Travel Blog

For millions of families who may be deciding not to travel this year due to the high price of gasoline and increasing fees at camp sites there are other alternatives to entertain the kids and do something that is unique. That is camping in the backyard or camping at a friend’s place in the country. Many people do this every year and enjoy the outdoor experience with out spending a lot of money. In this post we will talk about some of the things you can do to make your outdoor camping in your backyard enjoyable. Here are a few issues that you need to be aware of should your teenage kids come to you with this camping proposal!

Camping in the Backyard with the Family

This can be an exciting thing to do for many young families, especially if you want to get your kids used to camping, but not be too far away from home and comfort. A lot of families will set up tents, camping gear etc and sleep in the tent. They may even have a campfire if you have the yard for it, or they may just barbecue supper on the family barbecue. The exciting part for the kids will be sleeping outside and listening to all of the night sounds that they may not hear if they were in their bedrooms. Camping in the backyard can be fun.

If you have a large yard, setting up camp at the back of the yard well away from the house really works well with the young kids, especially once it gets dark. This is a long way to go if they need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Flashlights and some of the more modern lanterns are a good thing to have especially for the younger crowd. Plan to have books, snacks and extra pillows to keep everyone comfortable.

After you have done this a few times, your kids will be ready to actually go camping in the forest at a park. The older kids may not find this so interesting and will try  it once perhaps, and then want to do the real thing. A friend of ours probably wishes he had done this. He packed his kids up early and came home because the kids just were not settling down, it was raining and he could not take it anymore.

Be Considerate of the Neighbors

If you live in suburbia and plan to set up a camp site on a warm summer night in the back yard, you will need to be considerate about the neighbors. If you have nice neighbors they may put up with a lot of noise for one night but not several nights. Lights out and sleep time by 11pm is a good rule to follow for everyone.

If you live on a larger lot, this may not be much of an issue, however many smaller yards end up being pretty close to the neighbors so you want to give this a lot of thought.

Also think about wildlife. If you are close to parks or rural areas, there is a good chance that the local wildlife could visit during the night. Take the appropriate precautions if this is a concern in your area.

Teenagers and Camping in Your Backyard

This is a potentially big issue to avoid if you can. The teens may be interested in camping in the backyard, and they definitely will not want their parents anywhere around. This is a potentially troublesome situation, since when you are asleep you can be sure that the teens will not be.

They may decide to go for a walk in the middle of the night and disappear from your yard in which case you have no idea were they are. They also may be visited by some of their friends which leads to all kinds of other issues.

If you decide to allow a camping night for your teens, lay down some ground rules. Let them know you will be doing bed checks at various times during the night. Whether you actually do these checks, does not matter as long as they think you might be checking up on them. This will be enough to deter most of them from any nocturnal excursions during the night.

Comments are welcome, especially on ideas that you have used regarding camping in your backyard.

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