The tips we have brought to you here will make it much more likely that the trip will be a success. Keep in mind, that if you are the planner and you have to make a sacrifice or two, it will be to your ultimate benefit to make these sacrifices now. Get the buy-in of other family members by making initial trips a success in their minds. As time goes by and you get a few successful trips under your belt, it is pretty likely that you might begin to move the trips in the direction you originally intended, or, remain open-minded to the possibility of refining your own expectations.
1. Make Your Destination Age Appropriate
The destination that is chosen for your trip should be one that serves two purposes with regard to the age of family members. First of all, a destination should be one where safety of children is possible without constant fretting by parents.
There is nothing worse for parents than being in constant fear for the safety of their kids. At the risk of generalizing, the form this often takes is the following scenario. Dad chooses a destination based on his desires. It is an area with perhaps close proximity to the potential danger of water or perhaps it is the danger of places where a child could fall. His fear level is significantly less than for mom, and as a result, instant friction is created putting the trip on a poor foundation from the outset. Obviously roles could be reversed on this, or it could even be that you as parents may have a threshold of danger worries that might alarm other campers in the area. Even this can cause problems. Adventures are awesome, and in the mind of this author are part of the outdoor experience. These experiences should be appropriate for your family, and only your family can make the ultimate call on this. The other age-related factor to consider is the recreational opportunities available.
If you have teens or toddlers, the choices you might consider will be different. Much of this is personal taste, but keep in mind you want this to be a fun experience so your kids will want to keep going with you. It is really sad when kids hit a certain age and start bowing out of the family excursions because they don't think they will be any fun.
As you research camping destinations, look at some of the recreational opportunities that are available and consider them in the context of your kids' age and interests. If your kids are interested in history, you might choose to camp near a Civil War battlefield site. Or if your kids are into water sports, you might plan for a day where you rent ski boat and water skis or raft a whitewater river. Maybe your kids like to mountain bike. If so, find an area where there are trails that are appropriate to their age level and skills.
2. Make Sure Husband and Wife are On the Same Page
Guys, this is no place to be a lone ranger...you might be a lone ranger on all further trips if you do. Make decisions together on the planning for your trip. Very often, the reality is that one parent or the other (usually mom) typically occupies a more prominent role in day-to-day kid stuff. It just stands to reason that certainly that person would play a prominent role in planning a family camping trip. It is a fair bet that whichever parent is left out of the planning will be unhappy with one or more aspect of the details of the trip. Your family can be a team, and to get buy-in from all, at the least mom and dad need to be in concert on the decisions regarding where to go and what to do once you get there.
3. Once Parents Have Made Basic Plans, Involve the Kids
Once basic parameters for the trip have been set by mom and dad, get the kids involved. Give them a list of win-win options. For example, you might ask them, "Would you prefer to fish on Saturday or water ski?" If mom and dad have done a good job of initial planning, this should be a painless process.
One additional related tip pertains to families with kids with different interests. Decide ahead whether the family might go in different directions for part of the time to accommodate these varying interests. Another option, and in my mind usually preferable, is to divvy up time so each family member is choosing one or two activities that the whole family does together. In practicality, this does not always work.
4. Make Meals Easy
As a vegetarian for health reasons ( I also hunt and fish), I appreciate healthy eating as much as anyone. When it comes to a camping trip, without going too crazy about it, I am willing to make a few sacrifices. Kids sure do love cooking hot dogs on a stick over a campfire, and there are not too many easier outdoor meals. Put a can of beans with a hole cut in the top to warm in the fire while the kids cook hot dogs, throw in a couple of pieces of fruit or veggies, and you have some happy campers.
For more extensive meals, consider doing the prep at home. If you might want stew for example, make it at home, freeze it in a container that you can warm it in on your campfire, and keep it in your cooler until you are ready for it.
5. Pack What You Need - Not More or Less
This idea will be one that improves over time. On your first few trips you will bring more than what you needed. It is just a pain to have way too much because you end up having to content with all that stuff when you get there, and perhaps worse, when you get home. The reality is you do not want to be overbearing with telling people what not to bring. This is just something that will get better as you gain experience. One thing that will help is to have family members be responsible for packing and unpacking there own stuff.
In conclusion, be flexible and easy going as you plan as well as on your trips. Family camping is good for families and for the environment as new generations are taught to be attuned to nature. We hope these tips help you out.
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