Description
This article is from the Outdoor
Activities for Young Children FAQ, by Gloria Logan
glogan@atk.com with numerous contributions by others.
35 GENERAL CAMPING: playpen/portable crib, repellent, suntan lotion, happy drive
we've done quite a bit of car camping with alex, starting when she was
about 5 months old. i think having the playpen/portable crib thing is
great for that age. we set it up outside and she loved it (only time
she didn't bum out about being confined), checking out all the animals
and trees while we set up camp. we also brought an umbrella stroller
for walks and for sitting in around the campfire with us.
>What kind of insect repellent is safe for an infant?
we used avon skin-so-soft but i am not totally sure about the safety of
any of these products. you should probably ask your pediatrician.
>What type of suntan lotion?
we really like waterbabies spf 30.
>Any suggestions as to how to keep a 8mo happy for a 6 hour drive?
this is probably an impossible task. i'd say you'd have better luck
keeping her happy for 2 3-hour drives. and at least one of those
should start right at nap time. we always plan our trips around
nap times and it seems to help. then maybe she'll sleep the first 3
hours, then you stop for lunch and playtime for an hour or so, then
you cross your fingers for the second three hours.
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I can only add what I have experienced, having camped with a very
agreeable baby (Megan) from the time she was 4 months old......
>Do we need to bring her playpen?
Yes, unless you don't mind her crawling in the dirt
>What kind of insect repellent is safe for an infant?
Dunno, didn't use it
>What type of suntan lotion?
We used Coppertone for Kids
>What type of first aid kit should we bring?
Whatever you think you'd need around the house (Tylenol, bandaids,
vitamins...) plus perhaps some insect-bite repelant
>Any suggestions as to how to keep a 8mo happy for a 6 hour drive?
Frequent stops :-) No. I'm serious - Frequent stops!!! We also used
to let the kids eat plain cheerios on long rides. Also, keep plenty
of drinks readily available.
-----
We took our 9 month old car camping without a playpen and it was fine.
She never spent much time in a playpen at home, and when you're camping
there's not much to do except hang out with each other, so we couldn't
really see the purpose of a playpen. We held her or carried her most
of the time, either in a sling when we were hanging around camp, or in
the backpack when we were walking or hiking. Sometimes we put her down
for a supervised crawl around in the dirt and grass, which she enjoyed,
or we hung out together on a pad or sleeping bag, either inside or out
of the tent. We did bring a seat that hooks on the edge of the table
and that was handy for feeding and for those occasional times when we
really wanted her stuck in one place while we were both busy.
>What kind of insect repellent is safe for an infant? What type of
>suntan lotion? What type of first aid kit should we bring?
Dunno about the first two. But don't forget the baby Benadryl in your
first aid kit. You never know when you're going to discover a new
allergy or see a bad reaction to a bug bite or plants.
>Any suggestions as to how to keep a 8mo happy for a 6 hour drive?
Then and now, I pack a bag of special car toys and fill it with both a
few favorite things and things that are new or at least haven't been
seen in a couple of months. A consistent hit are small plastic
containers with lids and interesting things inside of them (corn puffs,
little toy people) that can be taken out and put into other containers.
I dole the toys out at intervals, usually interspersed with songs
and stories. I break up this routine with interesting snacks and
drinks and get-out-and-run/crawl-around breaks.
-----
|> Do we need to bring her playpen?
We took ours camping for Brendan to sleep in but then we have a cabin
tent with lots of room. I think it would be a good idea if you don't
want her crawling around in the dirt a lot. And also if you want to
leave her in the tent alone for naptime and don't want to worry about
her rolling off the mattress or crawling away. :)
|> What kind of insect repellent is safe for an infant?
Ah, that's another thread. :) The net.wisdom is that DEET is the only
effective thing but too toxic for small kids. Citronella based
products are OK and worked for us. Other suggestions are Avon's
Skin-So-Soft and Skedaddle (sp?). Bottom line is ask your pediatrician.
|> What type of suntan lotion?
We use Water Babies spf30 but just picked up Johnson's & Johnson's No
More Tears spf15 (it says it won't sting their eyes if they happen to
have some on their hands and rub their face).
|> What type of first aid kit should we bring?
Whatever you have at home - Children's Tylenol, syrup of ipecac, etc.
There are also new products for children called No More Ouchies, No
More Itchies, and No More Germies that you might consider. I think
these are Johnson & Johnson also. The No More Germies come either as
a germicidal liquid soap or as handy-wipes (good for traveling).
|> Any suggestions as to how to keep a 8mo happy for a 6 hour drive?
You may want to consider driving at night when she's normally asleep if
she sleeps in her carseat. We have a 10 hour drive to our favorite
summer camping spot and have done this. Last year, we left at
Brendan's bedtime (8 pm) and he slept the whole way. The only time he
woke up was when we stopped for gas and the bright lights bothered him.
We took turns driving so we each got some sleep (that's Daddy and me,
not Brendan and me :-) ) then we took a nap the next day when Brendan
did. We were tired but preferred that to frazzled after trying to deal
with an awake infant that long in the car. It worked for us.
-----
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children, child, kid, Outdoor Activities, backpacking, ski, canoeing, biking, camping, trailer
