Open Up the World of Camping to Your Family in 10 Steps

Listen to the podcast version:

Pitch Your Tent for a Cherished Journey While
Developing Essential Life Skills through Camping

Embrace the outdoors and ignite your family’s love for camping! 
With these 10 simple steps, you’ll create lasting memories, teach valuable life lessons, and foster a sense of togetherness. 
From pitching a tent to cooking over a campfire, each step offers a hands-on experience that will leave a lasting impact on your children.

How do I introduce my child to camping?

Step 1: Sleeping under the stars
Before you do anything else, try to have opportunities for your child to sleep outside.
This is much easier if you have a safe yard.
Your child may be uneasy sleeping outside.
Camping is a completely new experience, if you can get sleeping outside to be an “okay” or looked forward to activity it will be easier.

Lesson learned: RESILIENCE and flexibility

Step 2: Start with the basics

Most people start camping in the traditional, least expensive way: tent camping.
Make sure you have the basic equipment: tent, sleeping bags, and I would argue a basic is sleeping pad for comfort.
This way you will be able to ensure a covered good night’s sleep.
You can get a lot more equipment.
What each family will need is different.
I recommend buying for durability, not least expensive.
I also would advise that you buy the least amount needed with each wilderness voyage; this way you can spend incrementally.

Lesson learned: simplicity

Step 3: Choose your time

This is so much more complicated than it sounds.
This encompasses checking calendars, looking at places to go, and checking the expected weather.
Calendars: you are getting away from it all, you do not want to be somewhere where everyone expects to “dial in” and get on a zoom meeting. 
Choose a time when everyone is completely “off.”
Places to go: many places require reservations.
If you are going when everyone else is also off, think Labor Day, you will face a crowd.
A crowd and camping are not synonymous in my mind, but everyone looks forward to getting away when they can.
You need to be able to prepare in advance so that you will have a spot when you get to where ever you are headed.

Weather: we all joke, “if I could be as wrong as often as the weatherman and still keep my job that would be great.” 
The reality, however, is that any idea you can get on an upcoming storm is golden.
If you are tent camping, cold or wet makes for miserable kids.
Miserable kids and early camping experiences make for lasting bad memories associated with camping.

Lesson learned: time management and planning

Step 4: Comfort

Your children can be in their most comfy clothes, even if they are their jammies, all day as long as they are weather appropriate and do not limit activities, see sunscreen blog.
You want to make sure everyone has a great pair of sneakers for hiking/walking in the woods and a swim suit if you are near water.
Usually, in the woods it can be warm in the day but fairly cold at night, so a sweatshirt around the campfire at night is wonderful!
If you are sitting around a campfire, comfort includes chairs if your family prefers. 

Lesson learned: mindfulness

Step 5: Teach basic skills

This is fun camping and can be a chore at home.
Let the children help you pitch the tent.
Show the kids how to build a fire, using the different sizes of wood and fuel (paper, cotton, whatever) to get it started.
Then let your child loose in the woods to get firewood.

Teach your children how to prepare favorites over the camping stove or fire.
The degree you do this will depend on the age of your child.
A four year old can hold a hot dog on a stick over the fire.
A 10 year old can help prepare food for Dutch oven fire pit cooking.

Lesson learned: self sufficiency and survival skills

Step 6: Food Planning

What are you going to eat while camping?
Knowing your meals will determine if you need to bring a stove, cooler, pan, mugs, etc.
For your first camping trip, you may want super easy and prepare all of the meals ahead of time.

I remember one of our first camping trips my mom made lumpia.
They are like spring rolls.
She also had tuna pasta salad, hard boiled eggs, and peanut butter and jelly.
We ate everything cold except hot dogs and smores, both of which we cooked on our opened up wire clothes hangers.
She also brought a pot for heating water so we could have hot chocolate.
My mom prepared so that she had to take little time to actually cook.

She also did not have to bring any new “gadgets” and learn how to use them.
We also did not spend any money on these gadgets in case we turned out to not be a camping family.
Once you know what you are going to eat, you can shop, chop, cook, and prepare all that can be done ahead of time.

Lesson learned: value of hard work

Step 7: Campsite

Teach your children how to identify a great campsite.
What are you looking for?
I wanted to be close to a bathroom!

You are looking for a place that is level and has a clean fire pit.
If you are camping near a stream, a site near the water sounds lovely.
However, if it rains that night, you may be part of the stream!

If you set up your tent on a site that is high, you want it to have wind barriers.
Trees, bushes, large boulders, etc. will help if there are strong gusts.
Talk through your why you do or do not want specific sites with your children so they can see how you problem solve.

Lesson learned: PROBLEM SOLVING

Step 8: Learn about nature

As children spend more time in nature, they begin to develop a deeper appreciation for the environment around them.
Go on short hikes that are relatively easy and not too long.
Help your child focus on the plants, animals, and activity happening all around them.

Is your child less excited about nature and more enthralled with their electronics?
Here are some fun ways to engage them in nature:

• Nature scavenger hunt
• Geocaching: you can check in advance if there are any caches close to you or you can set one! 
• Build a fort
• Near water? Skip stones
• Throw rocks (my boys loved trying to hit specific trees)
• Older child? Whittle
• Study bugs
• Analyze animal scat or prints
• Bird watching
• Create cairns

Lesson learned: environmental protection and appreciation

Step 9: Encourage exploration

What do most preteens want more than anything?
It isn’t the newest iPhone.
It is to feel independent.

Set up a way to feel safe letting your children “take off” and explore.

We had whistles when we were younger.
And we learned the, “if you are lost, hug a tree” rule.
So, we knew that if we got lost we stayed with one tree and blew our whistle.
My sister and I would be gone for two hours at a time and we loved it!

Lesson learned: independence and self esteem

Self -Esteem Boosting
Confidence Raising
Positive Affirmations for kids

There are 36 heart cut outs.

• You can choose the ones you love and use one ach day of the month.
• Each one starts with Today... to center your child on what to focus on this day.
• Example: Today... I am good at solving problems

Name

Email

DOWNLOAD

36 Self-Esteem Boosting Positive Affirmations

 

Step 10: Family fun

You decided to go on a family camping trip so that you would all connect and have fun.
How are you going to prepare so that you can make sure that everyone does, indeed, have a great time?

• Indoor games in case the weather turns, you need downtime, or you want to play at night. 
• Outdoor games 
• Campfire songs and stories 

You can “cheat” and download some fabulous campfire stories ahead of time.
I looked on Spotify under “campfire stories for kids” then clicked podcasts.
Many of the channels that came up were creepy.
Some were great for 10+ year olds.

If you have little ones, I recommend simply finding a fabulous story podcast channel that you only play near the campfire, then it becomes your campfire tales.
I liked “Forest Folk Tales with Arthur” because you really have to listen.
They are narrated by a child.
And the child has a bit of an accent.
However, I have not heard any of these tales, so they would give my campfire an air of mystery.

• Nature crafts

There are so many: tree rubbings, “water vehicles” to race downriver, wind chime, bark owls, nature mandala or flower art, and pressed flowers or leaves can get you started.

There are a lot more that you can do if you bring art supplies to add to the nature.

• Stargazing
• Take pictures 
• Map fun

Either buy some fun trinkets at the Dollar store, or find something at your campsite.
Hide it a short walk from your campsite.
Then get out an old fashioned map you have created of the campsite.
Give your children the map and directions to the object.
This teaches them how to find a location without Siri or GPS!

• Find the perfect walking stick

They can wrap it later for a craft.

• Climb trees or rocks
• Make a slingshot

Lesson learned: importance of family

Camping with your family is not just about spending time in nature, it’s about creating a lifetime of memories and strengthening the bonds that unite you. 
As you gather around the campfire, sharing stories and laughter, you’re also imparting valuable lessons about resilience, problem-solving, and the importance of teamwork. It’s in these moments, surrounded by the beauty of the great outdoors, that you’ll teach your children what truly matters in life. 

So embrace the adventure, create unforgettable experiences, and let the wilderness be your guide as you nurture the unbreakable bond between your family.

Kids movie quote:

“I think my favorite place is the mountains, where I grew up.”

~Back to the Outback