Camping with a Toddler

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Last year when our daughter was a baby, we took her car camping for the first time. It was somewhat intimidating because she was our first (and still only) baby. So we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.

This year, our daughter is our first and only toddler. So when we headed up to Bon Echo in July, we STILL had no idea what we were getting ourselves into! But let me tell you, it was a LOT easier this time around.

Here’s some of what we learned!

Relaxing by the fire she “helped build.”

Packing

I always start packing early, so that it’s not a big stressor as we get closer to the trip. And for about a week before we leave, I keep a list on my phone of “things to pack last minute.” As we go through the week and our daughter is using something that she’ll need right up to the last minute, I add it to the list to make sure we don’t forget it. Which is super helpful, because these are typically the things she’d be REALLY mad if we left behind. Like her lovey and her pacifier- honestly, I’d turn the car around if we forgot those.

This year, we left on a Sunday and had all of Saturday to spend doing last minute stuff. That was really nice because we didn’t feel rushed. In a lot of cases you might not be able to do this (like if you’re going for the weekend), but if you can I totally recommend it!

Sleeping

I don’t know about you guys but sleep is always the most important thing on my mind whenever we’re bringing our daughter somewhere new. This time around, she did AMAZINGLY well. We’re talking very little crying and sleeping the whole night through. Did I mention how much easier toddlers are than babies?

For a week before we left, we started having her take her naps in her travel crib. Then we started giving her the choice of whether she wanted to sleep in her travel crib or her regular crib at night. And she chose her travel crib! So by the end of the week she was doing both her naps and her nights in the travel crib. I really like doing this because then I know she’s not in a whole new place even though we’re sleeping somewhere new.

We also set the tent up in our backyard for a couple days and let her play in and around it.

Plus we explained the idea of camping to her as “sleeping in your travel crib inside the tent.” I don’t know if that actually helped any, but it didn’t seem to hurt! I was really worried she’d put up a fuss at bedtime, cry a ton, and annoy our neighbours, but that didn’t happen at all. Phew!

But even if it had, if your neighbour is annoyed by it they’re probably just a grump. Kids go to bed early so it’s not like they’ll be keeping anyone up. We heard another little guy having a hard time and found ourselves feeling sympathetic. I’d imagine most people feel the same.

Even though she slept through the night, she was still pretty tuckered out during the day. It’s hard work being being outside constantly, playing hard, and being out of your element! Normally she only has one nap but one day she ended up having two because she fell asleep early while we were hiking, and it worked out fine.

Totally on board with the idea of sleeping in a tent.

Eating

One of the best (and perhaps most excessive) things we packed was our daughter’s high chair. We’ve taken her on trips before where we didn’t bring it and ended up holding her on our laps to eat or having her squirm all over the place. Neither is enjoyable.

So this time around we brought the chair. Not only was it great for keeping her in one spot while we cooked, it was also great while we were setting everything up when we got there! The moment when we arrived and the campsite was empty and she started running around (and I noticed that our site dropped off steeply beside the road) was the only moment I wondered “what have I done??”

But we popped her into her chair, gave her a snack and a toy to play with, and she was totally happy to chill. We were able to set up quickly and efficiently without her under foot.

It was super helpful to have somewhere to keep her “trapped” while we set up!

We brought all her usual kit, like her plate, glass, and utensils, and she ate really well the whole time we were there.

To make things easy on ourselves, we pre-cooked and pre-prepped just about every single meal that we had. That way we just had to heat it up on our little Coleman stove, and didn’t have to waste a ton of time on worrying about meals. Our daughter eats what we eat (plus a ton of snacks), so that’s not something we had to worry about.

The trickiest thing was keeping her milk cold. I froze a few water bottles and a milk bottle in order to keep it cold and also keep the food in the cooler chilled. It worked fine, but I still found myself worrying about whether or not her milk had gone off and checking it anytime I gave it to her.

We tested out little cartons of milk that don’t need to be refrigerated for the first time on this trip, and she loved them too. So I think I’ll stick with those in the future. I hate that it’s more garbage, but I like that it’s one less thing to worry about.

Pre-cooked and pre-chopped!

Playing

Playing is so easy when you’re outdoors. We only brought a few toys, and while our daughter was happy to have them, she was just as happy to find new things to play with on the forest floor or at the beach. We also brought two books to read before bedtime, but that was it.

Pottying

Our daughter has been potty trained for a few months, and is doing great. So I guess what I’m saying is, don’t forget the potty!

It’s way easier to have the potty at your campsite than it is to lug them back and forth to the outhouse whenever they say they need to go. And I don’t know about your kids, but mine can take a while when she needs to poop. I’m just not trying to sit in an outhouse with her for that long.

We’ve also taught out daughter to be comfortable with peeing standing up. That really comes in handy when we’re out hiking. It’s also handy in today’s COVID world when you never know if a bathroom is actually going to be open or not!