So far we’ve found camping is the best way to give our kids a certain level of freedom at each age; of course we’re still working out the kinks (and me letting go of my helicopter-parent tendencies!) but this is what we’ve found works best so far:
Traveling:
This is such an evolving list as our kids age! Of course our big kids can take devices, and we can play movies during the trip (we rent dvds from our local library). However, our toddlers aren’t the best at watching the tv, they like something to do with their hands so we use this carseat tray; I like this one since it IS a dry erase board and has plenty of space for random toys and sippy cups. Other ideas that work [for now] are: reusable sticker books , busy board, and crayola Color wonder books. I try to find things that won’t make a mess in the camper if they were to use outside of our direct supervision!
Transportation at the campsite:
Our big kids have a ripstick and a scooter to get around the campground quickly. Jace has a balance bike but will play on an available scooter if his cousins aren’t using it. We try to pick a campsite that has a longer path with lower traffic so the [little] kids can ride a good distance while still within eyesight. We pack a wagon for Everett-he doesn’t mind walking he just doesn’t walk in the same direction as everyone else!
Something fun (and safe) for night riding are bike lights, we like this brand, but there are a ton to choose from!
Drew and I have bikes and a bike trailer for the little boys – to be honest we haven’t used it on a camping trip yet but we have big big plans so stay tuned! The big kids will occasionally take our bikes but prefer their mode of transportation more fun. We purchased a bike trailer that can easily turn into a stroller and found that it maneuvers MUCH easier than a traditional double troller! (check it out here , and the Stroller Wheels)
Toys:
For the little kids we’ve found buckets of cheap figures, like dinosaurs, ocean animals etc that we can dump out easily, but if they get lost or forgotten it’s not a huge deal! Everett is really into small metal cars and they’re small enough to toss a handful into a drawer in the camper-they are also a dollar at Dollar General so again, not an expensive toy! You can find a cheap bucket of dinos here, ocean animals here, and pull back cars here)
Our RV has a perfect toy drawer under our dining bench that’s just the right height for the boys stuff. We keep rainy day activities in there like the Crayola ColorWonder Markers-the ONLY color on that specific paper-so NOOOO drawing all over our seats or walls (Find a big variety of Crayola Color Wonder stuff here)
The big kids will bring a football to toss, and a basketball since just about every campground has a goal somewhere on the property.
We also got a little trendy and bought a Pickleball set and are trying to scope out the campgrounds that have courts. Its surprisingly fun and EASY! If a set of grandparent’s go then we can have a game with the big kids-otherwise they can go on their own or wait for nap time for an adult to join. We bought one with 4 paddles, 6 balls, and cooling towels (Here you go!)
Communication:
Drew bought Walkie-Talkies and while I thought it was CRAZY annoying to hear the kids yelling at each other (mostly Jace) it’s actually been sort of fun. It’s nice to be able to give them to the big kids as a way to check in, but keep them from having their phone in their hands 24/7, and the little kids will play hide and seek or hunt for treasure while using them. (find on Amazon here)
Nighttime Fun:
Glow sticks. Tons and Tons of Glow stuff-bracelets, wands, swords-as long as it glows they don’t mind. We try to stock up from the Dollar Tree, but have found after certain holidays (Halloween!) lots of bigger stores put them on sale. Or if you’re a frequent Amazon shopper like I am we like these
Headlamps. Random and kind of weird, but the kids love them. Makes a perfect light for shadow puppets! (These fit adults and kids)
Lights for the bikes-some campgrounds require you to have a headlight and taillight if you’re riding at nighttime. We found BRIGHT rechargeable ones that have a variety of modes here.
S’mores stuff. You can never have too much! We bought extendible sticks so the kids didn’t get too close to the fire, but they retract and fit nicely into a carrying case (here)
Kitchen
Being that we have a larger family, and I don’t want to spend my entire trip cleaning, I found colored dishes (here) including matching cups and utensils so that each person has their own color, and is responsible for washing their own stuff! It’s also “unbreakable”, dishwasher and microwave safe so win win win! The set I bought comes with butter knives that won’t cut through much except for butter, so I got a set of knives with covers as well (here). This collapsible drying rack stores nicely under the sink but is sturdy once you pop it open!
There’s not a ton of storage in the kitchen so we bought cute “Cooking with color” collapsible bowls (here) and their matching cooking utensils (here). Most campsites come with picnic tables or somewhere to sit outside and eat, so serving trays are a MUST (here) and food tents to keep bugs away (here)!
I LOVE a hot beverage so I bought a single cup Keurig (here), but we’ve found it fun to buy the hot chocolate K cups for the colder nights (These are our faves)
Bathroom
We leave as much as we can on the RV so there was less to remember when packing, and the bathroom is an easy place to do that! I bought customized toothbrushes (here, the picture makes them look small and stubby, but they are adult sized and perfect! No getting them mixed up!) and installed a shampoo, conditioner, body wash dispenser in the shower (here) so we don’t have 5 different bottles of stuff to remember to put away when the RV is in motion!
Haulin the Herd 