Carry on camping

Date: 28 July 2009 14:57:51

We took Rusk camping at the weekend. Boy was that an experience! It never ceases to amaze me how he can increase his stamina according to whether there are interesting things going on. While he would normally have 2 naps a day and sleep from 7 to 7, he managed to get by with the odd 20 minutes of nap and stay awake while we went to a restaurant until 9pm. He entertained everyone at the table by playing peekaboo with his napkin. I was less impressed when a pigeon woke him up at 5.15am the next day, particularly since I was in the same tent as him and I had to wake up too. At least a tent is a fairly safe environment where he can play without needing too much attention from a very bleary-eyed parent.

We found a very, very good visitor centre and gift shop in Dalby Forest, along with a 2.5 mile walk that was suitable for pushchairs, although possibly better for pushchairs with slightly bigger wheels than ours. It was tough pushing at times. We rewarded ourselves with a cream tea afterwards. Rusk loves scones - probably a good thing for a vicarage child - and will keep quiet for quite a while if given chunks of scone every few minutes.

So, my top camping tips for camping with a nearly-toddler:

Make sure the child can actually toddle. Crawlers get very muddy knees, or have to be carried much of the time.

Have a small tent ready to use as playpen while putting the larger ones up

Take many other adults with you to play with the toddler

Either camp far away from other people or accept that the toddler will disturb a large proportion of the campsite

ALL camping equipment counts as toys, from the guy ropes to the air bed pump. Don't bother taking many actual toys

Gin and tonic (for you, not the toddler)