Camping with 2 Year Old

sounds fun, i'm just taking a guess that you'll be car camping in which you can bring a ton of stuff to entertain. Try to remember to let you son explore on his own, sitting in the dirt investigating bugs, animals, plants etc.
just bring a lot of water...

Yay!! Fun!!
Maybe a "savenger hunt", looking for rocks, leaves, sticks - really easy stuff that a 2 year old can easily identify and have fun looking for. I guess it also depends a lot on where you're going, but a scavenger hunt can be fun for all of you.

Nature walks can be lots of fun too. Even it they're short, you can point out all the neat stuff, like flowers, bugs, animals, spider webs, et.

There's so much fun you can have just exploring the area you'll be camping in, I don't think you'll have to worry too much about entertainment.

Also, just a side note - my family and I were in Pinetop a couple of weeks ago, and the mosquitoes were pretty bad. We used yellow Listerine in a squirt bottle for mosquito repellant, and it worked great! Way cheaper, and less harmful than regular DEET repellant.

I took my son camping for the first time at that same age. We went up to Sedona. The only special thing I took was a toy fishing pole. It was a hotwheels one with a tire weighter. He was able to "fish" all day long. With or without water. Other than that he was so fascinated with the camping experience, he never got bored. He even helped with dishes because it was new and different. You'll be surprised at how interested he is in everything.
Have fun.

they have little plastic wheel barrows (toy) at Wal-Mart for about $8. We took one with us last summer when my son was the same age as your son, he loved pushing it around and filling it with dirt, sticks, pinecones.... :) Any sand toys are great. Just a couple ideas about insect repelant. They make wipes (kind of like a baby wipe) that has the repelant on it, so you can wipe him down with out him breathing in all the stuff from spraying it. Also, they make little bracelets that have the repelant in them (i found them at sportsmans wherehouse, but I think walmart carries the too) I took one and hooked it to a belt loop on the back of my son's pants and he didn't get any bug bites that I know of.

If you go to www.mindfulmama.com you should be able to find articles about making camping with little ones easier, more fun, and environmentally friendly. It's a free resource if you sign up for their monthly online newsletters.
My take on camping with little ones. Just really really enjoy being outdoors in nature. Kids are so curious and instinctual...just explore every nook and cranny and see what he comes up with:) Don't worry about overloading yourself with toys and activities from home. Ask yourself, what do you want your family to experience most from being out in nature?
Have fun and congratulations on your upcoming little one.

In peace,
A.
mom of 4. Birth and Parenting Mentor
www.birthingfromwithin.com

We have gone camping with our girls since they were tiny.

I have never packed anything special, besides balls and nets. There is so much to do already. Scavanger hunts, hide n seek, hikes, picnics, star gazing, smores... There are some neat boy scout recipes you can look up. We like the brownies in orange halves.

The only thing I always take is a pack n play. It is nice for them to have a place they can just hang out in the shade with a snack and a favorite toy.

Have fun and enjoy what is around you!

This may sound crazy, but our 2 year old has always loved this part of camping--- getting a bath! We buy big jugs of water at the grocery store (the kind with a spout). We usually bring 2 or 3 depending on how long our trip is. We also bought a set of giant metal camping pots (I think our set came with 3 or 4 stacked inside each other). The biggest one is pretty huge. We fill 1/3 with water and warm it up on the portable stove (or grill). We put it on a plastic bin lid inside the tent and give her a pot bath with a little soap. We started this when she was an infant to mimic her bed time routine at home, we even lotioned her up, put on her pj's etc... She has always been small for her age and is just now outgrowing the pot bath at 2.5.

Bring lots of snacks. For some reason my kids seemed to be extra hungry while camping.

Over the years we have also invested in a shade tent. We set that up as our food cooking station but also an outdoor play room. We put down a tarp and it gives our daughters a place to sit on the ground, lay down if they want and play with toys we bring.

Have fun!

My husband and I toured the Canadian Islands on bicycles when our daughter was about 2 yrs old. Other than the light we provide, the camp sights were dark at night. This drove me nuts because I couldn't relax without knowing exactly where she was. So, I got a small flashlight and a bell and pinned them to her. This gave her the freedom to roam and enjoy her camping experience. She really liked having her own flashlight and because it was attached to her it was never lost. The bell was a back up in case she turned the light off.
Good luck and have fun!

M.

How fun!!! We've also been taking ours since she was 3 weeks old, and the biggest problem we've had is keeping her warm at night (she has always kicked blankets off). The best solution we've found is to wrap her pack n play with a blanket or sheet to keep drafts out. When it's been really cold, we've even covered 3/4 of the top to keep as much heat in as possible...like her own little tent =). When she still wakes up cold, we bring her to bed with us (but she just doesn't sleep as well with us). Warm sleepers are great, too, of course!!! It just always surprises me how cold it gets at night even on the warmest days!

Have a great time!! You'll have to tell us how it went!!
A.