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Tips for camping with a one year old
I’m all for “you can with twins”. You guys know that.
But after camping with a one year old ( actually TWIN one year olds) this last weekend I have to say, you might be able to but that doesn’t mean you should.
We went camping this past weekend in one of my favorite Oregon coast towns, Newport Beach and stayed at Beverly Beach Park.
Something I would have LOVED to do years ago. But now? Oh my lord it was horrible. The campground was amazing. But Caeden cried enough the first night to make both of our site neighbors leave the next day. He finally fell asleep after a super long car ride and some toy story at 7am.
If anything, this trip has taught me what NOT to do when you go camping with one year olds.
Here are a few tips for camping with a one year old I learned from this past weekend
Forget the food, just bring snacks
I didn’t think. I honestly didn’t. I planned all of our food around the fire. You know, the big dangerous NOT one year old friendly pit? Yeah I didn’t think at all. We ended up snacking most of the trip, or driving them around for naps and grabbing food on the way back.
Use camp chairs with seat clips
In other words, keep those littles CONTAINED! Great for eating, playing and just being safe around the fires.
Be prepared to sleep in the car
Hopefully it doesn’t happen to you. Hopefully your littles sleep through the night. Mine are usually amazing sleepers but tent camping they were not. They SCREAMED and screamed. And as you know, tent walls are basically non-existent. So we went for drives to calm them down and get them to sleep. Which led to my mom and I taking turns sleeping in the car with them. Not so fun.
Leave expectations behind
Seriously. Do not bring any with you. I don’t know why mine were so high, but man. I was let down minute after minute because of the expectations I brought with. Camping with a one year old is a huge eye opening experience and those expectations will just get in the way.
Do NOT go alone
I don’t know what I would have done had it been two toddlers vs. little old me. I would have left in .5 seconds, that is for sure. Camping with toddlers takes a lot out of you. Do not try it alone. I think like five adults would be perfect. But two would be perfect for one one year old.
Forget the fire, period
Seriously. I thought we would have a fire the whole trip just like we did before the twins. What was I thinking?! Bring a camp stove or drive to different places for food. Plus the driving around leads to good naps.
Download movies ahead of time
I thought I did, but turns out I never did. Had I downloaded movies ahead of time, I am sure the trip (and sleeping) would have gone much smoother. Camping with a one year old is the perfect excuse for a kids amazon tablet if you don’t have one already!
And for the love of God, just don’t tent camp.
I won’t be tent camping with a one year old in a tent for a few years. We’ll stick to cabins, like what KOA has to offer thank you very much.
I hope these couple tips help you get through your camping trip with a one year old or two.
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