My wife and I have been going camping for a couple of years now and the family is starting to grow. We now have two dogs and are planning to start a family of our own. With this in mind we did consider buying a caravan but have wondered if it would be possible to continue camping in a tent.
Our questions are these, has anyone camped with a baby before? How did you find it and what advice would you give us? And secondly, what would be the best type of tent to buy? We would need more space (currently have a tunnel, tent vango vario 5) but would prefer a one that was quick and easy to errect. Would a Khyam fit the bill?
well done you two! you can defo camp with children and babies are even easier as they require less attention when there only a few weeks/months make sure you have a travel cot i found this was a must, ideal for sleeping in and also a playpen. my children love camping and my little girl went on her first trip when she was 4 months old. it was a little bit cold (easter) but we got by just fine and had a ball. look around for different tents and i am sure you will find the one for you, we had a brekinridge deluxe and that fitted our needs.
As far as I am concerned the younger the better, they require les supervision! My children are now 4 and 1.
My son went camping for the first time last year when he was only 10 weeks old, on a 2 week trip to France, and he was a dream. We bought one of those pop up travel cots from Samsonite, which suited us fine. We now have a LittleLife twin arc travel cot for this year as we have booked two trips to France.
I would say go for it, but do some research on the campsite first, to ensure it is suitable for very young children.
Steve.
------------- Some days I am the statue - others the pigeon.
I have 5 children ranging from 8 yrs down to 21 months now, but the first time my youngest went he was 6 weeks old for a week in October in Wales. Aslong as they are warm then everything else is a doddle. i took a travel cot to sleep in and also to put the baby down in during day and continued to use it until he was just over 1, now he sleeps on a air bed in a vango convertible sleeping bag . Would recommend a Sig in tent though as i found the difference between that and one without huge and more snug for keeping temp up in cold weather.
No1 top tip for camping with a baby? Breastfeed....saves endless faffing about.
Kids and camping are the ideal combination IMHO. If you`re in a hotel you have to go out, pay for entertainment and trips and eat out every night. With camping the camping IS the entertainment, meals etc get very laid back and it`s 500% more relaxing all round.
I`ve always camped in either trailer tents or standard tents and taken the babies from weeks old.. No problems. If you prefer a caravan well, that`s fine too. It`s all camping. Only thing I would say though is that with a baby and two dogs you`re going to need a BIG car...or a trailer...to carry everything, so a trailer tent might be worth considering just for the storage space it has.
We have just eturned from our daughters' 7th camping trip - she was one two weeks ago. She was 8 weeks old on her first trip. As long as your tent is high enough for a travel cot its fine. And yes, it was easier last year - she walks now!
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