Road trips can be awesome, but when the kids get antsy after hours on the road, you need to give them a distraction! A few suggestions in this article will help. Children’s camping adventures are an amazing way to build relationships and foster memories, but they require careful planning in order to avoid any headaches on the journey.
Bring Snacks!
Nothing eliminates road trip meltdowns like a good snack. The right healthy snacks are essential when camping with children. Be sure to bring tasty yet non-messy snacks that won’t require refrigeration or messy clean-up later.
Fruit: Bananas, strawberries, kiwis, and watermelons make an easy addition to your picnic or outing. Slice up and arrange in a waffle cone for a fruit pop treat; or thread onto wooden skewers for colorful fruit kabobs!
Hummus with pita bread or vegetables can provide your kids with a high-protein snack that will keep them full and energized. Also, try fruit rolls up or peanut butter sandwiches on an English muffin as fast and delicious snack options – add a hard-boiled egg and cheese for an easy breakfast campfire meal!
Books
Children’s books make the ideal companion on any camping trip, providing them with an immersive learning experience about nature and camping life. Reading stories set in forests or the great outdoors helps children prepare themselves for what lies ahead!
A kid-friendly cookbook includes easy recipes for meals and snacks that will make any campsite feel like home away from home, from Foil-Wrapped Burritos to Dutch Oven Pizza to Orange Blueberry Muffins. It is sure to “ignite” an interest in outdoor cooking!
Board and Card Games
Camping trips call for board games if you want to keep children away from screens. Some are even educational and fun for both adults and children alike! Bring along your favorites, or consider these:
Two Truths and a Lie is a family camping game that teaches children group dynamics. This fun activity also makes the best use of time spent outside!
UNO card game is ideal for camping as it does not require a board and the cards can easily fit in a ziplock bag for protection from the elements. Sequence is another fantastic strategy game that takes up minimal space while boasting glow-in-the-dark pieces. It is a quick-playing strategy game with limited playing time that fits easily into camping kits. It comes in an attractive little tin for easy portability.
Name That Kitty is an adorable card game designed to get the whole family laughing fast. From physical aspects such as moving around quickly while trying to match names to just having fun together – everyone will want to join in the fun of Name that Kitty!
Crafts
Bringing too many toys to camp can cause kids to only play with what’s in front of them instead of engaging with the environment, creating more work for parents as they must constantly organize and put away their toys (or keep asking the kids to do it themselves!)
Non Toy Gifts has lots of craft-making ideas the entire family can enjoy, while toilet paper roll binoculars from Kids Kubby are easy and fun crafts that are practical, too! You can create nature bracelets by wrapping a piece of tape – sticky side out – around their wrist and letting them explore looking for trinkets to attach.
Headphones
Kids will appreciate all of the outdoor games you bring along (scavenger hunts are great fun, hide-and-seek is timeless, and bocce and cornhole are built for camping), but they will especially enjoy listening to their favorite tunes with headphones. Be sure to look for ones with noise cancellation, volume-limiting capabilities, and audio-sharing capabilities!
Foldable headphones can easily fit in your child’s bag for travel. However, long-term exposure may lead to noise-induced hearing loss – so limit how often they use headphones while listening to music or watching video content.