Safety Rules For Camping with Kids
by: Jessica Nugent and LiLing Pang
Teach your youngsters from the beginning that the fire ring is dangerous. I teach my young son that the fire ring is always hot (even when cold) and dangerous. The fire ring is always ‘No Touch’ and ‘Dangerous’. Especially for young children, keep the rules simple to understand and repeat yourself often. When it comes to safety, you can’t be too “naggy”.
Photo by: Flickr/silver marquis
Bring something to contain your crawler or toddler every now and then so you have a safe place to put your child down when you need two hands and eyes for something else. I use a folding booster seat with a seat buckle. It gets strapped to the picnic table and my son gets buckled into the seat. It is super simple to pack and travel with plus, it provides a great place for youngsters to sit, eat and relax. I wouldn’t camp without it.
Some campgrounds have many cars and large RV’s driving around. Remind your child that they should not cross the road without an adult even if they are just going to get water at the water faucet. Explain where the boundaries of your campsite are. It may seem apparent to you, but may not be so clear to your kids.
Poison Oak - Photo by: Flickr/goingslo
When you first arrive at the campsite, do a quick survey of the campsite and surrounding areas to identify danger zones - sharp drop offs, poison oak, sharp objects, campsite boundaries, or the road. If you have preschoolers or older children, take a few minutes to set rules they need to follow. When you arrive, everyone including adults are very excited about setting up camp and the kids can’t wait to explore. Starting off with clear safety guidelines will help to ensure that nothing derails your trip.
Do you have a question about camping with kids that our savvy parents can help answer?
- What makes a campsite kid-friendly?
- How to I book a campground?
- How can I help my baby sleep while camping?
- How do you keep kids from getting too cold or too hot?
- How do I feed my baby while camping?
- What are good toys to bring camping?
- Camping Packing List and Gear Recommendations for Families
- Kid-friendly Camping Recipes
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Jessica Nugent (aka fani*fam) is the mom of a a one year old boy and loves outdoor adventures. They are known for braving the outdoors any season of the year. LiLing Pang (TravelPangs) is co-founder and contributing author on Trekaroo - - a reviews website dedicated to exploring and traveling with kids.
Travel with kids to: CA | CO | DC | FL | HI | IL | MA | NC | NY | PA | TN | TX | VA | WA
updated: February 02 2011 by TravelPangs
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