ISN'T CAMPING DANGEROUS?
The things most people worry about when camping with children are wolves, bears, and the possibility of drowning. These worries should actually be much less than the higher risk injuries such as sprained ankles on river portages, lacerations playing “Junior Woodsman”, burns caused by the campfire and so on. The same dangers that can happen doing regular activities at home! Try to and allay the child’s fears, and yours, with knowledge, and by all means avoid the scary stories.
WHAT ABOUT BUGS?
Yes, there are bugs in the outdoors. Try and be calm when you explain about biting insects and remember in most cases, although uncomfortable, they won’t kill you. Always carry bug repellant that you are sure you and your child are not allergic to. Even if it doesn’t work it makes the child feel better. Set a good example for your child by dealing with the bugs yourself in an adult manner and your child will probably mirror your behavior and not have a problem.
THE SCAREST THING IN THE OUTDOORS – THE BATHROOM!!
Many children will have questions and issues with where and how to go the bathroom when camping. Toilets may be quite scary to a child. A pit toilet may seem like a perfectly normal thing to you, but your toddler may not agree. These toilets can smell pretty bad and it's easy to see why some children are afraid of falling in. When you tell your child about camping, be sure to include information about the bathrooms. Some of the flush toilets can be loud and are not like the potty at home. If your child will still use a potty chair you may want to bring one along – just in case. Camping trips can also be a real chance for a breakthrough in the area of potty training as there are no “accidents” on your rug or your furniture and a potty chair can be set up anywhere in your camp site so your child won't feel isolated. You will have more time with your child when camping, and this can be the most help of all.
From your child’s point of view the toilet paper may seem yucky. Most camp bathrooms have industrial quality (sand paper) toilet paper. Your young bath roomer may refuse to use this stuff. Some camps provide little squares of paper. A parent may be able to use this stuff but a young child might have some problems. Additionally, many of the toilet paper dispensers make it quite difficult and sometimes impossible for a small child to get the paper off of the roll. This is actually intentional. The harder to obtain the less paper is used. Many former park employees think this is the silliest thing they have ever seen as the bathrooms always end up with bits of paper all over the floor and people break these irritating dispensers all the time. Your child may not even be able to get the paper off of these rolls. The biggest problem of all is an empty dispenser. You will find this every busy weekend you camp. The easy solution to the toilet paper problem is to bring your own.
Bathing and showering can also be scary for children. Camp showers can be a test of your patience. The temperature may be hard to adjust (or impossible) and the water may run cold for some time before getting warm. Most camp showers require quarters to operate – and some campers complain of running out of money in the middle of shampooing their hair. Children who normally take baths at home will not appreciate a camp shower. Many camp grounds do not offer bathing facilities at all. If you plan on camping for any length of time you will have to adapt and teach your children to do the same. Some ways to adapt are Sun Showers (a large black bag with a shower head) are great for camping. You can use them at home a few times to allow your children to become used to the idea. Just set up the sun shower in your back yard and let the kids try it out with bathing suits. Most kids just think of it as an interesting sprinkler and a sponge bath can work quite well, especially if you are camping in cold weather.
Enjoy camping fun and exciting times with your children and make a life time of memories.
Tags: Camping, camping basics, camping with kids
