There are several reasons that the majority of children have never been camping. You can get your kids interested in going on a camping trip, but the process should start as early as possible. Read on to discover ways to interest children in the great outdoors.
Why Only a Few Kids Are Interested
The lack of interest in camping and outdoors from our younger generations likely stems from decades of changes within our society. The boom in the digital age adds to the lack of interest. In the ’80s and ’90s, the availability of a large selection of TV programs can be an attributing cause. From the ’90s and until today the popularity of video games add to the problem. Adding in Social Media beginning with the large user content produced video sites and large social media companies, the problem compounds. I try to encourage people to promote, online where most people will spend their time, the outdoors and outdoor activities such as camping, rafting, fishing, and really anything related to more natural themed activities. With little interest in outdoor activities, eventually, there will be very little outdoors to enjoy as the natural areas left in our world will be diminished.
Start Them Young
Getting children interested early is the key to piquing interest in almost anything. One way to do this is encouraging them to “camp” in a tent in the house or in the back yard. Having the enjoyment of camping in their recent memory will bode well for the kid’s future in camping. Setting up a tent in your living room can be great entertainment for a young child. They get the benefit of a tent while still inside a home, pretending to go camping. Backyard camping is a great way to have kids “warm-up” to camping, they have the modern conveniences just a few steps away and, in most cases, they are able to camp on their own. Too many times I have seen children start backyard camping on their own only to give up and go back inside the home. One way to help them overcome the small challenges is to camp with your kids. Start by helping them set up the campsite. Put up the tent, build a campfire, help them cook their food along with everything to get their campsite ready for the night. Another way to keep them from giving up is to find activities to do outside will back yard camping. Backyard games like corn hole, ladder ball toss, along with several other outdoor games.
Teach Them all You Can
Another way to encourage children to be campers is to teach the basics. Often we go camping and are too busy setting up in a rush to get it done before nightfall or possibly too hungry to take the time to teach some of the basics of camping to our kids. Take the time to show your children the basics. Have them follow you showing them how to properly set up the tent or how to start a campfire. Teach them the proper way to set up the canopies. Explaining the process of the basics of camping can improve their interest in camping and enjoy being outdoors and away from the TV and video games. Just having them work along aside you can teach them a ton of great tips and methods you use to set up a campsite.
Keep Them Busy
Sitting around all day at a campsite doing nothing, in particular, is a great way to ensure your children will have a negative connotation associated with camping. Keeping them busy with activities is a great way to find things they enjoy and do those things more often. When I go camping with kids I try to research the surrounding area to find activities they may enjoy. Just a few activities I look for are ziplining, canoeing, hiking, beautiful places to take pictures, fishing, among many others. If you are camping in a very remote area activities can be sparse so you may need to bring your own. A few things to bring on the camping trip may be corn hole boards, ladder ball, horseshoes, and even a metal detector. Some kids will enjoy the hunt for “treasure”, while others may get bored quickly if there is nothing to find, although many people are surprised at the number of common and obscure items found below the surface.
Geocaching
Geocaching can be very fun especially for kids. There is a large population that enjoys this activity. If you are unfamiliar with anything about geocaching, visit the link below and read a little. Originally the idea began with a map and a compass, and later flourish when technology was more capable and available, with the availability of handheld GPS devices. Popularity peaked in the ’90s through the early 2000s but is still very popular. Now smartphones apps can lead you through the process of finding the next cache and make it a little easier for navigating to the next location. There are geocache-themed parks in some areas that are full of caches. Others are just in random locations, most often in less populated and rural areas. Read through some info online and judge if your kids may be interested in this great activity.
Ziplining
While ziplining is a little more centered towards modern and advanced life, it’s very exciting for most people. Often times there will be a zipline near campgrounds and parks. In many places, the ziplines are over canyons, forests, lakes, rivers which can give the kids a great view and help with their outlook on the outdoors. I have taken my children ziplining many times and they always have a blast. There are resources available to locate the nearest zipline online. Some sites will be more complete in their zipline locations than others, but a quick search should produce results to find a zipline near your camping destination.
