Have booked a trip to scotland next week, and now the other half cant make it due to work, its been a bit of a trouble time for me and I really need a break and been looking forward to getting away, however I could do with some tips on how to survive 5 days on my own with a 10yr & 3yr, my main concern is putting the tent up,
Any survival tips would be greatly recieved!!!
------------- Kirst..
I'll give any thing for a chocolate button.
Don't worry - I'm sure you'll be fine. My kids have their set jobs to do to help me pitch the tent and they love it. Just take your time and get your 10 year old to help with the tricky bits like putting the pins in the end of the poles. Give your 3 year old a mallet to whack some pegs for you to keep him/her occupied and you'll have the tent up in no time.
------------- Mar - Milarrochy Bay - 9 days
Apr - Drayton Manor - 1 day
May - Saxdale - 4 days
May - Nantcol - 9 days
July - Weymouth - 1 day
July - Rozel Bay - 14 days
Aug - Corfe Castle - 2 days
Aug - Saxdale - 4 days
Sep - Stratford - 2 days
Oct - Stainforth - 2 days
Dec - Saxdale - 5 days
To be continued.....
hiya kirsten,
what site are you staying at?when we first got new tent and struggled to put it up,there was always someone willing to help hold tent up while i went away chasing after two kids!
my OH works a lot while we camp so i am on my own with kids a lot and have met a lot of nice people while sitting at park ect.
once the tents up you will have a great time(remember the wine for evening,and a good book)
We always arrive about lunchtime and park the kids with a picnic while we pitch the tent, which keeps them quiet for a bit. My 2 year sometimes has to be restrained in his pushchair, with his sister there for entertainment and a quick push around the site, and they seem happy enough to amuse themselves for a while. They even seemed to enjoy it when they were stuck in the car the whole time because of a downpour. I'll admit I haven't done it one my own as we have a massive tent, but the same principal would apply.
I agree with Ka.ren - some pegs and a small mallet works a treat. And yes we had offers of help from other campers when we looked puzzled putting up our tent, so I am sure that people will help you. That's the lovely thing about camping, people always seem chilled, able to stop and chat and help :-) Love it!
Good luck, I am sure you will meet some nice people!
------------- Newbie Campers gathering vast amounts of kit
2 x 1 night trips and 1 x 2 nighters at Kelvdon Hatch
3 nights Sandringham
Last weekend coming up Epping Forest
3 year old boy twins
Choccy Labrador
7 Chickens (yes I leave them at home!)
As other folks have mentioned, help will be there from fellow campers if you ask. Most people dont mind leanding a hand. My boys are 3 and 10 and I take them away on my own. It can be dawnting to start with but you will be glad you did it. Hope you decide to go. Is it Drumroamin you are off to? I have not been but its on my "must visit" list.
------------- 2015 Trips
January - Red Squirrel
February - Red Squirrel
March - Gimme Shelter
April - Elie
May - Noah's Ark
May - Riverside, Skipton
May - Blair Castle
June - Braithwaite Bridges
July - The Star
July - Witches Craig
July - Scone
August - Highburn House
September - Gimme Shelter
The ten year old should be able to be a pretty good help - my ten year old daughter is - so get him/her involved holding poles etc. Get your three year old to "help" by passing tent pegs etc. As others have said - ask other campers to help - the vast majority will be happy to lend a hand. I have always worked on the golden rule of getting the tent up, the sleeping stuff ready, and the cooker set up - then the fun starts. When my two were younger I would get this far, then we would take a break, and do somethign different - look around the site/go the paly area/go to the shops. These days once we are at this stage I chase them to the play area so that I can have a brew in peace, and a read - I will them tackle the fiddly bits, such as putting stuff in the cupboard, setting the loo up, and generally faffing around.
Make sure you have stuff for them to do when you need them by your tent - with any luck you 10 year old will disappear to the play area for hours (if there is one on site) leaving you with just the little one to worry about. However there will be time when you need them to be by the tent - so cheap colouring books, something to read DSs etc are all great for this.
I camp alone with my 10 and 12 year old. They are actually more helpful when we are camping on our own than when hubby is with me. You just have to accept that everything will take longer to set up - even having willing kids is not the same as another adult!
I am a big believer in letting rules and routines go a bit when I am camping - and even more so when I am camping on my own with the kids. I dont know what sort of site you are on but make sure that you have plenty of ideas for entertainment researched before you go, especially wet weather ideas. Hopefully by 9pm they will be so tired that they fall asleep and you can get some well earned chill out time!
I camp alone with my grandchildren 4 and 8 , plus I am disabled. We manage to put up the tent on our own, the girls are great, and they love to help. Also saying that other campers are very helpful, and we always get offers of help, which is very nice. To be honest the kids dont fall out with me like hubby, plus if it dont go right the first time we have a laugh (unlike when hubby id doing it).
Go and enjoy your break away with the children.
------------- 2012
June - Queens Jubilee week -
Blackbull Pickering
June/July - Turkey (no Tent)
Aug - Bank Holiday- Whitefield Forest IOW 10 days
Sept - Skeg
2013 Nothing as yet , trying to get new boyfriend to go camping soon. Selling Maritisa 700 , so we can put it towards a VW Camper.
We have all helped many times with single campers to put tents up. It's fun and you get a close up and personal view of a different tent,( I suffer from tent envy) and make new friends.
One time the dude hadn't even opened the new tent box! We were reading the instructions and trying to make sense of them.Y'all know how that is!!
I've camped with my girls once and it's something i'd like to do a lot more. I've got 3 year old twins and a 5 year old. Really I just adapted what I did when my husband was around. I empathise with your situation - I've been there!
I leave the girls strapped into the carseats with a snack whilst I get the tent up. I've got a gelert meridian 8 tunnel tent and can get it up in around 20 minutes. If you've got got one get the footprint for the tent - it REALLY helps! I confess I shut the car doors and put on their favourite CD - stops me getting stressed and things go up faster.
Don't automatically assume it'd be better to be put near to facilities. I thought it would be but it ended up being a nightmare because we had to deal with other peoples screaming kids till very late at night and when you're on your own trying to get kids to go to sleep that's the last thing that you need. I wish i'd been further away and had a better night's sleep.
Be organised, write down where you've packed everything. That way if you've forgotten something you can run to the site shop rather than unpacking everything trying to find something you've forgotten!
Most importantly don't make plans, just go with the flow and enjoy yourself. I used to make the mistake of planning everything me and the kids were going to do and it always ended up with me in a big stress.
I find the kids more helpful alone then when Richard is with us - also setting up/taking down is far less stressful.
Set firm ground rules from the start - it is easier to relax them than tighten them.
First time I went on my own, it was a choice of go on my own with a very young six year old and a three year old, or loose the holiday. No choice I went and had a ball.
Thanks for all your replys, such great advice, and I feel alot more confident about it, sorry I have not thanked you sooner but I have had afew days away with my little girl (on my own) which was great, I think I am going to contact the site and ask for help, also get my 10yr to help as he has done in the past, we r due to go Weds, but my OH says he maybe ready to go Thursday, but I am still not happy to give a day of my holiday up,
Thanks again for all your tips!!
------------- Kirst..
I'll give any thing for a chocolate button.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: On my own with the kids
its been a bit of a trouble time for me and I really need a break and been looking forward to getting away, however I could do with some tips on how to survive 5 days on my own with a 10yr & 3yr, my main concern is putting the tent up, 
