We live in a busy world. We all work or have school and in the evenings most of us sit in front of our tv or mobile phones. How much of your time is actually spent interacting with your family?
How many times have your kids asked you to play but you were too tired or busy? Same goes for your spouse. How long has it been since you have a meaningful conversation?
Camping is great for families. You get to interact with each other without distraction. Kids learn life skills and will create memories that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
Instead of sitting in front of a screen they will have to interact with the world around them. This helps with their awareness of the world. It also builds their social skills. It’s hard to know how to communicate with people when you zoned out on a screen all of the time.
And same goes for your spouse. I don’t know how many times when I’ve been chatting with my wife that we were interrupted by our kids or phone.
Make sure you make your campsite a tech free zone. The only bit of tech I recommend having is a radio and a satellite phone. Music in the background gives a nice homely touch to a campsite and your sat phone should be for emergencies only. Leave all other form of communication with the outside world in the car or at home.
Your family may rebel at the idea and even sulk for the first while but stick with it. After a short while they will begin to enjoy it.
Have a few games ready, show them how to cook on a campfire. Include them in the setting up of the camp. This will promote the value of teamwork within your family. The best thing about it is when you go back to your normal lives you will be a closer family.
I have a list of games you can play with your family without even leaving your camp here.
How do you start camping with you family?
If you’re not an experienced camper then I recommend doing a few trial camps in your backyard. If you don’t have a backyard then a room in your home will do. Just make sure you turn off all electronics and just use the equipment you will be using on a real camp. You will soon see what you are missing. Oh, and don’t try to light a campfire in you sitting room.
Once you’re happy with your kit you can then graduate to a campsite. I don’t advise hiking far with young kids, especially for the first few camps. You don’t want them do be too tired before you even get to your campsite.
Car camping is ideal for family camping. You can bring along extra things to make their camping experience more fun, such as games and treats.
When you get to the site give everyone a job to do. Make putting up the tent a joint effort. Build a campfire, prepare food and collect firewood. Do everything together and exaggerate the help they are giving so they feel good about it.
For help with making a fire then read my post here. It explains the process in detail.
Reconnect with your family
Once the camp is set, you can enjoy your time with your family. Play games and tell stories of when you were young. Encourage your children to tell stories too.
If your kids have trouble talking openly then asking them how school is, or what do they play in the school yard will likely result in a one word answer. This is common for most kids and it’s not their fault. They simply need to be shown how to respond.
For example, when I ask my kids about school I nearly always get a one word answer. But when I first tell them all about my time at work in detail they nearly always tell me about their day without me even asking them.
Doing this around a campfire where there is no distraction from the outside world can really tighten a families bond. One word of warning though, if you do get your child talking and you hear something you don’t like, such as them skipping classes, don’t get mad at them. This will shut them down and you may miss out on hearing something else that is much more important.
Make the campsite a safe place were you they can talk about anything without reprimand. This won’t happen straight away. It may even take a few camps but stick at it. You will be glad you did in the end.
Cook on the fire
Cooking on an open fire can be tricky if your are not used to it but it can make for some of the most memorable experiences.
Every time I think about camping when I was younger one of the first things that comes into my mind is cooking on the campfire.
If you’re new to this then start with something easy. The easiest thing to do is to toast some bread. And then make toasted sandwiches. Just use a long skewer the hold the bread over the flames for a few seconds. Then use the skewers to toast marshmallows as a treat after the meals. Beware that the marshmallows will become very hot and gooey inside which could lead to severe burns.
When you become more experienced of controlling the fire use an old pot or pan to cook beans or fry sausages. Don’t use you good kitchen pots and pans for this. The fire will blacken the outside of them. They will still work fine. You may also need to use them to boil water.
When you become really good you can start to use a steel grid over the flames and cook meats and veg of the open flame. Read my post on how to cook over an open fire here
Time for bed
Let your kids stay up a little later than their normal bedtime. This will help them go off to sleep faster. For older kids it is a good idea to have a tent with separate sleeping areas. This will give them a feeling of independence.
For younger kids you could have them in the same sleeping area but you may disturb them when you decide to go to bed later on.
There are tents that have a curtain or a zipper screen so that you can make one sleeping area into two. If your child wakes during the night you can simply remove the screen to comfort them. This will save you from having to get out of your sleeping bag.
Keep it Fun
If you’re camping for more than one night then make sure to have some activities planned. It can be a long day if you are just sitting around a campsite.
The list of activities for camping is endless but it you will have to find out what is available in your area. Kayaking, mountain biking, pony rides or simply hiking are all ways to have fun and develop your family bond. Check out my list of activities I like doing when I’m camping here.
Kids (and adults) may be starting to suffer from lack of tech on the second day. Keep them busy by collecting firewood and other essential tasks. Don’t give in to their demands. Trust me, you will be a much closer family for it.
And finally, show your family that it’s ok to do nothing. Simply lying around looking up into the sky is ok sometimes. This will relieve stress and anxiety. No kid should be stressed but unfortunately the society we live in demands that they perform at their best at all times. Sometimes it’s good to do nothing.
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