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Camping with a Child with Special Needs

May 3, 2017 By Leila 16 Comments

If you follow our Facebook page, you know that a couple of weeks ago, we (as a family) took our first camping trip.

It was a lot of fun, but there are some things I learned about camping with a child with special needs.

In fact, I kept a mental list of the things to bring along next time to make the trip more enjoyable for him.

Camping with a Child with Special Needs

A huge thank you to Toyota for letting us borrow the 2017 Toyota Highlander! You can see a full view of specs on the Toyota Highlander here.

Rubber mallet – Blake was obsessed with the hammer from day 1. We used it to hammer in the stakes and he played with it for hours finding things to smash. (Mostly trees.) I would definitely feel more comfortable with a rubber mallet than a hammer next time!

Swiss Army Knife – Clearly, depending on age and maturity. Blake was allowed to “hold” daddy’s pocket knife in his pocket for hours at a time. He agreed to just carry it and not use it, but I think teaching him safety with a smaller, knife would have done him well and allowed him more things to do. There is always a time for teaching and learning and this would have been a prime opportunity.

Books – Blake brought a book, found a spot in the shade between some trees, sat down and read.

Cards – Bring an extra deck of cards for the kids to play while the adults play. Next time, I will bring extra playing cards and extra Uno cards so the kids can play. Plus, Kadenn learned how to shuffle so extra playing cards are definitely a must.

Shovels and Buckets – Blake loved playing with the rake and the shovel, but unfortunately, they were adult shovels and rakes which made for safety concerns. I’m not saying baby or toddler plastic ones, but something a little safer would have put everyone else at ease and allowed for much more free play time for him.

Fire Starter – Blake showed a real interest in being able to start the fire. Under daddy’s supervision, he did get to light a match to throw in the fire, but again – a great opportunity for teaching and learning with a fire starter.

Remote Control Vehicles – Downfall? Batteries. Upside? Entertainment while the batteries last! But, alas, if you only have one or two and several kids (we had 6 kids) there will be bickering.

Blank paper and coloring supplies – Coloring books were brought, but they did a lot of “exploring” and I think blank paper would have been more fun for him to make maps to their hideouts and “exploration” areas.

Plastic Eggs – The kids found leftover plastic eggs around our campsite from Easter weekend and had fun hiding them and finding them again. This would have made for endless fun if we had more!

Treasure Map – If you are familiar with your campsite prior to going, make a treasure map (or a few) for them to follow. Teach them how to use a compass and bring one with and let them follow your treasure map or let them make their own once they get up there!

Fishing Poles – We took them fishing at the lake which he loved but you know what really provided endless hours of fun with no bickering? Practicing their casting!

Some of our crew hadn’t been fishing and they really need to work on their casting. The dads took off the hooks, added a weight at the end, found some clearing, and let the kids practice their casting.

We didn’t have to worry about losing lures. We didn’t have to worry about anyone getting hooked. It literally provided hours of entertainment. (The repetitiveness of casting, reeling, casting gave them plenty of entertainment!)

Outdoor Games – We brought the velcro mits with the velcro tennis ball to play, but I think having more games such as badmitton, or baseballs and gloves would have helped too. Or even boucning balls (like kick balls) would have provided more fun for him too.

Tools – I really think age appropriate tools that are safer than adult tools would have found endless hours of fun for him too. Destruction (of the dead trees, not living ones or trees that had already fallen over) were a big thing that kept him occupied. Having this to allow him to “explore” these fallen and dead trees even more would have definitely provided him learning and entertainment.

(Just a note to add that where we camped, we were off the grid and in an area that had yet to be cleared out by the Forest Service. Many trees were dead and marked for cutting down and there were many fallen trees from the winter season. We showed the kids the difference between a healthy, still growing tree and dead trees and the difference between saplings and things that were okay to tear apart further. We do not encourage destroying Mother Earth just for fun, but when they are dead, already fallen, and ready for cutting; why confine them?)

All in all, we had a great time and Blake did not seem to have as difficult as a time as I thought. It was the first time we had gone camping so I knew it was a learning curve. (And really, surrounding myself with people who understand us and our situation was my biggest takeaway.)

Have you gone camping with your special needs child before? Did I leave something off the list or you have something that you would add? Let me know in the comment! I will be packing these for next time!

More Special Needs Parenting Posts:

Meet My Explosive Child
Seeking Help for our Explosive Child
Our First Visit to the Child Psychologist
Suicide Awareness, Causes, Signs & Prevention

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Filed Under: Blog, Special Needs

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Comments

  1. Shauna says

    May 6, 2017 at 7:10 pm

    Great lost ideas and tips. I admire how you manage and take note on his needs your an awesome Mom!!

    Reply
    • Leila says

      May 6, 2017 at 7:22 pm

      Thank you for such kind words!!

      Reply
  2. Dawn @ Twenty63 says

    May 7, 2017 at 2:25 pm

    Great tips! I’ve never been camping but I think these are great tips for anyone camping with kids. I hope you all had a blast!

    Reply
    • Leila says

      May 7, 2017 at 6:07 pm

      Thank you!! We had a great time and I can’t wait to go again!!

      Reply
  3. Jordan says

    May 7, 2017 at 6:49 pm

    These are some awesome ideas! I love that you are in tune to what would help and be useful next time! We have gone camping a few times, a lot of fun but it can also be a lot of work!

    Reply
    • Leila says

      May 7, 2017 at 7:04 pm

      Thank you! Yes, a LOT of work! I did enjoy a day or two of just nothing which was nice, but dang! Next time, I’m preparing a full week in advance so I can relax prior to, during, and then back to the grind when we get home! LOL

      Reply
  4. Jasmine says

    May 7, 2017 at 7:18 pm

    Great list! It sounds like the kids really enjoyed themselves. Great job to mom and dad! I’m glad you guys had a great time. I’m not a camper type of person but it wouldn’t hurt to try it out.

    Reply
    • Leila says

      May 7, 2017 at 7:48 pm

      It is definitely different! And a HUGE difference is whether there are bathrooms! LOL

      Reply
  5. Natasha | Meldrums On The Move says

    May 8, 2017 at 1:11 am

    This sounds like a really great time. We have considered camping but never done it yet! (we live in Scotland!) I am glad he enjoys reading, I hope my son will be the same when he can read

    Reply
    • Leila says

      May 8, 2017 at 11:14 am

      It really was a ton of fun! I have been lucky that both of my kids love to read. It took them a little bit, but they love reading!

      Reply
  6. Elena says

    May 8, 2017 at 2:51 am

    There are so many things you have to take with you for your kid and you still don`t give up!!! I admire you!

    Reply
    • Leila says

      May 8, 2017 at 11:15 am

      Aw, thank you for the kind words! The entire journey with him has been a journey for sure! 🙂

      Reply
  7. Victoria says

    May 8, 2017 at 3:07 am

    I’m more a hotel than a camper type person, but your lists make it sound so much easier to do….I might start looking at tents!

    Reply
    • Leila says

      May 8, 2017 at 11:15 am

      I don’t know that it’s easier per se… LOL. But it definitely was much more fun. Especially for kids. The freedom and open space. We actually got peace and quiet while they played too!

      Reply
  8. Liz says

    May 8, 2017 at 4:16 am

    This is a great list! I have never been camping before, but it’s nice to have for when we decide to give it a try. It sounds like you guys had a lot of fun!

    Reply
    • Leila says

      May 8, 2017 at 11:15 am

      It was only the 2nd time I had gone tent camping (we used to do pop up camper camping) and the first time as a family. We can’t wait to do it again!

      Reply

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leila@experiencingparenthood.com

An Arizona based mommy of 3 (one with special needs) on a mission to rebuild a village so parents don't feel so alone.

Experiencing Parenthood is your one stop blog for parenting tips, parenting resources, family friendly activities, and local Arizona events for atypical and special needs families.

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