Camping with Kids - Dallas,TX

Lots of snacks the kids will like to eat. Marshmallows, Hershey's chocolate bars, and graham crackers (and skewering sticks) for making s'mores. :-) Wet wipes. And one of those "lanterns" (with a lightbulb in it) for nighttime so they don't get too scared. Those are just a few things I could think of. Camping with kids is so much fun; have a blast!

We have been camping with our kids since they were six months old. We go often. Besides the essentials - food, sunscreen,etc. We have learned a few tricks. Bring lots of snacks. Neither one of our kids will really eat a good meal while camping (unless s'mores count as a meal). I guess it's too exciting or they see a bug, so they don't eat meals well, but they will snack all day long. So we bring lots of healthy snacks. Bring the stroller. Not only can you strap in the wee one when you can't keep a close eye on him (like when you are setting up a tent), it will double as a high chair. Sometimes those picnic benches are too big for toddlers. A ball is a must. Both kiddos will like it. We also like bringing bubbles and a plastic horse shoe set and buckets (if there is sand that's obvious, but they also double to collect "treasures"). Make sure the kids can have their own flash light...it'll be fun for them. We like to bring fairy tale books to read by the fire. Give the kids jobs. Both of our kids help clear the area for the tent. We are big on keeping the camp site clean and they help. We use our wagon to carry all of our stuff to and from when we can't park next to our site - like when we camp at Ray Roberts. And make sure the kids have their own kid sized camp chairs. They will love it and it just makes everyone's life easy. Have fun!!

Lots of good advice from other posters. When we first went camping as a family my son was 1 1/2 yrs. old, needless to say he got very dirty just from all the playing outside. My husband and I decided to give him a bath before putting him to bed...we heated up a pot of water on the camp stove just enough to be warm and poured it into a rubbermaid storage bin we had brought, he fit in it perfectly while we bathed him...just like home.

Go under my profile and look at my camping post. There was some great advice and lists of stuff to bring. I have never been camping with my daughter either so I asked a similar question :)

My boys love the flashlights that are like light sticks. It has a white light, color light stick, strobe light stick and I think the last is the white light and color together. They are only a few dollars at any store like WalMart or Target.

I pack all PJ's and night stuff in a separate bag to make it easier to change at night.

My kids love the camp fire pop corn popper to take a break from s'mores.

Can't think of anything else just yet.

You've gotten some great advise. I don't have much to give but just encouragement. This past summer I went camping with my brother and his two 5 year olds and my 1 year old. It was easier and more fun than I had imagined!
We had a lot canned food like chef-boy-r-dee and just heated the cans on the fire. We had a shower house close to our campsite but the kids were still pretty dirty, which is okay when you're camping. We used baby wipes a lot.
We had little baggies of small toys and coloring books that the kids didn't know about so throughout the week if they got bored we broke out something new for them. We hiked a lot and collected nature items and the big kids rode bikes all day it seemed like.
At night we played with flashlights, told stories, ate smores. Usually everyone was so exhausted bedtime was early.
Good Luck. It will be fun!

We love to go camping and hiking with our kids! We use a portable crib/play pen for the younger ones. We also have an air mattress for the older ones to sleep on(all 4 fit on a queen size) but I prefer to use a yoga mat- it stays warm and has the right amount of cushion.
My kids like to play in the dirt and water- so plastic sand pails and shovels are always fun. My husband always brings along a ball and frisbee to toss around with the kids.
A small broom and dust pan are a must for your tent- you will want to sweep it out before you roll it back up. A plastic table cloth for the table because my kids are always putting their food on the table instead of back on their plate or napkin.
We also like to get glowsticks from the dollar store for night time fun. We have had many successful camping trips, but there has also been a couple where we had to leave in the middle of the night(one child got scared and wouldn't sleep, another time one got sick, and another time it was so hot and humid that nobody could sleep!) so be prepared for that- we loaded up our kids in the car, left the doors open and then quickly broke camp.
Find out before hand if they lock the gate at night- They did at one park we went to and we had to wake up the park host to find out how to get out!
Just have fun and don't push yourself or your kids to do everything. We also have a backpack to put our little ones in when we go on hikes- your two yr. old might still fit in one- it's a lot easier to carry them that way!

~C.

Lots of wet wipes! Several bedding changes and toys for them to play with at the site. We camp often with our 2 & 5 year olds and have since the oldest was 3. PM me if you want more info, but just relax and go with the flow. It's a great thing for the family and builds great memories! We've only had one hell trip, and that was because we lost the cap for our air mattress and "slept" on gravel. We only nodded off a few times, but the kids slept soundly!

Tent? small kids can sleep on blow up water floaties instead of an air mattress - or just sleeping bags, mine never complained. Bring lots of extra baby wipes for hands and faces (and sometimes feet too!). Make meal prep easy. Do you have a camp stove? They are so convenient vs. trying to cook over a camp fire. you can make toast on a campfork over the fire - our favorite when we are camping is toasted raisin bread. Plan on just sandwiches and fruit or something simple for lunch. You can precook meat for dinner, then just warm up. Seriously - massive food prep and cleaning time can really zap the fun out of camping!! Bring flashlights for the kids and some kind of small container or bucket to store their found "treasures" in. Try not to overpack because the kids will find stuff to do in nature - maybe a ball and small stuff. When we make smores, I buy these round cookies that are covered with chocolate on one side - they are a generic brand, but I'm sure you can find something similar, it is so much easier than graham crackers and choc separate.

If you have any more specific questions as you get packing - let me know! We've been family camping since my oldest was 3mo!!

I've never been camping (other than girl scout camp - lol), but we plan to go this summer...

My only contribution here, is that yesterday at Walmart, I saw the neatest thing... FLAT SQUARE MARSHMALLOWS for SMORES! So Cool! LOL