There’s some camping equipment that is really necessary for an enjoyable camping trip; and then there are other items to bring along that make life safer for some members of the camping party – especially very young children.
My children are older now and can pretty much find their way around a campground without much supervision. But I remember the days when things weren’t so easy. Very young toddlers and children want to enjoy the outdoors, but the play space is sometimes much different than their own back yard.
I remember my daughter constantly running with sticks, she found them fascinating. My son loved all things dirt….maybe that hasn’t changed so much.
One of the biggest issues we had was keeping them from running in the road. Sometimes it seemed like our only option was to hide in the camper the whole trip and that wasn’t fun for anybody.
A friend of ours made a suggestion that worked really well for us. We purchased a screened in tent just for the kids to play in. That way I could still sit with them and be part of the grown-up conversations. The kids still had plenty of space to run and play and could enjoy the outdoors. Having the tent took a lot of stress off me and kept the kids from getting into so much trouble.
I have seen portable fences you can purchase as well, but the tent also kept the bugs off of the little ones without dousing them in bug spray at such a young age.
These are just a few things to consider if you’re finding it challenging to go camping with an active one or two-year-old. Hopefully just a few pieces of additional camping equipment will allow you to sit back and enjoy your Michigan camping experience.