“ Make The Great Outdoors An Adventure In Family Fun”
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Few family vacations can bring everyone together like a trip to the great outdoors. But before heading out and hitting the trails, a smart family makes sure they have all the outdoor gear necessary to make certain the trip's fun.
There are a lot of different ways to camp. A trip can be pretty basic, involving tents and sleeping bags. Or, it can be more of a "luxury" trip to the great outdoors, complete with a camper, electricity and more.
Actual outdoor gear will likely be more important to those who really want to get away from it all and rough it while they're out there. To ensure that everyone has fun and the things that need to get done do, a family must work as a team. This is great for building relationships with kids and can strengthen ties among spouses.
Here are some of the ups of camping for any family:
* A way to get away from it all - literally. The great outdoors does come with its own distractions, but a wild deer sighting is likely to be much more fun than 10 phone calls from solicitors during dinnertime. Without televisions, telephones and other electrical equipment readily available (unless you bring them), families can really get to know each other.
* Opportunities to explore new things. With hiking, fishing, biking, bird watching and more all available on a typical trip, there should never be a dull moment.
* Team building. A family can really build itself up by taking a camping trip. It takes everyone to get the site ready, meals cooked and things cleaned up so members can go back to enjoying the sights. For those who want to "rough it," camping gear can be vitally important. Without the right gear the trip will be uncomfortable for everyone and the basic necessities of life might not be present.
Typical gear includes:
* Tent - make sure this is big enough to house all family members unless the teens are staying in their own pup tent! Be certain you understand how to pitch it, too!
* Sleeping bags - these should be comfortable and durable and built for outdoor use. If you're going somewhere very cold, be certain the bags are rated for the cold weather.
* Lanterns - it gets dark in the great outdoors, very dark. Flashlights, too, are a good idea.
* Cooking equipment. Even if you plan to cook over an open fire, if you don't bring the pots and pans, you'll be in trouble. Don't forget to include utensils, plates and so on, too.
* Backpacks and canteens. If hiking is in your future, you'll want to be ready to hit the trail. This means water, food, first aid items and such should go along with you.
* Food. Don't leave home without it! Be certain to pack coolers with enough food to last the trip and also remember things to open cans and so on.
* Bug spray. Don't go into the woods without it!
Those who choose not to rough it and go with the camper will need a lot of these things, too. Pack smartly and try to keep some of the distractions of home at home. Good outdoor gear can make a camping trip a pleasure.
#1 Camping and RV Resource. Enjoy the outdoors with the right gear for every adventure.
http://www.campersrvworld.com
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“3 Essential Tips for Successful Camping with Kids”
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Camping with happy kids is wonderful – camping with miserable kids could convince you to pick a new family hobby. There’s lots of ways to ensure a happy camping experience, but here are my picks for the three most important.
1. Keep the sleeping bag dry. Let’s face it, sleeping comfortably is pretty important to all of us, but a wet sleeping bag can make a kid totally miserable. This is especially true if your child’s sleeping bag is one of the big box store $20 variety. You know, the ones that weigh 15 pounds (dry!) and are made of cotton. Get one of those wet, and your camping trip is over, it will take until next year to dry. Even a good kids sleeping bag can get wet, however, and it’s not easy to convince a kid to climb into a soggy bag to sleep.
The key to keeping a sleeping bag dry is to keep its surroundings dry. If you’re going to be in wet conditions (rainy season, or paddling on a lake), prepare your gear. Put kids sleeping bags, and any other gear you treasure into dry bags, garbage bags, or some other water barrier. Put a tent cloth under your tent (properly!) so you keep water out of the tent. Teach your kids good tent etiquette so they don’t crawl all over the tent in their wet boots, or dump a mug of hot chocolate over their sleeping bag.
2. Avoid constipation. Think I’m kidding? I used to take city kids on month long canoe trips, and several of them showed insane talent for “poop in the woods” avoidance. Some made it as long as a week before they gave in and took Mr. Trowel off to dig a hole. Kids like routine and predictability, some kids a lot more than others. When that routine is turned upside down, even by fun activities like camping, it can cause system backup. That can lead to stomach troubles, cramps, and really stinky farts (amongst the 2-12 year old set, this is serious business, and might be for you too, if you’re sharing a tent).
Fortunately, there’s a really easy fix for camping constipation. Eat beans. I used to serve chili the first night out on trail. Vegetarian chili with 5 kinds of beans. Sometimes it took a day or two, but no kid could hold out a week against my 5 bean chili. Other forms of fiber help too – oatmeal for breakfast, dried fruit in your gorp. Also have your kids drink lots of water, especially if fiber isn’t a really common part of their diet.
3. Don’t take over. We spend most of our lives “organizing” our kids, making sure they get up, dressed, off to school, to weekly activities and play dates. It’s an easy trap to try to organize their camping experience too. This is especially easy to do when it looks like their first choices of activities involve sleeping in the tent all day or throwing rocks at one another across the firepit.
However, one of the most fundamental lessons Camping can teach is that you are responsible for your own experience. Mother Nature is a great provider of natural consequences. Don’t put up your tent right, you’ll get wet. Don’t collect firewood, you won’t eat hot food. Do collect firewood, and discover the mesmerizing dance of a night campfire. Get up the energy to paddle to the middle of the lake in the middle of the night, and see stars like they were meant to be seen. Step back, and let your kids learn from their own experiences. You might just pick up a little something too.
About The Author
Debora Geary is owner of an online store carrying a wide selection of quality outdoor kids sleeping bags.
kid-sleeping-bag.com
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