I have two boys 2yr old turning 3 this summer and one that just turned 5. A freind gave my wife a rocking camp chair and we use that a lot around the fire, Port our 2yr old loves cuddling we her or me while we hang out by the fire. Tay our 5yr old is easier now, he likes his own chair to burn his marshmallows, I had to teach him not to fling it if it is on fire. It cools down alot where we camp so they like cuddling up alot at night. Another thing is they are always wore out by dinner time from swimming, hiking, getting frogs, hauling fire wood and just being boys. When they are not behaving it is bed time. I love camping more with the kids than I ever did before we had kids, I still camp by my self for fishing trips and I am always finding things I wanted to share with Taylor and Porter, enjoy it soon they wont want to cuddle and be teenagers with there own agendas.
All good suggestions. At one point I would get jealous of the old timers or childless neighbors as I watched them napping or relaxing with a cold one under the awning. Then I realized that I started taking the family for THEM not ME. Each year gets easier as they mature.
Early on, all hitching and setup / teardown stuff was done while they were safely buckled in carseats with a movie. The rest was simply tag teaming and making sure we always communicated who 'had' the boys. We also have a bin of 'camper only' toys for inside and outside. This helps keep the toys 'fresh and exciting' since they haven't played with them as often.
Somebody mentioned using bells. At night we make sure they both have a glowstick. They are cheap in the camping section or you can get a large pack at Halloween time. The boys think they are cool and it makes them easy to watch if they wander out of the light.
The good news is now that they are 7 and 4 it is much easier since the 'expectations' have been set early. Each year they have earned more setup / teardown roles.
I think they behave better camping since they now know it is a special time. We had to cancel a trip earlier this year because they had been giving DW a hard time. I really wanted to go but it was a good leson to teach.
This is still one of my favorite camping pics.... Little guy was 3 months old and big brother was only 3.
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harold1946 wrote: Many many years ago when we camped with small children we used a child safety harness and lenght of rope.
Better than the shock collar and perimeter fence!
When my son was younger we used the portable play pen outside, a clean tarp staked out on the ground so he could have a clean space to crawl around on, Radio Flyer wooden wagon, etc... But mostly he was free roaming but closely watched.
If its warm enough, get one of thos small one ring inflatable pools and set it up were you can sit and relax and be right there next to the kid. We also got from my mother one of those plastic kid fences from Toys-R-Us and found additional connections at a yard sale. Lastly I see your from SC. We lived in Florence for about 2 years and I loved your Cheraw golf course.
03 Ford F150 XLT
Good-bye old friend --- 01 Coleman Sante Fe Pop-up
Hello new friend --- 09 KZ Coyote 23CR Hybrid
Me ,The Wife,The Boy,Girl 1 ,Girl 2
We are Blessed.
Definetly taking his pool, probably just get down on the ground and play with him! And yes the State Park course is great. Country Club across the street recently changed hands and has gotten really nice!
2004 28' Four Winds Express
2005 Ford F-150 SuperCrew 4x4- SOLD
2002 Ford F-250 Crew Cab 4x4 Powerstroke
2010 Ford Fusion DW's ride
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We have a 6 yr old boy and a 2 yr old girl. While my son is great with camping and knows the safety rules, my daughter is a totally different story. We do not choose campsites at the end of rows, as the site will be bordered by the road on two sides, means double the danger. So we carefully research sites that are near the playground and limited access to the main road. We also try to strategically park our truck and camp chairs to form a border between the site and the road. If she runs past my chair, that's too far. We hound her about the fire "that's hot, burn baby, no touch, OWIE!!" I think she gets it, but we dedicate one set of eyeballs to constantly be on her.
As for the posters noting that not everybody wants to hear a baby, we understand. However, shooting a disapproving glance to an already stressed out parent is just not going to improve the situation. Unless the parent is a total dolt (completely possible, we've seen them too), they are going to be trying to fix the situation. Just this last weekend, our daughter pitched a fit about somthing on the playground and a passing camper offered to run to our site and grab the diaper bag off the picnic table. Hallelujah! Didn't know the lady, but was sure appreciative for her. She told me "don't worry sweetie, I raised 5 kids". A little sympathy or even a moment of deaf ear works wonders from others.
Minnesota*is*Home wrote: Just this last weekend, our daughter pitched a fit about somthing on the playground and a passing camper offered to run to our site and grab the diaper bag off the picnic table. Hallelujah! Didn't know the lady, but was sure appreciative for her. She told me "don't worry sweetie, I raised 5 kids". A little sympathy or even a moment of deaf ear works wonders from others.
This is exactly how I treat these kinds of situations. I would rather offer some support to the parent to help them out in anyway I can, than to criticize them for what most of the time amounts to one of those "joys of parenthood" moments that every parent faces at one time or another (myself included).
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It cools down alot where we camp so they like cuddling up alot at night. Another thing is they are always wore out by dinner time from swimming, hiking, getting frogs, hauling fire wood and just being boys. When they are not behaving it is bed time. I love camping more with the kids than I ever did before we had kids, I still camp by my self for fishing trips and I am always finding things I wanted to share with Taylor and Porter, enjoy it soon they wont want to cuddle and be teenagers with there own agendas.
,The Wife
,The Boy
,Girl 1 
,Girl 2 
moments that every parent faces at one time or another (myself included).
