How to keep a 2 (boy) and a 4 (girl) year old entertained on a camping trip?

March 14, 2010 by admin · 6 Comments
Filed under: Camping 
camping
jsnlot asked:

Taking our first camping trip as a family. Would really like it to be enjoyable for all! Any ideas welcome!

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6 Responses to “How to keep a 2 (boy) and a 4 (girl) year old entertained on a camping trip?”
  1. Karle says:
    March 17, 2010 at 9:43 pm

    let them explore…… supervised of course…….most kids will find stuff to do……and u will most likely spend most of the time keeping them from eating the things they find… Karle

  2. chris w says:
    March 21, 2010 at 1:26 am

    Have big bon fires, tell ghost stories, explore spooky places, play capture the flag, go snipe hunting, make a rope swing into a lake, go fishing, climb a rock, catch a snake, explore a cave, mineshaft, take a tour with the ranger, go canoeing, tubing, rafting, sailing, watersking…. chris w

  3. dokomo says:
    March 23, 2010 at 6:16 pm

    Bird watching, nature walk, tube riding is always fun. At night of course got to enjoy the beautiful stars. dokomo

  4. Trish says:
    March 27, 2010 at 3:50 am

    At that age, they still enjoy being involved with whatever you are doing. They don’t know the difference between fun (like hiking along nature trails) and chores (like gathering firewood or washing dishes).

    Let them join you in everything you possibly can, within whatever limits are necessary for safety. For example, they can help lay out the wood for a fire even though they can’t strike the match. True, every task will take twice as long as it would if you simply distracted them with the kind of activities they would get in preschool, but I think you’ll find that if you enter into it with a positive attitude, you will enjoy those activities more because you’re doing them together. In the process, the kids will learn outdoor skills that will serve them well for a lifetime. By the time they go into Boy and Girl Scouts (as I hope they will), they’ll already know how to pitch a tent, build a fire, cook a meal, and clean up.

    Of course, at that age, their attention span tends to be short, so be prepared to change activities frequently, and maybe have a couple of back-up activities available, such as a box of crayons with a coloring book and a pad of blank paper, and maybe a few bean bags to play “horse shoes”. (They can toss the bags as close as possible to a stick stuck in the ground.)

    Have fun! Trish

  5. kavekarst says:
    March 28, 2010 at 4:36 am

    Both ages are ideal to follow dogs around,
    sit to groom them and share a doggy biscuit.
    Tuna Flavor. Yum! Beefy, yuk! Taking time
    to read aloud is ever welcomed by these kids.
    Speak very slowly so your dogs have time to
    recall meaning of two and three syllable words.
    Take the time to amble around camp clockwise
    with your troop halting at every big tree to hug
    their trunks and shake upper limbs of the larger
    forest sprouts. Kick the small stones so they
    bounce. Return to camp and count heads so
    nobody is overlooked. Yes, count them wrong
    sometimes and ask the kids to decide why three
    people left family camp and four have returned.
    On next outing go adventuring counter-clockwise. kavekarst

  6. David Devoted says:
    March 29, 2010 at 2:33 am

    At that age I would simply take them exploring and try not to be overbearing and protective. My 2 and 4 year old have loved it when I simply walk through the woods and by the river with them. Let them throw sticks, toss rocks in the water, crawl over logs and find critter in the grass.

    Just in case we ususally take some Tonka trucks along so that they can make roads an things in the campsite when I want a break from hiking around. In the less primitive campsites we go to I will take bikes along and we will bike around the campground roads.

    The main thing is to let them get dirty and don’t worry about it until bedtime. If you let them get as dirty as they want and just wipe them down at the end of the day they will love it (the being dirty… not the wipe-down). David Devoted

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