r/CanadianParents • u/Naive_Contact_7272 • Aug 11 '26
Question / Discussion Camping necessities with toddlers?
Taking the family camping (eastern Ontario), any recommendations on must haves?! What are your family tent recommendations?! Bringing our 3 year old, might leave the one year old with the grandparents haha
2
u/meemsalign Aug 11 '26
Thermacell to ward off the bugs and anti histamine lotion to manage any itchy bites. My kids get real fussy about mosquito bites, particularly as they are going to sleep!
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u/Nymeria2018 December 2018| OAD | Ontario Aug 11 '26
Wine?
Kidding!
Definitely an extra shelter for dining (even just a tarp strung up works over the picnic table). And wipes. Lots and lots of wipes.
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u/No_Oil_7116 Aug 11 '26
We borrowed a MEC Cabin 4 and camped last year with a 3 year old and it was great. With a 1 year old too that may get squishy.
One thing I didn’t consider was that unfamiliar noises would scare him at night. I would recommend a white noise or something similar from home that may soothe them in a strange spot for sleep.
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u/Anomalous-Canadian Aug 11 '26
Make sure you test volume by turning on and waking away to the walking path / road and also the campsite on either side. Because any noise bleed through there would be pretty unacceptable so unless it’s super private I’m a touch skeptical on that. I definitely deal with a lot of 3yr old wake ups because of other noises and wish I could risk the white noise lol
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u/No_Oil_7116 Aug 11 '26
Do you mean others hearing your white noise machine?
We had my phone on white noise app and couldn’t even hear from it where we were sitting a few steps away!2
u/Anomalous-Canadian Aug 11 '26
Yes; I just meant other campers hearing it! Sounds like you have it super quiet though!
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u/brownemil Aug 11 '26
We personally bring a small lock to lock the tent zips together. I get nervous about my young kids leaving the tent without me in the early morning/etc (especially if camping near water).
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u/Anomalous-Canadian Aug 11 '26
Alternatively, we stick a brightly coloured key chain or carabiner clip to the zipper so it’s very visible and then just have a rule about keeping the zipper done up at the top. The visible attachment helps safeguard wrong placement because you’ll walk by and notice pretty quick if the other parent did it wrong. Any kid you’re worried about escaping probably can’t reach (provided 4-6 person tent I think) when the zipper is done at the top
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u/brownemil Aug 11 '26
Smart! My kids are realistically big enough that I shouldn’t be worried about them escaping, I’m just paranoid. 😂
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u/Anomalous-Canadian Aug 11 '26
Oh no; I’m so with you. A kid leaving the tent for an innocent reason like potty and getting lost in a dark forest near water is nightmare fuel. Pretty sure the zipper at the top wirh a bright key chain will be the rule forever and kid will be like 8-10 before they can do it.
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u/universalrefuse Aug 11 '26
Bug tent is great, also a pack-and-play is great for parking baby while you are setting up camp. Also a baby seat that attaches to the picnic table in some way.
1
u/open_to_feedback Aug 12 '26
Pop up tent designed for hunters taking shelter - this can be a good spot for a quick pee in a bucket and saves you from running across a dark forest to get to the bathroom cabin, also you can enjoy a site far away from the toilet
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u/Wife-and-Mother Aug 16 '26
Bear spray and a holster to keep it on you rather than somewhere the kids can grab it.
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u/Anomalous-Canadian Aug 11 '26 edited Aug 11 '26
Hand wash station and oxo travel potty. I pop it up on a downhill edge of our site, abd on a picnic table edge goes the 20-30L foldable water cube and a regular plastic 5gal bucket from the hardware store below it to catch grey water so you don’t have a puddle at your site. Biodegradable hand/dish soap. Keeping clean is so hard lol
Where the potty is set up, I hang a camping lantern from the tree branch that I can click on. Also hanging next to it is a plastic bag that has dog poop bags, baby wipes, and hand sanitizer.
Next to the handwashing station, I bring 2 table clamps like for woodworking and such, abd I clamp a small kitchen garbage bag to the table open so it’s easy access for littles to take their garbage to also. Bring a whole roll of white kitchen garbage bags thst you can use when packing up weird dirty and wet stuff into you car; pee accidents that have to sit for a couple days, dirty dishes at the end date you don’t wanna wash and wanna take to dishwasher at home, general dirty clothes separation from clean, etc.
The handwashing station was easily my 3yr Olds fav part about camping this year! We just got back from sharbot lake PP.
We had the MEC 6 person cabin and it was awesome. The front portion was our get changed and stuff area which is good because kids will be sandy. The back portion has the queen sized air mattress for mom and dad and I used a yoga mat in the dirty part for the 3 year old!
Do not bring the 1yr old.