Anyone have tips for camping with 2 3 year olds

Hi everyone,
I don't post often on here. I am always reading and taking in the advice given on each post.
I need some help, we are taking our 3 year old girls on their first camping trip, I was wondering if anyone had any tips or advise to make the trip go great.
anything you think I should take with me
any advise would be great

Thanks for your time
Michelle

 

Yeah! We just took our first trip a couple weeks ago.

Tips...well, I will try...

1) If they are potty trained, bring along a portible training potty. We used that tons because it was easier than lugging two toddlers to the potties every half hour. And because we were staying super hydrated, it was worse!
2) When we boiled hot water for the dishes, we also boiled water for the kids. Then we could give them a warm wipe down from head to toe a couple times a day. They WILL get filthy, but that is half the fun, right!
3) Bring an old rug or doormat to put in front of your tent. This will catch any extra dirt, debris before the kids enter the tent.
4) Bring shoes they can take on and off fairly easily. Our kids wore their Crocs at the campsite. It was nice because they could take their shoes off and wipe their feet before entering the tent. They caught on to the rules really quickly and our tent stayed relatively clean as a result.
5) Bring tons of wipes. And then bring some more. Also keep a large roll of paper towels handy!
6) We brought sand toys thinking they would dig in the dirt with them, but they were not into that at all. We also brought some games (memory which they use to just match, kids' dominoes, etc.) and coloring books. When they were all wiped down and clean, it was nice to have something to keep them busy and remain clean all at the same time.
7) Cut their fingernails and toenails down really well before you leave. You won't believe how dirty they can get!!!!

If I think of more I will post later....

 

Thank-you

 

QUOTE(twoin2005 @ Jun 17 2008, 03:37 PM) [snapback]831053[/snapback]
Yeah! We just took our first trip a couple weeks ago.

Tips...well, I will try...

1) If they are potty trained, bring along a portible training potty. We used that tons because it was easier than lugging two toddlers to the potties every half hour. And because we were staying super hydrated, it was worse!
2) When we boiled hot water for the dishes, we also boiled water for the kids. Then we could give them a warm wipe down from head to toe a couple times a day. They WILL get filthy, but that is half the fun, right!
3) Bring an old rug or doormat to put in front of your tent. This will catch any extra dirt, debris before the kids enter the tent.
4) Bring shoes they can take on and off fairly easily. Our kids wore their Crocs at the campsite. It was nice because they could take their shoes off and wipe their feet before entering the tent. They caught on to the rules really quickly and our tent stayed relatively clean as a result.
5) Bring tons of wipes. And then bring some more. Also keep a large roll of paper towels handy!
6) We brought sand toys thinking they would dig in the dirt with them, but they were not into that at all. We also brought some games (memory which they use to just match, kids' dominoes, etc.) and coloring books. When they were all wiped down and clean, it was nice to have something to keep them busy and remain clean all at the same time.
7) Cut their fingernails and toenails down really well before you leave. You won't believe how dirty they can get!!!!

If I think of more I will post later....


GREAT tips!! We are going camping (in a cabin though) the end of July. There will be 13 of us and only 1 bathroom...luckily we are right by the pool house b/c right now my 2 are potty training and so is my nephew...they like to go ALL of the time. I too was planning on taking one potty chair for convenience. Ditto the easy off/on shoes. We learned that the hard way last year, I got SO sick of putting shoes off/on. Bring a bag of toys, maybe stuff they haven't played with in a while (so they think it's new). Bring some coloring book, play doh...stuff they can do inside if it starts to rain.

 

We went camping last weekend with our twin 3 year olds, a 5 year old, and a 10 yr. old. The biggest hit for our twins was having their own flashlights!
I picked up an inexpensive flashlight at Target for each child, and I swear, they are still talking about their flashlights!

The past post had a great list, there is just one thing that came to mind that wasn't on there. We brought a small broom & dustpan (event though they took off their shoes before entering the tent, they still managed to bring in dirt, leaves, etc). Oh, and fixings for making s'mores of course!

 

So happy to see this
we are taking the babies (20 months old) to where my parents are camping
we are going to try for one night and if that works out we will do two.
its near the beach and there is tons to do.
i just started my packing list
i cant wait

 

If you think that they may be up after sunset, get some glow sticks and pin them to the backs of their shirts so you can easily see them in the dark. Make sure they takes lots of naps, they will not sleep as long as they usually do so they should sleep more often...to ward off the screaming meanies. Food takes longer to prep in the great outdoors, so keep it simple and make sure you have nice snax for them while food is getting ready. Bring some colored twine or rope and extra tent stakes so you can mark the border of your campsite and walk it with them so they know the limits they can wander freely.

Double diaper for the road trip to the camp site. My DS has a toy camping set, lantern, stove, canteen etc...they loved playing with that. And we looked for Diego in the woods.

Be very, very patient. They are out of their element. Tired, out of their usual schedule.

Have fun!!!!

 

DITTO the recommendation for their own flashlights. Just teach them proper flashlight etiquette so that the campers next to you do not have to yell at you through the woods. :blush:

We have two large rubbermaid bins that we keep fully stocked for camping. When we come home, we restock them so that the next time we go, we have everything ready to go! Makes packing much easier. Stop by the 99 cent store and you can stock your bins for next to nothing! Things like: butane lighters, knives, cutting board, mixing bowl, cooking utinsels, broom/dustpan, etc. We used to have mess kits for each of us, but this time I just bought disposable stuff (plates, forks, cups, etc.). Made clean up sooooo much easier.

Another thing to add, we had an inflatable air mattress to sleep on. We put that puppy in the tent and the kids were convinced they had their very own bounce house. It kept them quite busy!!!

 

Anything that has to do with water will probably keep them happy as well. We fill up the bucket we use to wash dishes about halfway and they play with that throughout the day. They usually take some dinosaurs, plastic animals, cars, and shovels and they can play with that forever in the water and dirt.

 

Heres what we have so far. Were leaving October 16th. So no water or splashing around in the pool for these guys.

I bought them each

New bug catcher
Halloween flashlight
glow sticks
crayons and coloring books
bird house and paint
chalk
few cars
bubbles
hopefully this is enough to keep them busy.

If we can get the bikes in the truck we will take them too.