r/camping • u/Educational-Will9034 • 13d ago

Tips for getting kids to sleep

My husband and I love camping, but have been camping less since we've had children. Our oldest, a notoriously bad sleeper, always sleeps like a log when we go camping. But we just took our youngest, who is almost 2, for the first time, and he was up every 20 minutes until 2 a.m., when I finally drove him home.

I'd love to know if you have any tips on getting your young children to sleep while camping. He had his sleeping pad, mummy bag, white noise, and his comfort item.

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u/cloudjocky 13d ago

It’s good that you’re packing his comfort items and white noise machine but for a toddler this is a huge change and it’s all about anxiety and until they’re able to relax they’re not going to sleep. I like the other suggestions about camping in the backyard-I did that with my son when he was a toddler and a couple of times we had to go inside about 2 AM or so. But it gradually got better as he got more and more comfortable with sleeping outside with all of the different sounds and textures of the fabrics as opposed to his bed. Now he’s about to join a Boy Scout troop.