7 and a half and 6 year old on camp site play area

[klmwong]

Hello,

This is in connection with my last post saying I had booked my first overnight trip with the 3 young uns. We are staying on a caravan club site and I am intending to choose a pitch where I can see the play area. Because I have an 8m old baby I am sure there will be times when I will be in the bongo with the baby such as nap time, nappy changing and so on. Do you think the big two are old enough to go and play in the play area by themselves if I stay in the bongo? I admit that this makes me feel very uneasy and if there was another adult with me I would go with them and hang around in the background when they made friends - hopefully. Of course I will tell them not to go off with anyone or accept food from anyone and so on and it does help that there are two of them because they will stick together and they are both very sensible. What do you think?

[Northern Bongolow]

you know your kids best.
but in our case (3 not so young ones now) if you go with the club to meets all the parents know all the kids and there are always a few adults keeping their eye on the littler ones, once your kids find friends within the club you will never see them, even at meal times they eat where they play.

[winchman]

I find that the general campsite culture is to all look out for each others kids, ask the site to be placed near to the kids play area, I am sure other parents will keep an eye out when you need to change nappies etc.
If you have trouble setting up etc just ask as most people are happy to help.
Dont forget Calpol and first aid kit.
Remember ask any adult whats the best fun when you were small and often the answers camping.

[Nogob]

I guess you'll take your own view when you get there but suspect you'll be okay.

My own children enjoy an enormous amount of freedom at the place we visit each year but we've built up a lot of confidence. That said, I've spent many an hour as the only adult in a playground of 4 year olds!

One thing you could do is get yourself some cheap walkie talkies from Asda or similar. Don't need anything too high powered for a camp-site (think we paid about £12 years ago) the children are more than happy to use them and you have the reassurance of knowing they can contact you and you can check up on them.

[winchman]

One thing you could do is get yourself some cheap walkie talkies from Asda or similar. Don't need anything too high powered for a camp-site (think we paid about £12 years ago) the children are more than happy to use them and you have the reassurance of knowing they can contact you and you can check up on them.

Now thats a good idea, will still use a set now as many more remote places have no mobile coverage

[Alison01326]

I'll second all of the above. Our walkie talkies (the cheap Asda ones) have a call button and if I want the boy back, I will just "page" him and he might actually decide to return if he isn't too busy!!

Isaac is now six, and we've been camping with him since he was three. He's rather free range and does his own thing unless he is tied down (as many folk we have met on Bongo meets in particular will testify). We have a few simple rules about not going out of plain sight, the most important being don't go into anyone's Bongo, tent, awning or caravan without coming to get me first so that I can check out the parents and don't go up to the toilet block without letting me know!! I also impress on him about roads and traffic because hardly anyone observes the 5mph speed limit.

Most children are magnets for other children and it won't be long before you've made some new adult friends yourself and child watching can be shared between you. The children all tend to look after each other anyway and if you are all clear that know where everyone is located on site, and there's a problem (ie one of your children falls over) it's usually another child who will come over and fetch you.

That's my experience, anyway.

[g8dhe]

Something like these are good http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_ ... 1335608803

[winchman]

Just put a cheap but good set of walki takies in the sales section
http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... ce#p550494

[alan]

we fould these walki takies good idea when our to where younger it did give us pace of mine.
but kids being kids always seem to make friends when on a campsite and end up in each other units b ut ours where mayed to tell us befor there did but with yours being a bit diffent type of unit you most liky to get the kids coming over to you lol think there see the other going up in the roof and think that look like a good den

We have been on a site where we ended up with them line up out side with one mine showing them how to get up and the other making sure not to many where up there at once

[Matt&JoyBongling]

Our boy was running about sites on his own when he was 5. Same rules as listed above. He always carried at radio similar to this

• http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cobra-MT600-Wal ... 54&sr=1-10

which was great for calling him back for food and checking he was OK. We used them as baby monitors in the evening as well. The headsets made life easier as well so we could monitor the noise in our bongo while sitting in the awning of neighbours etc. The advertised ranges are fantasy but get ones with the largest range you can afford and make sure you can use AAA or AA batteries if the rechargeable pack runs out.