“People are generally receptive, but after they've been drinking they forget and get carried away again,” Ms. Dennis says. Scott still slept through the night, for which Ms. Dennis credits the trailer the couple opted for over a tent.
For many parents, camping isn’t an option without the comforts of an RV or trailer.
Dawnn Whittaker, a 35-year-old child sleep trainer in Vancouver, says tents aren’t ideal for very young children, since they don’t properly block light or noise. With an RV, she was able to mimic the nighttime ritual she had at home during a trip this April. She gave her then-four-month-old son Hendrix a bath in the RV’s sink, laid him down to sleep in a bassinette in a room at the quiet end of the vehicle, and switched on a white-noise machine.
Bringing the right gear was the key to keeping things running smoothly, she says.
She packed a stroller that had a bassinette attachment, and also brought along a portable playpen with an attached change table.
Retailers have picked up on the trend of parents bringing their ever-younger spawn on camping trips, and have produced a range of specialty gear.
Mountain Baby, a store in Nelson, B.C., sells infant-sized long johns made from Merino wool, and high chairs that can be clipped to picnic tables.
Parents such as Tracey L’Espérance in Port Coquitlam, B.C., have done short “trial runs” before attempting longer trips.
Instead of taking her eight-month-old daughter Abielle camping on a busy weekend, when provincial parks are overrun with campers, she and her husband headed out this past Monday for a one-night trip.
The couple packed foods that would be easy for Abielle to eat and didn’t require refrigeration, like avocadoes. They skipped canoeing and took a hike, with their daughter fastened into a baby carrier.
“If you overstimulate them, you’re asking for trouble,” Ms. L’Espérance says.
When the couple had to pitch their tent or wash dishes, they strapped Abielle into a Jumperoo – a portable bouncer – so they didn’t have to worry about her wandering away.
At bedtime, Ms. L’Espérance put her daughter in a playpen in the tent. She was asleep within five minutes.
After the trial run, Ms. L’Espérance is confident about longer getaways planned for later this summer. Abielle is a fan of roughing it.
“She loves it. She’ll watch the birds and chipmunks,” Ms. L’Espérance says. “I find for her, too, the fresh air really helps her sleep.”
Clarification: Elizabeth Castro-Giles, quoted in a story on Friday, described the weather at her campsite as cold, not the temperature of the water from the showers.
Editor's note: The name of Tracey L’Espérance's daughter, Abielle, was misspelled in an earlier version of this story that appeared online and in Friday's newspaper. This version has been corrected.
