Before Taking Your Kids Camping, Do This One Thing At Home

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Camping trips have helped my family create some great memories. Looking back on our journey, if there's one thing I'm glad we did ahead of time, it's that we gave camping a trial run in my parents' backyard — with our son in tow. It was no surprise to learn that experts agree that backyard practice is crucial for a successful camping outcome.

Natalie Vereen-Davis, blogger and content creator at CampingKiddos.com, started tenting with her two children when they were babies. "Doing a practice run for your first real camping trip in the backyard is analogous to using training wheels on your first bike. Backyard camping is a gentle introduction to an experience that will be thrilling but also might be scary." 

While there are always unforeseen pitfalls that may arise while camping with kids (like discovering your little one is either allergic to — or deathly afraid of — bugs), when those moments happen, it helps to have the comforts of home a few paces away. Lea Appleton, author of "Walking and Wayfinding: Create Your Own Mindful Practice, One Step at a Time" and former REI product expert, explained that when she began camping with her children, she used the backyard practice to test whether they'd be able to relax in an unfamiliar environment. "If your kids can't sleep, that's a big one," Appleton said. "No one will enjoy the actual experience if that doesn't happen." 

First-time tent building can be intimidating, but it's also a good opportunity to learn safety tips, like building a safe distance from the fire pit and making sure the ground is flat with no sharp rocks or signs of previous flooding. Once you've found the right spot, the challenge of building begins. As Natalie Vereen-Davis explained, "This is one of those areas of camping that can quickly go from 0 to 100 in terms of stress. We have even gone so far to color code tent poles with duct tape to make the actual tent setting up easier and smoother."

Lea Appleton said during her family's at-home camping practice, she used the entire tenting process — from building to spending the night outside — as a learning occasion for her kids. "If it is a brand new tent, you'll likely have instructions," she said. "If your kids can read, have them help decipher what to do next." 

When it comes time to sleep under the stars, Appleton said being at home can help reduce the pressure of making it all the way through until morning on the first attempt. "Try again on a different night or just do a half sleep over, staying until midnight and going back inside your home on purpose the first time just to get the idea of it. Then stay outside the full night the next time." You can also try replicating the actual camping experience as much as possible by introducing your little ones to fun gadgets like a compass or flint, Vereen-Davis suggests.

One way to build excitement for an impending camping trip is to allow kids to help with meals. And because camp cooking setups offer a much different experience than the comforts of your own kitchen (ever tried cutting vegetables on a wobbly picnic table?), many parents recommend planning out the menu and prepping ingredients at home.

While the kitchen is a good place to start, as Natalie Vereen-Davis pointed out, "Meals can taste different just because they're cooked over a campfire, and picky kids can fixate on that difference." For this reason, parents may want to practice the exact methods they intend to use for the real campsite — hence, move outdoors and build a fire in your backyard. Kid-friendly meals that pair well with a pot or skillet and an open flame include: soups and stews, casseroles, quesadillas, cornbread, baked potatoes, and anything made in a pie iron (think savory pizza paninis, apple pie turnovers, etc).

With tent pitching, cooking, fire building, and more added to your family's list of pre-practiced skills, all that remains is to set out for the real experience with confidence. "It's a dress rehearsal of sorts to relieve as many of the pain points as possible so the entire family gets to the fun parts of camping as soon as you arrive at the campsite," Vereen-Davis said.