clothes to take for her..dad will have to make do with 1 pair of trousers and a toothbrush by the time i get her stuff packed!!
dog or no dog?Hmmm suppose i will have to put her in disposable nappies .............
Your dog wears disposable nappies?? Wouldn't it be easier to take it out on a lead?? ;) :lol:
Sorry, couldn't resist!!
the dog did have to wear nappies once! she came into season before i got her seen to ..we cut a hole in the nappies for the tail .they worked well but that is a totally different story
Watch out for the midges!!!! ;)
If you're not on a tight budget, the self catering Scandanavian type chalets/log cabins are usually a quite good deal - usually set amongst woodland so plenty to see (or not for the trees) and usually networks of walks. Slightly less like a caravan park too.
Try Googling "log cabins lake district" for an idea.
We have gone camping in a tent since our kids were small. Our son was under a year the first time he went and they love it. Travel cot is great to use as a playpen in the daytime and you can put it outside the tent so they can watch the other kids playing. ours adore staying in the tent and have never moaned about being cold.
Find a good campsite with hot showers etc and its great. We go every year now and the kids are already demanding to go NOW.
allsorts can you recommend some good campsites, suitable for us ie child friendly where there is some nice walks and stuff to do ! Im still a bit scared that we will get known as the couple with a baby for the wrong reasons ie crying through the night getting up to boil water for her breakfast at 5am etc.. but she is normally so good so maybe im worrying for no real reason!
Penelope Pitstop
24-Apr-07, 12:05
Mmmmmm.....think I would go for the caravan as well. What would you do if it rained for a few days? In a caravan at least you would be dry!!
I wouldn't recommend camping full stop ......... myself and hubby went on our first (and only) camping trip to Skye ....... we'd borrowed my sisters super duper expensive tent and promptly put a hole in it while battling the wind and rain. First stop? Nearest hotel for a night.
No more camping for me!!! Although hubby bought a tent last year ........ camping for one I'm guessing! :lol:
our "kids" (now 17 and 18 years old) have always enjoyed camping in tents since a young age. My main advice would be to make sure you take plenty of things to keep youngsters occupied if the weather turns nasty.
Ulapool has a great camp site right on the water front. lovely shower/toilet block and the main street is only a two minute walk away. There is also a supermarket close by in case you run out of anything. The only downside are the midges!! They are rally bad:~(
There are two beautiful campsites in Pitlochry - really well laid out and loads of beautiful walks and scenery about. One of them is more central that the other but i can' remember which one.
As long as you are not expecting 5 star accomodation and don't mind the odd beastie you should definately go for it.:D
the nomad
24-Apr-07, 13:27
Been there done that and stared in the video.
It was good fun but pick summer months. Once you are all tucked up for the night its not cold. Mornings and evenings can be chilly so take warm clothes. Gas stove is a must, as are good sleeping bags and ground mats.
Can I suggest for a wee one you try Embo first at least it has activities a pool and indoor centre.
cuddlepop
24-Apr-07, 13:41
I only started camping&caravaning a few years ago so have no experience with small kids but I'd suggest you take them caravaning. When its wet its difficult to get your things dry in a tent.and the flies are terrible.Found it was difficult to stop the dog from ducking under the tent to take herselve for an early morning walk,dread to think what its like with wee ones.:eek:
might just send hubby into the loft to take down the tent and go on a trial run with it camping somewhere near.... embo.for the weekend .probably have to air it first....camping in mum and dads garden?? we used to do that as kids!
We took our wee boy off camping when was only 2 and he loved it. With all the fresh air he was zonked by 7pm and as long as he was warm and dry everything was fine. I would suggest getting a tent with a sewn-in groundsheet as this stops bugs/draughts getting in and wee ones getting out. www.wildday.com (http://www.wildday.com) have a sale on just now and they are located in Nairn. Happy camping!! :)
hmm cant really help, cause camping in my neck of the woods is entirley dif. than here.. we did go from young ages though and loved it.. but it was more of a pack several tents.. and had the huge two room ones.. but we would drive out into the wilderness.. and find a river close by.. set up camp after hiking about a mile to get to it.
the kids got to gather stones and buckets of dirt and wood.. for the fire.. and then we would all watch dad tie the food up in a tree to keep the bears out. then we would all go swimming and or fishing.. and mom would make us fresh fish for tea.. we would all gather round the fire.. back side freezing front side roasting.. tell stories and make smores.. and roast weeners and have a blast!
Cedric Farthsbottom III
24-Apr-07, 16:31
Hear Embo is absolutely brilliant at this time of the year.A few friends have came back wi better suntans from there than the Costa Del Sol.The Highlands.......the new Meditteranean:lol: :lol:
camping is good fun, my kids love it just as their holidays abroad. This year we just bought a bigger 3 bedroom tent and a little trailer to fit everything in......well with 4 kids and a dog they are not enough room in a people carrier.
you can buy really cheap electric packs from ebay they look home made, or for propper ones its about £50 from towsure, we just bought one for this year so we can take a little heater jsut incase it turns cold! i think argos have the electric packs. some site it cost the same for a tent with or without electric.:D
I don't know my Astle from my Embo when it come to camping with wee ones but this is a really good thread to learn from as I am a keen camper and dad-to-be. :)
Have camped and caravanned for 30 years with children and grandchildren. They came with us from a very young age. No problems if you are organised and learn from mistakes. Do not be put off by experience of first try.
Had great holidays and made life long friends from home and abroad on the sites.
oh Rheghead..daddy2b !
belated congrats to mrs Rheghead!
Fatherhood is a wonderous thing, don't spoil it by going camping!!
Just don't...trust me..don't even think about it!
Love K
mums angels
24-Apr-07, 21:06
We've taken 2 of our kids camping to oban, stirling and st andrews and i have to say they loved it , were still in bed every night at a reasnoble time, all tucked up nice and warm in their own "bedroom" compartment of the tent .
can't say i liked it very much though..creepy crawlies and walking half a mile to the toilet block in the middle of the night :(
its been a few years but have promised hubby that i will go camping again this year but has to be somewhere hot ..but have 3 kids now ...need a bigger tent with more bedrooms me thinks ..:lol:
percy toboggan
24-Apr-07, 22:20
Choose your area well and choose a caravan. Ten months old is too young to be in a tent overnight. It can be cold. Little uns like that bring enough effort and hard work why compound it by being on a rock hard floor with the chance of being washed out. Lack of headroom and space will have thee cussin' after a night or two.
It is a large tent we have with plenty of head room can fit a double air bed in each "bedroom" and it has a large middle bit and a porch so we wouldnt be lacking in space...we did get washed out at the lake district.. none stop heavy rain for 3 days ..eaten by midges relentlessly at loch lomand but on the whole we enjoyed ourselves! its just that we did all this before children!
mums angels
26-Apr-07, 11:06
My tents the same dadie..id say go for it the kids willl love it i'm sure .
you'll never know until you try :D
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