Camping with small children – even infants and toddlers doesn’t have to be the nightmarish experience you might think it would be. After all – you haven’t lived until you warmed a bottle over a campfire at 3:00 am!

If camping is something you enjoy doing then there’s no reason that you shouldn’t enjoy it even when your children are small – with a few changes to accommodate your young family.

Obviously, the younger your children the more “stuff” you will need to bring along to make the trip enjoyable. You’ll be taking your car with you to the campsite so you have the luxury of making the car as full as you need without having to worry about the extra luggage.

Keep in mind that no matter how much you pack, you will likely forget something or even run short so try to pick a campground with at least a convenience store nearby.

Another thing to consider is the trip itself. You know better than anyone how long your child will remain happy on a car ride – if necessary, choose a campground closer to home to keep everyone happy along the way. You also want to make sure that you can get to your campsite before dark in order to set up everything you need and can find everything easily.

If you have a crawler or young one just learning to walk, you’ll want to make sure you have a pack ‘n’ play that can be used for a crib and a play pen and let your baby move around while you’re setting up camp or hanging around the campfire.

You may also want to choose a campsite with flushing toilets and potable running water if you are in the potty-training phase. You can also decide to rent a cabin – there are plenty of kid-friendly campgrounds that can help you plan.

Camping with your young children can be very enjoyable with these few little tips. And don’t forget to keep your children on their same eating and sleeping schedules as much as possible – doing so will keep everyone in their happy place!

With bicycling listed as the second most popular outdoor activity in the US, it only makes sense that sometime in the possibly not-so-distant future you will be looking for a new bike for your child.

When you first start looking, the massive wall of bikes at your bike shop or retailer can be overwhelming to say the least. There are a lot of options to choose from and it may be difficult to know which one is right for your child if you aren’t sure what to look for.

The most important thing and first decision to be made is about the size of the bike. Bikes for children are measured by the wheel’s diameter and can be from twelve to 24 inches. The size you’ll need depends on your child’s age and either his or her height or leg length. An easy example – a two-year-old will likely start on a 12-inch bike.

To make sure the bike has a proper fit with your child, have he or she sit on the bike with hands on the handlebars. A bike that is a good fit will allow your child to sit comfortably on the bike with both feet on the ground.

Safety is also very important and no bike purchase is complete without a helmet. By purchasing a helmet with your child’s first bike, you are setting them on a course of good, solid habits early on, not to mention, some states – like Maryland – require helmets for any bike riders under the age of 16.

Helmets can come in all shapes and sizes so be sure to pick one that fits properly: it should be tight against the back of your child’s head while the front is parallel with the eyes. The helmet should also sit two fingers’ width above your child’s eyebrows.

You may also want to consider bells or horns for your child’s bike as a further added safety precaution. It never hurts to have your child get in the habit of alerting people that a little one is scooting by.

While for some parents, sending their children to camp for the majority of the summer seems as natural as breathing, while for others it’s an 8-week guilt trip.

It is difficult for us as parents to send our children away for extended periods of time, especially when the children suffer from being homesick – don’t worry, homesickness is normal!

Here are a few tips to help you and your children get through the first few days of being apart:

• In the months leading up to leaving summer camp, do a couple of “dry runs” and spend time apart from your children. Send them to sleepovers at friends or even to spend a few days with grandparents or other relatives.
• Let your child or children help in choosing the camp. The more they are involved with the process, the more excited they will be when the time comes.
• Talk about what will go on at camp – using outdoor restrooms, keeping a flashlight handy, etc.
• Send one of their favorite personal items from home – maybe their favorite stuffed animal and even send a letter to your child so that it arrives the first day of camp.
• Do NOT bribe your child to stay at camp!

The inevitable “I hate it here and want to come home” phone call will happen. The best thing to do is stay calm, reassure your child that it will get better and to give it a few more days. Avoid that first instinct to “save” your child and rush right there to pick him or her up. When you talk to your child in a few days, you can re-evaluate the homesickness and see if it really is an urgent case or not.

Lastly, don’t feel guilty about leaving your child at summer camp. This is their first chance to experience independence on some level – encourage them to make the most of it.

We offer a variety of summer camp programs here and would love to have you and your family be apart of them! Enroll early and receive half off your registration! Call our center for details- thank you for reading!