CAMPING WITH SMALL KIDS: HOW TO TURN PASSENGERS INTO CREW

Ask parents why they don't camp with small kids and you'll usually hear the same thing: it sounds like a lot of work for a lot of whining. Fair. But after a few seasons of camping with my son, who's five, I've noticed most of the whining comes from one place. Kids who are along for the ride get bored. Kids who are part of the crew get invested.

So that's our whole approach. We don't take the kids camping. We go camping together, and their part starts days before we leave.

1. Start small (really small)

If this is your first time camping together, start in the backyard. Or the living room. Set up the tent, roll out the sleeping bags, eat dinner outside, read with a headlamp, and spend a night in it.

It sounds almost too simple, but it answers the big questions before you're hours from home: Are they comfortable in the tent? Scared of the dark? Cold at 3am? If something isn't working, the back door is right there. A good first night at home builds the confidence (theirs and yours) for the real thing.

2. Pick a campsite that sets you up to win

For the first few trips, choose comfort over adventure. A campground with flush toilets, running water, a playground or a beach, and maybe a camp store is not "cheating." It's smart.

Our goal early on is simple: a good experience for the kids. Once they love camping, you can slowly work toward more remote, more rugged places, if that's where you want to go. Push too far too fast and you risk teaching them that camping means being cold, uncomfortable and miserable. Earn the wild places over time.

3. Plan it together

Small kids can't book a campsite, but they can absolutely help plan the trip.

**The route map.** Print a simple map of the drive and spread it on the kitchen table. Have them find home, find the campsite, and mark anything interesting in between (a river, a big lake, a town with a funny name) with stickers. That map rides in the car and becomes the thing they check all day.

**The packing list.** For pre-readers, make it a picture list: sleeping bag, headlamp, rain jacket, favorite stuffed animal. Let them pack their own bag and check items off. It takes longer, but they'll know exactly where their headlamp is at bedtime.

**One meal is theirs.** Let each kid pick one meal and help plan it: the shopping list, finding ingredients at the store, and helping make it at camp. That one meal becomes the thing they talk about all week.

The point isn't efficiency. It's ownership. When a kid helped build the plan, they care how it turns out.

4. Make the drive part of the trip

The drive doesn't have to be something you survive. Treat it as chapter one.

• **Track the route.** Bring the kitchen-table map and follow your progress together.

• **Road trip bingo.** Make a card with things they'll really see: a red barn, a tractor, a horse, a bridge, a water tower. A full row earns the right to pick the next snack.

• **Countdown landmarks.** Swap "how much longer?" for "two more towns, then the big bridge."

• **Audio stories.** A good audiobook or kids' podcast buys a peaceful stretch and gives you something to talk about at camp.

• **Planned stops.** A playground, a farm stand, a diner. A stop they know is coming beats a stop they beg for.

5. Give them a real job

This is the big one. My son loves having a job. When he's got a role to play, he's more invested in the whole trip, and you can see it in how he carries himself around camp. Kids can tell the difference between being kept busy and being needed.

The trick is matching the job to the kid. My son's favorite part of camping is the cooking, so I find safe jobs for him in the camp kitchen: washing vegetables, measuring and mixing, stirring a pot away from the flame, setting out plates. (Bonus: kids who help cook dinner actually eat dinner.)

Your kid might be different. Look at what lights them up and design a job around it:

• **The builder:** tent crew, handing stakes, helping set up the kitchen.

• **The explorer:** kindling collector, trail scout, "Leave No Trace patrol" doing a final sweep of the site.

• **The organizer:** keeper of the headlamps and lantern, in charge of the snack bin.

• **The artist:** camp photographer or nature journal keeper.

One rule at our camp: grown-ups handle the fire and anything sharp or hot, and kids work right alongside us. A job close to the action keeps them engaged and keeps them safe.

6. Pack the comforts of home (for your own sanity)

It might feel like overkill to bring books, games and favorite toys camping. Bring them anyway.

There will be downtime: rain, early mornings, the hour before dinner. Having a few favorite activities on hand turns those moments from meltdowns into calm. A favorite stuffed animal or pillow makes the tent feel like their space. Keep the bedtime routine close to home: dinner, wash up, story, lights out.

And of course: a warm sleeping bag rated for the night's temperatures, warm hats, and snacks within easy reach. A cold, hungry, tired kid won't enjoy even the most beautiful campsite.

7. Lower the bar and end on a high

Things will go sideways. It will rain. Someone will drop a marshmallow in the fire. That's camping.

Our only real goal is that the kids leave wanting to come back. End on a good note (a favorite breakfast, one last visit to the creek, a quick thank-you for everyone's jobs) and the hard moments fade while the good ones stick.

The real secret

None of this is complicated. It comes down to one idea: treat your kids like part of the crew, not cargo. Let them plan, give them a job that fits who they are, and build up to the adventure at their pace. Camping gets a lot more fun, for them and for you.

*Coming up next in Field Notes: the kid-friendly camp kitchen setup that turned my son into our sous chef. Join the club to get it in your inbox.*