Camping with kids

Setting off
For most kids the anticipation of getting to a site is just about more than they can bear. Children have little appreciation of either time or distance. How they behave on the road largely depends on their boredom threshold and how well prepared you are to tackle the situation. If you end up getting agitated and bored, the chances are they will too.

Try taking...
- Snap together plastic construction toys, such as stickle bricks, Lego or K-Nex.
- Hand puppets for their versatility and portability. They are always a mood lifter.
- Non-stain, washable colouring pens. Enough said.
- A disposable, automatic camera for a kid's eye view of the trip.
- Pocket versions of the classic travel toys; Etch a Sketch, Scrabble, etc.
- A personal stereo. Include a blank tape for older kids to record their own audio travel diary.
- Hand-held video game. Over the age of 3 this has to be top of the diversion list, but keep an eye on battery consumption.

Setting up
With kids in tow you have to decide whether to share one tent or have separate ones. Although two tents offers you an obvious degree of privacy from one another, using one tent is more convenient in bad weather or if you have smaller children that you might need to keep an eye on. Equipped with their own tent, children can develop a sense of proprietorship, similar to their bedroom at home. Make it feel homely with their sleeping bags spread out, pillows with a familiar pillow-slip, toys plus their own pack of clothes. Pitch your two tents very close together with the children's directly facing yours. Spread mats out on the ground between the tents to form a safe play area. Get your children to sleep with their heads by the door where they can easily see you through the netting. Putting them to bed early when you still have a light on in your own tent helps. For early morning wakers, have books and toys ready for quiet playtime.

Do
- Let your kids participate in everything, even if it means more work for you - pitching tents, building fires, preparing meals, washing laundry. Make it a team effort.
- Help kids build their own picture journals. Even very young children can have fun with this. Include drawings and treasures collected on outings, such as leaves and shells.
- Try a family hike, however short. Motivate your kids down the trail with, a song ('The Ants Go Marching'), a story ('We're Going on a Bear Hunt') or try going a little way ahead, leaving treats along the way.

Don't
- Spend long hours on the road when campsites are just a place to spend the night. Nothing creates boredom faster in children.

For more advice on family travel, visit www.responsibletravel.com