Camping with an infant/toddler

[Oddmott]

So, my boy is now 1 yr old and loves the outdoors, nature, animals, rain, wind... pretty much anything other than sitting inside.

My wife and I want to do a fairly serious family (Dad, mom, 4 yr girl, 1 yr boy) camping trip, now that we also got a great Sportspal canoe (unsinkable, very stable, just 35lbs).

I've never done a trip with dependents, and definitely never with a baby... aside from packing all that a baby needs, or suitable alternatives, and making sure we're safe as we travel both on land and water... can anyone suggest hints, tips, warnings of what i should bring, plan for, ward against, etc.

This trip will take place in typical central Ontario, during August or early Sept, so extreme weather isn't a likely concern.

Thanks!

[alaskabushman]

I have a 3 year old and a two year old with another on the way! We go camping as often as we can and the kids always have a blast. Besides the obvious baby gear needed like diapers and TONS of baby wipes try to find a good natural bug repellent. Using DEET based bug dope works great but trying to keep your kids from rubbing their eyes or mouth after application is near impossible. They also make citronella bracelets that help keep bugs away. We usually ended up bringing our pop-up crib for sleeping, and its someplace you can stick the kid when you dont want them wandering off; just pop it up outside. but I see you mention canoe...dragging along a crib might be hard. SNACKS! Its easy for us to go from meal to meal with no issue, but kids need more frequent recharges, trail mix works good here, but a 1 year old may need something else depending on what you feed him at home. A hammock has provided hours of entertainment for my kids. If you do end up canoeing, dont forget the kiddie life jacket! Thats about all I can think of, hope this helps!

[crashdive123]

Plus 1 on a quality life jacket that fits properly for the kids.

Have a great trip and take lots of pictures.

[backtobasics]

We take my grand daughter she is 5 now but we also took her when she was 3. We usually camp in places where there are no other people. Kid activities are good. I went away from camp and in a small tin box put some change , costume jewelry and colored glass. Then buried it very shallow and stuck some wild flowers on top. I then check out the land marks on the way there and drew a treasure map. Stuff like turn left at the stump go until you see a red ribbon on a tree. With them being young the landmarks must be obvious. Then we went on a treasure hunt she had no idea we put the treasure there and she wants to do it every time we go now. We have a kayak and she likes it for a short time but some kids are more laid back and may do better. My granddaughter gets bored fishing like many kids but if I catch one she has no problem at 5 helping clean it. She has no problem cutting the heads off. Depends on the kid tho. We taught her in preschool that animals are food. We'd tell her see that cow that's where your hamburger comes from and she's watched me butcher ducks. Small creeks are fun for the little ones also. Have fun, I'm sure you can think of a few other things for them. Oh jiffy pop popcorn is fun for kids and marshmallows of course. We also just let them get dirty and clean them up before bed. Your 4 year old could probably play uno also. Need to try and keep them busy.

[blackfinger]

We camped with our son from about 7 months of age but it was strictly "car camping". We never started taking him in a canoe until he was about 5 or 6. Simply too restless to get any kind of decent paddle time in. You didn't mention what type of camping trip this is going to be. Are you planning an interior canoe trip? If so then I think you're really stretching the limits of your canoe. At 35 lbs. I assume it's the 12' which is really just a two person day tripping boat. Add the two kids and all the extra gear and you'll be pushing it.
Great to see you getting the family involved in the outdoors from a young age. Our son is now 9 and he's become quite the little outdoorsman. Can't get enough of camping, canoeing, fishing etc..

[natertot]

Good tips from those above. My kids get a kick out of seeing wild animals, so we usually do a few smaller hikes. My daughter thinks it is neat that tea can be made from pine needles, so that is usually a must. Don't forget smore's, that's required! Other than that, do what you normally would. Just bring it down to their level. Their minds are sponges at this age, so teach 'em and make it fun.

[Oddmott]

That treasure hunt is an awesome idea B2B, thanks! My daughter loves pirates and is always making her own treasure maps around the house.

Blackfinger - our canoe is a modified 14'. It's actually 37.5lbs and has a 835lbs capacity. I didn't think anyone would be familiar enough with the brand, so didn't get too specific. All our gear except for one coleman stove is light weight. So for us to do a 5 day, 4 night interior trip all our bodies + the gear I think we should take... comes out at just a hair over 600lbs. I don't think i'd want to push that beyond 650lbs.

The biggest weight waster is probably everyone's personal thermacell & recharges. But as was already noted, you can't stop kids from ingesting bug spray, so having a no-spray option is the best approach. A family friend made us a handy harness that holds the baby's on his back out of reach. I'm pushing her to patent it.

For us it's more about the time spent out rather than the distance traveled, so "good paddle time" is relative. The kids won't know if we've only gone 20kms over the whole trip... they'll just know that they've seen and done tons of cool things.

[1stimestar]

You should look into baby wearing. http://www.babywearinginternational.org/

[blackfinger]

It's tough to keep weight down when travelling with young kids. We've never taken our son on an overnight trip but we did go on one years ago with a friend who brought his 4 and 6 year old's with him. We have a 16' Scott kevlar that weighs in at around 47 lbs.. Typically for the two of us we could get away with about 50-60 lbs. of gear for a 4 or 5 day trip. It's been a number years since we've done an interior trip. Gotta get back up on that horse sometime soon.

[Josh]

When I went camping with my family, there was always a baby. There are a couple of things you will need. Period. No matter what.

1) A sturdy backpack carrier.

If you have to hoof it, this will save you. All of the hoity toity modern baby wearing devices are great for walking around Walmart, but after a mile or two of rough hiking, they aren't worth a crap. What we had was basically a metal framed baby carrying rucksack. Mom used the little cute ones too. But when it was time to do serious hiking, I got saddled up with the baby backpack. It's single purpose in life was carrying a baby on challenging hiking trails in the mountains, when we got back to camp it was shoved in a corner and forgotten. Without it my spine would be a noodle on a trail somewhere in the mountains.

2) If you are canoeing you will want to buy a really well made infant life jacket. Most of the cheap ones are more like straight jackets and make babies scream. But there are a few that are made pretty well. Kids hate life jackets but you can't lecture a screaming frustrated baby about safety. So try and nip that at the bud and make sure the one you get is comfortable for the kid.

[Batch]

My granddaughters have camped as young as 14 months. They would be brought out to camp and then go back home younger than that. They also, had already been introduced to the outdoors on short hikes and trails that you could stroller them from a very young age.

You might want to try Johnson's Baby Creamy Oil w/ Aloe Vera & Vitamin E. The South Florida swamps we camp in are thick with some of the baddest mosquito species found on the planet. My granddaughter Brianna is very sensitive to mosquito bites and this stuff works real good at keeping them off of her so far.

http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/joh...146706-product

It looks like they are marketing it as a insect repellant now in a different bottle. But, the one I linked is the one we use.