Backyard Camping

Nope, you aren't crazy! That is a terrific way to introduce young children to camping without making it horrible for the adults if, by chance, the kid doesn't care for the experience. Do it and have a blast! :)

Heck no!! That's what we do...camp out in the back yard. Especially when it is too hot to sleep inside. Of course my boys love camping at other places, but for the first timer or new comer to the whole idea of camping, go for it, it will teach her how to love camping too!

Single parent of twin boys, S.

Sounds lovely! We used to do that with our boys when they were little and they loved it. Make sure you close the tent to prevent any night critters(racoons, possoms, & such) entering and it should be ok. We never had a problem though

TONS of people do this! In fact, for Memorial Day weekend, the majority of our neighbors camped in their backyard.

Your kid will love it. If she wants to do it again try a little bigger but safe like Silver Falls Campground, etc. Have fun!

L.,
We live in SW PDX and my boys (ages 6 & 4 last summer) camp out with their dad both on the lawn and sometimes on the deck. ALso, our neighbors do the same during the summer. Unless you have some wild animals that make their home in your backyard, I wouldn't worry about it. Most likely you'll be indoors at 4:30 when those birds wake you up & start making their morning music ;)
You can alway put the tent up and stay up late and come indoors to sleep, saving your back in the process.

We have done this several times with my just turned 4 year old. Sometimes it is all three of us and the dog, other times it is just him and dad for some guy time. He always has a blast sleeping in his sleeping bag and in the tent. Sometimes we make s'mores over the BBQ. It is a great way to get kids interested in camping, but if they get scared you can just come inside.

GREAT IDEA, MOM!!!! :)

We did this as kids, and when I was older the idea was fun for slumber parties.

God Bless,
T.

What a fun idea! You can make s'mores in the oven too, just put the graham cracker/chocolate/marshmallow stack under the broiler for a few minutes.

Have fun!

That's a great idea! Still in her home territory while trying something new :) Sounds like an easy way to transition to "real" camping. I can't tell you how many backyard camping "trips" we took when I was a kid. We LOVED them! We now have an almost-2-year-old (who we took camping this last weekend, successfully) and she enjoyed it so much we're thinking of doing the same thing in our backyard when we can't make it out of town. Good luck with your little one! :)

I think back yard camping is a good idea. I don't know that it will help your daughter to adjust to a camp ground setting which will be a lot different and not have her home in sight.

What may help more is to research camp grounds to find one close to home in case the experience isn't going well and that is child friendly. Some camp grounds seem to be all dirt and have nothing nearby that would interest a preschooler.

I've been to a camp ground towards Mt. Hood that I took my 8 yo daughter and my cousin took his 3-4 yo son. we didn't stay overnight. We walked thru the woods and down by the river talking about what we saw. I don't remember the camp grounds name.

Perhaps taking a day trip to the camp ground would be a good way to start.

I know of many children who like to camp in their back yard. My daughter and friends often slept in the back yard. However, sleeping in the back yard is not the same as camping even if you use a tent and grill. One is still in their home environment.

My parents often took me and my brothers camping. The younger 2 were babies and then toddlers. I don't remember any difficulty with them.

If you take things that are familiar to her such as her blankie or lovey and crib blankets as well as a few toys, her sippy cup if she still uses one, etc. I suggest that she might adapt quite well. Often our children are anxious and cause difficulties because they pick up on our anxieties.

Camping is fun. My recommendation is to just do it on a small scale close to home at first.

You are not crazy - this is wonderful! We have done this many, many times in the past just because we couldn't actually go camping. It's almost as much fun as the real thing!