Camping with Kids: Chaos, Dirt & the Magic of Boyhood

If you had asked me a few years ago what camping meant to me, I would have painted you a picture of slow mornings with a coffee in hand, reading a book by the fire, taking midday naps in a shade, and sharing quiet moments under the stars.

Little explorers eagerly prepare to splash in a secluded creek found in the bush.

Fast forward to now: camping with a two-year-old and a one-year-old while heavily pregnant and let’s just say, the vibes have changed. Dramatically.

There was no book reading. There was no peaceful coffee sipping. There was no slow, easy rhythm to the day. What there was, however, was dirt-covered children, frantic calls of “No! Not that rock! That one’s in the fire!” and the constant task of redirecting tiny humans away from potential death traps like spider-infested holes or embers still glowing from last night’s fire.

And honestly? It was better and harder than I expected.

Camping… But With a Safety Net

We made the (wise) decision to camp on a family property rather than heading into the middle of nowhere. Why? Because when you’re camping with tiny humans, a backup plan is your best friend. If the night turned into a screaming marathon, if someone fell sick, or if I simply reached the end of my heavily pregnant rope, there was a house with running water and all the essentials nearby.

That being said, we fully committed to the camping experience. We slept outside, cooked over the fire, and let the boys run wild in the dirt. And despite the inevitable chaos, it was one of the best things we’ve done as a family.

The Reality of Camping with Kids

Let’s be real, this was not a relaxing trip. It was an exercise in patience, flexibility, and survival.

• Routines? Thrown out the window. Bedtime? Whenever they finally crashed. Meals? Whatever they would eat while running past the campfire.

• Comfort? Who needs that? I was a wheezing mess, waddling around with my pregnant belly, trying to keep up with two little boys who had zero concept of danger.

• Constant supervision? A must. One second they were playing in the dirt, the next they were eyeing off a suspicious-looking hole where there could (read: probably) be a snake.

• Relaxation? Ha. The only thing that slowed me down was the sheer exhaustion of chasing small, fearless humans through the bush.

And yet, through all of it, I found myself watching them with a sense of awe. They were in their element: dirty, happy, and free.

Let Boys Be Boys

I’m a big believer in letting boys be boys, not in the outdated, toxic way, but in the sense of giving them space to be wild, curious, and adventurous.

There is something incredibly important about letting kids experience real childhood. Not the sanitised, perfectly curated, indoor kind, but the kind where they:

✔ Collect sticks and leaves and call it “firewood”

✔ Learn how to help set up a tent (or at least try)

✔ Test their strength carrying logs that are far too big for them

✔ Chase bugs, get dirty, and climb things they probably shouldn’t

These are the experiences that shape them. This is how they learn responsibility, teamwork, problem-solving, and resilience.

Could they have done these things at home? Maybe. But there’s something about being outside, about being disconnected from screens, from constant parental hovering, from the predictable routines of home, that lets kids really thrive.

The Daunting Side of Family Adventures

I won’t sugarcoat it, camping with kids (especially young ones) is daunting. There were moments I questioned why we even bothered. Wouldn’t it have been easier to just stay home? To keep them in their nice, safe, predictable environment where we could control things better?

Of course.

But easy isn’t always what’s best.

When we take our kids on these little adventures, we’re giving them something far more valuable than convenience. We’re giving them memories. We’re giving them skills. We’re giving them a childhood worth remembering.

Because one day, they won’t remember that we were tired or that we had to say “No, don’t touch that!” 147 times an hour. They’ll remember:

✨ The crackling sound of the fire at night

✨ The feeling of cold, wet grass under their feet in the morning

✨ The excitement of sleeping in a tent under the stars

✨ The independence of gathering sticks and pretending it was their fire to build

This Is Their Childhood

It’s easy to get caught up in the exhaustion of it all. The mess, the effort, the constant need to be “on.” But sometimes we need to zoom out. This is their childhood.

The way we show up for them now, the experiences we give them, the sense of wonder we nurture, these are the foundations of the people they will become.

So yes, camping with kids is not a holiday in the traditional sense. It’s not easy. It’s not always fun in the moment. But it is worth it. Because we’re not just making memories, we’re making capable, brilliant little humans.

And if that means I have to spend a weekend as a dirt-covered, heavily pregnant referee of small, adventurous boys, then so be it.

Would I do it again?

Absolutely.

Would I do it next weekend?

… Let’s not get carried away.