Camping with Children

Use Throw Away Clothes for Camping and Outside Play

If your child is getting ready to go to summer camp (I don't mean the kind where they stay clean and neat), don't buy them nice new things to wear, it's not going to come home that way! Pack their oldest socks and underwear for them to take, so that when (IF) it comes home, you just throw it in the trash! You can do the same thing with shorts and t-shirts too, just don't send torn and stained stuff that will embarrass them.

This tip also works if, like our family, you're going to visit someplace where the kids are going to be playing outdoors and getting very dirty. My mom's place is in the Arizona country where she has red dirt that stains. My kids played outside all day and would get filthy. I'd take play clothes specifically that I planned on throwing away instead of bringing home. Going to the Arkansas Diamond mine is the same, only it's not just the kids that get filthy digging in the dirt and mud. EVERYONE'S clothes get thrown away when we leave the hotel!

When my three boys go to Boy Scout camp every summer for a week, the stuff they bring back is like toxic waste! Boys don't shower at camp, because the adults don't make them. Really GROSS! This stuff sits in the heat and humidity of their tents for a week, in a trunk. Their dirty stuff goes into a black trash bag, where the damp, dirty clothes ferment - the smell when you open the trunk after they come home is enough to knock you over! And the socks and underwear are ALWAYS stained with dirt and sweat. In all fairness, I have to say my daughter wasn't much better. Her stuff came home from Girl Scout camp dirty, stained, and smelling like horse, smoke, and sweat.

I used to try to bleach them clean until I realized it was easier to throw them away. When I sort through their clothes in the winter/spring, I always save the socks and underwear that is getting worn or a bit small and would normally be thrown away anyway, I set them aside for camp. I do the same thing with shorts and t-shirts I've saved from last year. When I'm going through them in the beginning of summer to see what still fits, I set aside the shorts that might be getting just a bit short or worn and the t-shirts that are a bit faded, stretched, or I know won't fit much longer - but I make sure it's nothing that is going to get them teased about the condition. All of this gets packed for camp (or vacation as mentioned above).

When they come home, it doesn't even come in the house! The trunks are set in the driveway, where I plug my nose and open them. I sort through and salvage what I need to, such as their uniforms and bed sheets, which go straight into the washing machine. The rest goes right into the trash can outside for the unfortunate garbage men who have to empty it on the next trash day, LOL! Doing it that way also limits the possibilities of ticks, chiggers, and spiders making it into my house!

By lyonpridej from OK

Sidewalk Chalk Boundaries When Camping

Use sidewalk chalk to mark the boundaries of where your kids can play or ride their bikes around your campground. Another family did this where we recently went camping and I thought it was a brilliant idea. They had also setup a start and finish line for a race (which I had to run with my five year old many times). I will be adding sidewalk chalk to my camp boxes for next year.

By Stephanie from Hillsboro, OR

A Resting Place for Kids on a Camping Trip

This tip is for campers with children. Children seem to love to have their little clubhouses and tents. What's really nice is if you have a small extra tent you can put up on your site. If you have a child who needs some time to be alone or if they get bored, they can always go into the tent to play, color, read, whatever they need to do. This gives them some quiet time.

If you have no tent, you can always bring extra blankets and make one out of the picnic table. Leave the blankets half way down on the sides for air to get in and also so you can keep a eye on them. I noticed after a busy day, kids need some space and down time and also time away from adults and a place for them to do that. This gives them something to do and a lot of times they would fall asleep just by going in to rest. But it really does help them as well as you.

By Darlene from Fairview, PA