Family Tents and Camping With Children

OUTDOORS · GLOBAL

Family Tents and Camping With Children

Sizing a tent honestly, layout and poles, pitching and keeping everyone comfortable

Family camping fails on space and on sleep, and both are decided before you leave home.

Tent sizes are optimistic

A berth figure is how many sleeping mats fit side by side with no room for anything else. A family of four is far more comfortable in a five or six berth tent.

Look for the number of sleeping pods, the standing headroom and whether there is a living area big enough to sit in when it rains, which it will.

Poles and pitching

Air tents inflate with a pump and go up quickly with two people, and they are heavy and bulky packed. Fibreglass and steel poled tents are cheaper, lighter to carry and slower to pitch.

Practise pitching at home once. Doing it for the first time in a field at dusk with tired children is how people decide they dislike camping.

Waterproofing

Look for a stated hydrostatic head, taped seams and a sewn-in groundsheet. Condensation inside is normal and is not a leak — ventilate rather than sealing everything up.

Never touch the inside of a wet single-skin tent, which draws water through.

Sleeping warm

Cold comes from the ground. Proper sleeping mats with a decent insulation rating matter more than the sleeping bag, and this is the most common mistake.

Children get colder than adults. Hats, layers and a mat each.

Cooking safely

Never use a stove, barbecue or heater inside a tent or an awning, including one that is cooling down. Carbon monoxide has no smell and kills people every year doing exactly this.

Campsite choice

Book ahead in school holidays and check what facilities exist, since a site with good washing facilities and a play area changes a family trip entirely. Ask about pitch size and whether cars park alongside.

Arrive in daylight on the first night, which is worth more than an extra few hours at home.

Packing

A checklist reused each trip saves the annual forgotten item. Torches per person, a mallet, spare pegs, a first aid kit and more warm layers than seems necessary.

Awnings and extra space

A porch or an extension gives somewhere for wet boots and cooking out of the rain, which is what makes a longer trip bearable. Check it is compatible with your tent before buying.

Never cook inside an awning or a porch, whatever the weather is doing outside.

Making it work with children

Arrive in daylight, pitch first, and bring torches each, a familiar toy and more layers than seems necessary.

Dry everything fully before storing, or the tent will grow mould.

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