In the new age of tech-savvy existence, parents continue to find ways to keep their children in touch with the wonders of nature.
It is easy to get detached from the joyous tours of nature to confining oneself within the four walls of the virtual screen.
Children need the right kind of stimulus to understand essential values of participation, independence, and intuitive thinking. Many schools have summer camps as part of their curriculum to give students the right balance of academy and adventure.
Moreover, a section of the parent community believes that camping with their children is an excellent opportunity to usher in confidence and encourage their participation in tenting, setting up a campfire, or cooking on the embers.
The dazzling night sky, the chirping of birds, the misty early morning provide youngsters with an extrinsic sensory experience. It is also widely known that the more one engages with nature, the more one can channelize anxieties and tensions. They also grow up to better appreciate nature and its bounty and are more sensitive towards Mother Earth.
Taking your children out camping will go a long way in nurturing them into sensitive and curious humans.
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Camping Activities For Kids
A family outing to camp is an excellent opportunity for parents to get creative and plan an itinerary for their kids to gain a whole experience.
You could have your kids engage in these few innovative and simple activities.
1. Nature Trail & Hiking
It is a great adventure to embark on, especially for your children. Make sure to not over-stress your kids and make the whole camping experience tiring.
Allow them to determine the pace and lead. Moreover, choose an exciting trail like rivers, lakes that could get your kids going!
2. Preparing Meals
Cooking in the wild and on the fire could be a thrilling experience for your children, who otherwise could be whining at the idea of lending a hand to cooking at home.
Roasting some chicken on the skewers, toasting some marshmallows, preparing a sandwich, a salad bowl, and some other simple meals could make the mealtime special and a memory to cherish.
3. Pitching The Tent
It is a skill that you should introduce your kids to. It combines the benefits of being a valuable skill and an excellent task for your kids to get involved in without significant safety concerns.
De-jumbling the tent fabrics and parts, assembling it unit by the unit will keep them engaged, make them feel responsible, and seek their full efforts in the collaborative effort.
4. Hunt In The Wild
It is play-based learning that will also enhance your child’s observation skills. It would encourage them to pay attention to details in the new surroundings and look deeper.
Before setting out to the woods, make a list of things (animals, plants, insects, Colors, textures) and hand the sheet to your children. While camping, set your children out to pursue all the mentioned items.
These could be “A pine tree,” “A water body,” “something yellow,” “something fluffy.” The activity can be modified to cater to various age groups
5. A Sports Day
If you plan to go camping on a long weekend, this could be an exciting set of activities to get some Olympics going!
You should make a list of popular activities during sports events of schools and make your tweaks to it to suit the camping experience. A few include Tug of War, Potato Sack Race, Lemon Spoon Race, Volleyball/ badminton tournament, etc.
These games work best when you have a large troupe. Moreover, they never grow old with adults. Before setting out, make sure you have the right items in place (sack, balls, ropes, etc.)
6. Secret Santa
It is an artistic activity to get your children’s thinking caps on. It also allows you to participate and get some creativity going.
Being the secret Santa, each person has to make a gift using the resources from the surroundings. You can additionally also pack some craft items and paints from home.
7. Mapmaking
This is a great way to introduce your kids to navigational skills. Ask your kids to make a map of the area after a day of scouting.
8. Capture The Flag
An all-time favorite amidst frequent camping troupes, all you need is flags of different colors depending on the number of teams.
Divide yourself into groups and prepare to conquer your territory!
9. Jam At The Camp
A pleasant evening, gathered around the bonfire, sipping on some hot chocolate: the perfect opportunity for a jam session.
Get your instruments to the camp, make some innovative ones (plastic bottles, plates to begin with!), and have an evening playing songs with your children.
10. Camp Journal
Prepare customized print journals for your kids (You can also find journal templates online) to record all their observations while camping.
They can write down new things they discovered, activities they did, and their lessons.
11. Camping Charades
It is a game that could never fail to entertain you. A light entertainer that could have all age groups participating.
The fun of acting and coming up with different movies will build your communication skills and keep you chuckling for a long while.
12. Story Night
On occasions where you want to have a relaxed time with your kids, you could turn to sitting around a bonfire along a lake and listening to stories. It could be some wild old memory from school or a spooky story.
13. Stargazing
There is something about being immersed in a joyful and meditative experience in the world of stars.
If you are lucky enough to have a clear sky that brings out the constellations, take the opportunity to lie there with your family, under the stars.
Introduce your kids to the world of constellations and space. You could also carry telescopes to make the experience more starry!
What is the right age for kids to camp?
It largely depends on what kind of camping experience you plan to embark on.
Is it a large group of adults who will chill over cans of beers and talk all day, leaving their kids to entertain themselves? Or is it an intimate camp outing for seeking quality time with your family?
While many suggest that children from a young age should be introduced to the experiences of nature and should be accustomed to camping, the key lies in understanding your kid’s psyche and expectations to plan a trip worth remembering.
If you set out camping with toddlers, you should be extra responsible. Ensure that you don’t leave them unattended and keep a check on bug and insect bites. In the case of youngsters and teenagers, as a parent, you should look out to be that “cool parent” who drives the right kind of enthusiasm in their kids for adventure.
While you could be cautious and concerned about if at all camping would be a good idea for your family, take that leap of faith and go with the flow. You might end up exposing your kids to an insightful and joyous trip and learn a few parenting skills yourself!
How to make camping interesting for your kids?
While as a parent, you might have the greatest of intentions to bring your kids to a natural and recharging outing, and for cherishing quality family time, you might have them whining within a few hours of camping.
While the idea of camping could seem fun and thrilling, yet it needs a combination of meticulous planning and flexibility. You are planning to the extent that you can execute a few activities like star gazing or painting without facing the lack of resources and flexibility to adapt to the surroundings and opportunities that nature decides to throw on you.
One of the primary reasons children could get bored is that they find it difficult to leave behind their dear phones and play stations and enter an utterly austere environment with no distractions.
Many youngsters are almost tuned to seek validation constantly with increased addiction to social media communication and networking. Thus, many find it difficult to sustain themselves through the digital detox.
To address these withdrawal symptoms, plan the camping in such ways that keep your children engaged, get them tired, curious, and creative.
Lead by example. If the children find their parents glued to their laptop or mobile phone while on a family outing, they might naturally want to do the same. Moreover, camping should not be a one-time experience but rather a regular tour, so your children are accustomed to it.
Sometimes, it could be bad weather conditions that could make your children cranky about being outdoors. Extremely humid conditions or hot environs can drain your kids out and make them lose interest in the most exciting activities. Thus, make sure that you choose to go camping in desirable weather.
It is essential to understand that being out in nature could be a soothing experience for adults and detox from the toxic spaces of work and home.
But for children, the expectations are different. Thus, make sure that you work as a team and communicate with your kids. Camping should be a collaborative effort. Your children should feel responsible and have a say in the decisions.
Moreover, as a parent, you should make an extra effort to be involved in activities. Your interest and enthusiasm could drive your kids in the desired direction.
Wrapping Up
While most families seek instant entertainment sources like movie or dinner outings, nature has in its ambit a wide range of opportunities for you to cherish.
Camping amidst the luscious trees, breezy winds not only recharges your kids but enables them not to be overly reliant on their fancy gadgets.
Camping is bound to nurture and raise inquisitive, nature-sensitive youngsters who learn to socialize, appreciate their surroundings and overcome distractions. Happy Camping!
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