Description
This article is from the Outdoor
Activities for Young Children FAQ, by Gloria Logan
glogan@atk.com with numerous contributions by others.
37 GENERAL CAMPING: first camping trip
First, many thanks to all who responded to my request for tips as I
took my 5-year-old daughter Anna on her first camping trip last week.
Much of the advice, as I had hoped, fell into the category of just
getting psychologically ready, as in: remember this trip will happen
for her, not for me, and I must remain totally sensitive to her needs,
wishes, feelings, etc. That I did, to a degree that surprised me. I
have usually hiked and camped solo, and have never had to watch out for
others or sublimate my desires to another's on a trip like this (my
wife hates hiking, doesn't like camping much either).
Anyway, all seems to have gone quite well. We had a long drive, which
she slept through for the most part, thanks to the Dramamine (she tends
to throw up on mountain roads). We didn't do much but put up the tent
and make dinner the first night, as rain drizzled down and darkness
fell. It rained off and on through the night, but Anna slept just fine
and loved the concept and the reality of the sleeping bag. The next day
dawned bright and after breakfast I gave Anna her choice of canoeing,
hiking, or just hanging out in camp. She chose canoeing, so we drove to
the lake, put in the canoe and paddled around until she announced she
no longer wanted to canoe (about 45 minutes). We returned to shore, and
while I put the canoe back on the truck she found some cased caddis
larvae at the water's edge, giving me a chance to tell her about the
life cycle of aquatic insects.
Next she wanted to go hiking, so we found an abandoned forest road,
nearly level and walked about a quarter mile. She took many pictures
with the disposable camera we had bought her (great idea!), but began
to lose interest when we hadn't seen a deer after about 30 minutes. We
walked back to the car, and I grew astonished at the things she chose
to photograph: trees and clouds, flowers, chipmunk holes.
Back at the car, she looked up the steep, trackless slope next to where
we had parked and announced she wanted to go up there. I tried to talk
her out of it, but next thing I knew we were scrambling hand-in-hand
through the rocks and trees to a rocky outcropping maybe 125 feet above
us. She grunted and whimpered a little, but she remembered she had
suggested it -- insisted on it -- and she never complained or changed
her mind. We sat on the outcropping until she decided to get down.
By now lunch time had arrived, so we went back to camp and ate, and the
rain came and came hard right after lunch, so we retired to the tent
and spent the afternoon playing Candyland (for the record she beat me
four times, and she denied she had cheated), reading and playing with
Barbies. She didn't feel a nap coming on until just before the skies
cleared, so I watched the best part of the day slip off while listening
to her gentle snoring. Dinner, more Candyland, wonderful conversation
(she finally asked where babies come from, what a great place to have
the first facts of life conversation!) and a good night's sleep
followed.
In the morning I told her we would have time to do one activity before
starting the long drive home and she chose to "climb the mountain"
again. We ascended with even more enthusiasm than the previous day,
wandered around for a while looking at things through a magnifying
glass, and collected the first few drops of rain that fell because she
wanted to know how it would taste (she didn't like it).
Then came her only tears of the weekend as she forced down the
dramamine (next time I'll get the liquid kind if I can find it), and
she slept most of the way back.
She expressed just one regret to me: we never did see a deer, though
she delighted in chipmunks, squirrels and woodpeckers. She seemed to
have a wonderful time and said she wants to go again, but one thing
worries me. Since we got back, she has hardly spoken two words about
the trip to anyone else. I had thought she would come back gushing to
Mom and brother Chas and Aunt Jessica about what she had done, but she
has said hardly a word and only when prompted. Maybe when we get her
pictures back on Thursday she'll open up about it.
Anyway, I think we succeeded in making it a positive experience for
her, and I think I can talk her into going again with no trouble. I
again want to thank all who sent me net-tips, and I apologize that I
didn't have time to thank each of you individually. Everyone helped a
lot.
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children, child, kid, Outdoor Activities, backpacking, ski, canoeing, biking, camping, trailer
