dport

For those of you with kids, what's the earliest you tried to take them camping? I'm getting a little worried about future camping trips, since we have a kid on the way now I have thought about getting a large military style tent so we have extra room to move around with a kid. Of course this would only be in mild weather in an easy to access location.

1stgen4gunner

I dunno, my parents took me when I was 2 years old, and it was fine, just keep an eye on the little toddler.

GSGALLANT

We started camping with our son before he turned 1. My daughter is now 6 months old, and we can't wait until summer gets here to take both kids out camping. Kids are pretty tough. It's good to get them out when they're young.

dport

That's what I was hoping to hear. I figure all our friends/family will think we're crazy whenever we start, but that's pretty much already the case anyway Did you change your tent selection? I have considered getting a large wall tent to have space for them to run around a little w/o us having to watch them as hard.

habanero

I took my son camping when I was 3 months pregnant. Not recommended when it's cold b/c you have to pee a million times a night. Did I mention it was cold?

We've taken him since he was around 6 months old using a 3person Eureka 3 season. He'd sleep with me (I'm a very very light sleeper) and steal my sleeping bag. We car camp several times a year and now he's got his own sleeping bag but he still ends up stealing mine! Yes, he's all over the thing before he finally falls asleep, but he's learned to keep his activities to the top of his sleeping bag (mostly). The only modification we've done to the tent was to get some of the mini carabiners and use those to hold the zippers together so he couldn't unzip and walk out when he was too little to understand that is a bad thing. That and we always have way more warm clothing and bedding than we need. He gets cold (and hot) a lot easier than we do. Oh, and an egg-crate foam pad which might be overkill but the poor guy's got no padding of his own.

Definitely keep a constant eye on him. It takes very little time to vanish and they don't have the sense not to. At 4 he was frustrated that he always had to stay right with us so I let him go off with me following a couple of feet behind. It was in Moab and there wasn't much beyond the rock and sand. Well, he went up a little hill that was a few feet from the tent and over the other side. He couldn't see the tent so I asked him to take me back. Of course he went in the opposite direction and wouldn't believe me when I said it was behind us. I had to pick him up and take him back with much ado and a little embarrassment on his part when he saw I was right.
Yeah, so more than one eye is good and none of those I thought you were watching him deals, either.

dport

I def. get the keep an eye on them part. I have 7 younger siblings and my wife ran a home daycare for about 3 years. That's a good idea about the carabiners on the zippers. We'll def have to get a different tent. Anybody know how long it would take one person to set up a military style canvas wall tent? Also going to have to find a few new camping spots, since the ones we currently go to are right on a swift river.

hodgepodge79

we took our daughter camping when she was 5 mo. it was april in zions natnl park. we had a 10'x10' springbar canvas tent. it was great. there was room for the pack-n-play and the catalytic propane heater.
she's now 4, and quite the trooper in cold weather. never complains.

BigWavePaul

iTrader: (1)

Man has evolved to survive in nature. Take the little ones, keep them close and follow your instincts. Be armed (at least with Bear Mace), there are bears, lions, coyotes and boogey men in the woods. The earlier that you teach the little ones to explore, survive, and hunt in nature, the more prepared for life they will be. Teach your family about plants, trees, fish, and animals so that in a Mad Maxx scenario, they aren't lost when they're outside of the house.

dport

You don't have to tell me to go armed I pack plenty of heat around. I'm just glad to hear that other ppl are taking their kids in the 6-12 month old range b/c that's what we have been thinking. My wife's due the last week of Sept, so 6 months will put us into the mild weather in Mar/Apr. So 6/7 months it is!!

GSGALLANT

With kids, you definitely want to be efficient at setting up camp. We have a bed setup (4'x6') in the back of the 4Runner for my wife and I, and I made a platform that spans from the front passenger door to the steeirng wheel (it goes right from the dash to the passenger seat back) for my son to sleep on (I don't have any pictures of it here). Everything used to be quick and easy to set up when we had no kids, because I could set up the bed at home before we left for our camping trip, but now it requires moving the car seat from the rear of the 4Runner over to the driver seat for storage when we get to camp, then I have to set the rear bed up with the mattress pads and sleeping bags, then I have to set up the kid bed in the front.

Not to mention starting a camp fire and setting up the 10'x10' bug tent (It's a quick set up tent, and I wouldn't consider camping without it around here... especially with kids).

The whole set up now takes me approx 30 minutes or so.

Not sure what we'll be doing this year now that we have two kids. I suppose we'll have to bring a tent as well.

dport

GSGALLANT, do you have an pics of your sleeping set up? That's sounds pretty awesome, esp since we're shopping for a 4Runner right now.

GSGALLANT

The link to the pictures of the bed setup is underlined in my post above (#10). Here is a link to a thread I started about it that has a bit more info in it.

Corey

iTrader: (1)

Well, since I was conceived in Yellowstone National Park, start 'em off young
My X and I took our oldest son camping when he was only a few months old in our first tent trailer, same as in this pic below of my youngest son camping with me and the older one.



I would say he was less than two years old there, and as you can see, he already knew his part of the chores

Kids are very resilient, and they love camping.
Youngest again with the new trailer.



Start them when they are young, as long as you have a good feel of first aid should they require it from some cuts they may encounter.







Wish I had scanned in some photos of our oldest son from a trip when he was just a few months old.

racedirt1

I am fortunate enough to have a pop-up camper like Corey did, we took my son camping when he was 9 DAYS old. Originally it was just going to be me and my daughter because she wasn't getting a lot of attention with the newborn, however momma wanted to go too so we all went.

It is actually very easy when they are infants, no different than anything at home. It's not like they really do much - eat, sleep and poop is about it. Bring toys and thier favorite blanket's and your good to go. We used a pack-n-play for the boy for the first year or so, which is nice because they sleep a lot and this keeps them in 1 place. We could be just outside the camper and will hear him when he cries.

Might be a bit tougher with the weather in a tent but it is great to get kids outdoors at a young age. My kids now look forward to camping, fishing and hiking more than anything else.

dport

Thanks for all the input everyone. It will really help in the future. GSGALLANT, I checked out the link, but didn't see any of the child's bed area. It's alright though, because it spawned the idea in my head. I am planning on getting a shell for my Taco and doing a sleeping platform. Your post made me think about putting a bunk in the front going from side to side for the kids and We'll sleep with our heads at the tailgate. Thanks again to everyone, YT rocks.

GSGALLANT

Yeah, I don't have any pictures on-line for the kid bed up front. I think I have a couple at home... I'll see if I can dig some up.

firemaniac

Hmmm, when to start taking kids camping? ASAP I don't think there is a "to early", but especially if you are tent camping, have a backup plan. Just make sure you and your significant other are comfortable with it.

aviator

My 'rents took me camping in an old Korean war surplus army tent when I was about 1 mo. old. It was a long rectangular one {about 10*20} not the square ones you saw on MASH. When I was 2 I spent the winter helping my dad build a slide in truck camper. {We have the pics to prove it lol}.
Camping is no big deal you just need to pack extra extra clothes and blankies. and keep an eye on what's going on. make sure you get a booklet on the local plants and animals where you are going, if in doubt ask with the forest service or even a local garden centre you want to find out about the effects of any plants that might be eaten not just the obvious poisonous ones...
Don't forget games, books, and other rainy day activities for "older" little kids. A baby won't care if it's raining so much but a 2-6 yr old will get cabin fever fast.

annoyingrob

I was camping with my parents as long as I could remember. It was great as a kid.

dport

So it all boils down to whenever you're crazy enough to attempt. Well, I guess it'll be in the 6 month range for us, just because of the weather. Maybe I'll have my camper shell by then, but I doubt it. You just can't bring marshmellows and forget the napkins like my dad did once. All my younger siblings had them in their hair and clothes.