A lot of families today are looking for a way to reconnect with their children. A great way to disconnect from the wear and tear of daily life is to pull up stakes, pack some tents and a cooler and head out camping. The break from electronics and the letting go of pressures to run free in the outdoors is a fantastic gift to give your children, and camping will most likely leave an impression of fond memories with your kids for years to come.
Camping is a simple, natural way of providing this quality time for your children. The fast-paced action of television and the video games that are played for hours at a time are gone, left well behind at home and replaced with the great outdoors, trees and sometimes even a lake or beach. The novelty of having absolute freedom a camping trip provides can often be exhilarating for kids, and more often than not, parents won't hear much complaint as the camping site and its surroundings are scoped out and explored.
Changing environments changes behaviours and you'll probably be surprised to see a different attitude from your children once the camping trip begins. Usually, kids are pretty thrilled to pitch in with daily chores and simple tasks they would have normally turned their noses up at home.
It's amazing how we take things like dishwashers for granted and washing cutlery in a plastic pan with water hauled over in a bucket can become a novel experience for kids. Not only that, they'll be learning that they certainly can make do without most of today's luxuries.
Another thing that's amazing about camping is that you'll find your kids enthusiastic to visit places and scope out attractions. Walks in the woods become amazingly important, and trips to the grocery store a focused affair as kids try to help choose what would be interesting to cook for supper.
Your children will also learn new skills as you model practical independence by building a small campfire at night and make hot chocolate before their very eyes with water heated from hot cinders. They'll be able to discover that not having electrical appliances isn't the end of the world and that bed hair and no makeup is perfectly acceptable attire.
While camping, your children will discover facets of their parents they never knew of, and parents will also see that their children, away from home and in the fresh air and sun of the outdoors, really aren't video-addicted creatures with no more motivation than the newest Xbox game or latest DVD out on store shelves. Camping trips can strip away the craziness of a fast-paced, throwaway society, revealing good natured people enjoying life and each other's company just because they can.
