Why Camping Is the Perfect Holiday for Families
In today’s hi tech world, families actually spend little quality time together. It is no exaggeration to say that probably greater than 75% of all families spend more time online, especially on social media, than they do conversing with their own families. Then, when not online they are watching television or doing all the chores they’ve let slide while pursuing other interests. Of course, there are a ton of fun activities you can do online that don’t eat up all your time to the exclusion of your family, but for the most part, those social media sites do consume too much of your time you could be spending on personal relationships with your family. So then, in light of all this, camping is the perfect activity for families looking to reconnect.
Pack the Mobile Phones but Keep Them Packed!
Whilst you don’t really need to worry about the little people in your group, you do need to curtail the use of mobile phones by teens and yes, by mum and dad! By all means pack the phones because you never know when danger might strike and you’d need to make that emergency call. But, keep those phones packed unless you intend to leave the campsite for a bit of hiking, especially off trail.
It has been suggested that if you are going any distance on your walk through nature that you set your camp’s specific GPS coordinates and save them to your phone. Then, if you should by chance stray off course you can simply set your GPS and head on back to camp. Unfortunately, not all sat nav systems are quite sensitive enough to set precise coordinates so download a really good app and buy the best system you can afford to ensure precision readings.
Activities for Novice Camping Families
How long has it been since you’ve been camping? Most parents can’t remember when they last spent the night in a tent under the skies! The point in camping is to steer clear of digital entertainment so don’t bring a mobile sound system and leave the mp3 players at home as well. What about a good old fashioned sing-a-long with dad or mum strumming the guitar? If you don’t play a guitar, that’s fine. Simply type up a few song sheets and teach the kids the tunes as you go. They will typically toss their heads in disdain before you start but once they get in the spirit of all the off-key singing it will be tons of fun. In fact, they will be the first to suggest another trip and sing-a-long once you’ve returned to the sameness of being home with digital friends.
Find a Site with Few or No Amenities
If you have any experience camping, find a wild campsite with no amenities except maybe a porta-loo. Some campgrounds have washrooms scattered about even if there is no electric but those are far and few between. Bring charcoal and igniting fluid and also make sure to pack a first aid kit. You don’t know how often a well-intentioned mum or dad has burned a finger trying to get the kindling going for the campfire. Whatever you do on your camping trip, do it as a group. The object for camping is to reconnect with the family you love and haven’t spent much time with. If you can keep everyone engaged, you’ve done your job. If not, it’s back to the drawing board for next time out. It can be done so start planning now.
You’ll never believe how much fun it is being somewhere where there’s no one else but you and yours. This will be the holiday of a lifetime but technology is waiting, so treasure it whilst it lasts.
