Should You Go Camping with a Baby & Pre-Schooler?

Should you go camping with your baby and/or under fivers?

If you ask me… YES! If you ask my husband... NO. Read more to hear our pros and cons of camping with little ones.

Adventure or Vacation?

In my mind, camping is an adventure, not a vacation. I love adventures and challenges. Before you take your little ones camping, it’s a good idea to figure out your end goal. Are you trying to get away for some peace and rest? Camping might not be the answer for you. Are you trying to bestow a sense of exploration and comfort with the outdoors? Then yes, go get your camp on!

Pros and Cons

Routine

One of the biggest challenges is being out of routine. Dean (baby) was out of sorts by the time we arrived at the campsite, and it took him a couple of hours to adjust. He is usually easy going, so I started to wonder if he just wasn’t into camping! He did adjust though, and enjoyed all the camp things… fire, wind, sun, trees, bugs, dirt. Ellie (preschooler) adjusted quickly and enjoyed helping Graham set up the tent. One of her favourite activities was hammering pegs into the ground using various tools in one of our camping bins. 

Meals

The first night we made one-pot vegetarian nachos using the fire grill. Almost any food is good when you’re hungry, but I still think it turned out well, and Ellie ate some (bonus!). All of our meals were vegetarian and mostly prepared ahead to make life easier. We packed veggies and hummus, bread and butter, cookies and a few other things for snacks. I didn’t bother providing much solid food to Dean on this trip... just cheerios, bits of whatever we were eating and graham crackers. His main source of food was me! I’m breastfeeding which offers easy access to nutrition and hydration.

Sleep

Naps… are a challenge. I was hoping Dean would sleep in the tent for his naps but it didn’t work out that way. He either slept in my arms or in the stroller. My guess is that he wasn’t used to the tent as a sleeping space, and he never transferred to the tent after falling asleep for a nap. Bedtime... is also a challenge. All four of us slept on the mattress pads with sleeping bags, which are safe for 15 months and over (we used them anyways… but probably wouldn’t for under six months). It wasn’t very dark at their bedtime, so it took Ellie a while to fall asleep. Thankfully, both her and Dean slept well through the night, though.

Weather

There’s no way around it, when you’re camping you’re at the mercy of the weather. Last year we didn’t pack any warm clothes and really regretted it in the evenings/nights/mornings. This year we were all prepared with warm clothes BUT it was a heat bubble and even at night it was pleasantly cool. During the day it was quite hot, so keeping everyone hydrated was a big priority. We used the drinking water taps to keep our reusable bottles full of cold water, stayed in the shade, and dumped water on ourselves as needed!

Activities for Toddlers

Ellie found so many things to entertain herself. She grabbed a camp mug of water and sat in a camp chair peacefully drinking and checking out her surroundings. She found an “L” shaped tree and worked away at climbing it.

Ellie is like most kids (I’m guessing) and loves to watch a couple of shows each day, and loves to have adult attention for play time. While we were camping she never once asked to watch something and she often led her own adventures around the campsite.

I highly recommend camping for this age group!

Activities for Baby

A camp site is not an ordinary play space for a baby and it does have its downfalls. When you’re used to clean floors/mats the dirty ground seems concerning. We brought a big outdoor play mat and a bin of toys to provide lots of options for baby fun. There is so much to see and do when you’re out in nature, so part of me feels like the bin of toys isn’t necessary, but I’m glad we had it!

Dean was fairly stationary at the time of our trip (he started army crawling everywhere soon after!), so that helped in keeping him contained.

If you’re not familiar with the camp site or park where you’ll be staying then try to find out what the trails are like before you go. Some trails didn’t allow for a stroller, so we used the carrier. This form of travel is hard on the back, but we only did it a couple of times.

We brought a little baby tub and had a bath a couple of times a day (for the extra activity and to clean up!).

The main advantage of bringing babies camping is that everyone else can go!

What’s the payoff of camping with your young family?

On the second evening of our trip, all four of us were sitting by the fire. We were all done dinner, finished our s’mores, Dean was cuddled up and sleepy and dusk was setting in. We sang songs and told stories… and enjoyed some rare peace! That was my favourite moment of the trip. Those moments are why I love camping, and those moments are why I want to establish our family as a camping family! 

Your Turn!

Hopefully you feel a clear sense of whether camping with little ones is for you. If you’re not sure… then go for it and find out the hard way!!!

Let me know how it goes for you or if you still have questions via contact page. And check back for more posts about outdoor parenting + sustainable living.