This weekend at work, we hosted our first "family camp out". It was a giant backyard camping night! It was truly a reminder how simple "fun" can be. How a beautiful night, with a great group of people, is pretty close to the perfect night. We had designed a simple night of family games, a campfire and sleeping under the stars. We expected families who either loved to camp or who had little one who had never spent the night in a tent... and we got them all! From one end of the spectrum to the other. We had grandpas with their grandchildren, men with their children, nieces and nephews, mom's and dad's together and family friends with their tents side by side.
The event was a great chance to do a trial run, to break in a new tent or just share a night with no TV, internet or video games. This is family bonding at it's best!
While the evening was full of laughter and fun, it was the adults' excitement that made it so special. Throughout the night I had the chance to speak to a lot of the families and I kept hearing the same thing again and again... "We used to camp all the time"... "before we had kids". I heard stories of camping around the country, weeks spent in the mountains, a favorite hidden location and list of places they want to go. These adults were so passionate about being outdoors and had come to realize that they had waited much longer than they thought they would to share this passion with their children.
I remember while my brother and sister in law were thinking about having their first child, they kept asking how long it would be before they could do their favorite activities again. I think the question to ask is what part of it is the most important to you and how do you share that with your children from the time they are little. Is it days with no technology? Is it sitting at a camp fire with friends? The joy of reaching the top of a mountain? If your passion is there, you can find a way. Don't put it off! Below are a list of tips for camping with children. However, if camping isn't your thing... find away to share what is! It's never too early.
Family Camping http://camping.about.com/cs/familycampingtips/f/faq001.htm
10 Tips for camping with infants http://sarah-turner.suite101.com/ten-tips-for-camping-with-a-baby-a31499
Tips for Camping with Toddlers http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Outdoors/Archives/2010/Camping-with-toddlers.aspx
Camping activities with toddlers: http://www.squidoo.com/campingactivitiesfortoddlers
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