Camping with your kids is a fun way to create memories together

Camping with kids need not be a wild adventure in the land of inconvenience, where the bathroom has relocated to Narnia.

Go camping during the full moon, and the moon’s surreal glow bathing the landscape will take your breath away.

For Wong Che Wey, 39, his choice was camping under the extra bright moon of the Mid-Autumn Festival recently.

And he added a notch to the difficulty level: he went camping with daughter Kyla, five, and son Kyren, three, without their mummy.

Che Wey and wife Cheng Yee Leng, also 39, are experienced campers, going all the way to backpacking into mountainous jungles back when they were still dating.

When his wife chose to go to the United Kingdom for a holiday with friends during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the idea of having a father-and-kids-only adventure began playing in Che Wey’s mind.

“We go camping as a family regularly. It always goes smoothly. So without Yee Leng, I wanted to see how it would be with just my kids,” he said.

What followed was an eye-opening, insightful pleasure.

Nothing like a hearty meal at camp.

Going camping with young kids is an achievement not all adventuresome parents can get down pat.

The kids can get cranky, sweaty, irritable, have trouble falling asleep, and throw tantrums the size of thunderstorms to leave parents frazzled.

For Che Wey, though, the hard part was over and done years ago.

“We started them early. Kyla was nine months old on her first camping trip. Kyren’s was when he was just four months old. By now, they already know what to expect and are fine with sleeping in the tent,” he said.

Che Wey, a Klang resident who is a technical analyst specialising in lubricants for the automotive industry, said parents wanting to get their kids to embrace camping can reasonably expect it to be tough-going during the first three or four trips.

“There is no right or wrong method, and the beginning of anything will always be the hardest.

“It’s all about adapting, not just for your kids but also for you to adapt to your kids’ needs while camping,” he said.

Kyla waking early and clambering into the camp hammock to watch the sunrise.

Nutritious camp food that kids will eat is a challenge, and Che Wey solved it by letting the kids decide on the meal plans.

Three days before their camping trip, Che Wey took Kyla and Kyren to the supermarket to let them decide what to buy and cook at camp.

Well, Kyla made the decision because Kyren is still at an age when he needs a lot of milk and isn’t picky about food.

“Kyla said she wanted pasta on the first day and fried rice on the second day.

“So I helped by letting Kyla know what she needed to choose – pasta, sausages, other condiments, and so on – and she did the choosing.

“Your kids will remember the items they choose. They become satisfied with their choices, and after the food is cooked, they will eat the food,” said Che Wey.

Of course, they came away from their shopping trip with an ample supply of snacks, cheat meals and comfort food that kids love.

“I let them have these, and I encourage them to happily share them with the kids from the other camps in the campsite.

“Better if they share it with many people so that they won’t eat so much of the stuff,” he said with a laugh, adding that he preferred his kids to munch on dried seaweed.

Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns adorning the entrance of the Wong family camp.

They had their Mid-Autumn camping trip at a managed campsite near Broga, on the border between Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, which has a petting zoo about 500m away.

Che Wey had asked Kyla what she wanted to do at camp, and she mentioned wanting to see animals, especially rabbits, so Che Wey chose this campsite.

“There are quite a few campsites in Malaysia with petting zoos and other attractions suitable for kids. Campsites with clean, shallow rivers are also good for kids.

“You want campsites with chances for activities so that your kids get really active and use all their energy. Then, when it is bedtime, they go to sleep right away,” he smiled.

There are challenges to being the only adult at camp when it comes to the chore of pitching up the camp itself.

Che Wey relied on his experience with the camp tarp to raise it single-handedly and chose a pop-up tent for ease of execution. Kyla unfolded the camp chairs and table and unloaded the camping stuff from the boxes.

Kyren was entrusted with the camp hammer, and his job was to pummel the tent pegs into the ground after Father tied down the camp tarp’s guy lines.

A camp hammer, unlike a hefty carpenter’s hammer, usually weighs less than 300gm; something a three-year-old evidently could wield efficiently.

Kyren hammering a tent peg into the ground.

“I try to get them involved in setting up camp as much as possible,” Che Wey said.

Mosquitoes and other biting insects are part of the package on any camping trip.

Che Wey does not favour spraying mosquito repellent on his children’s skin, so he sprays it instead on the backs of the camp chairs, under the table and on the tent.

He finds it is enough to keep the insects at bay, and for good measure, he brings mosquito patches while camping to stick onto his kids’ clothing.

For the first aid box, lots of plasters for scrapes and scratches are a must, on top of alcohol wipes and a non-alcoholic antiseptic wound spray.

“My son did fall during our Mid-Autumn camping trip and bloodied both his knees.

“You cannot overprotect your kids. Falling and getting scrapes and bruises here and there are part of life.

“When it rains at camp, my kids play in the rain till they get soaking wet and touch wood – they have never fallen sick from that.

“I think if you live your life too prudently in a constantly protected environment, you might find yourself falling sick easily when exposed to the elements,” he opined.

And never forget to pack along the kids’ favourite toys, pillows and blankets because these help the kids find some homeliness at camp, Che Wey said.

Never forget to bring along the kids' favourite toys when camping.

He threw in another activity, knowing the moon would be extra bright, by buying a 400x zoom telescope.

“I bought it for RM250 online. It is really an amateur telescope, and the tripod was such a simple affair that the moon would go out of view if the tripod was disturbed even a little.

“But it worked. You could see the moon so closely that you got goosebumps.

“Other campers entered our camp and asked to see through the scope, and I welcomed them all,” he said.

He tested it at home first, laughed when his mother tried it, and remarked, “I didn’t know the moon’s surface was so rough”.

One of Che Wey’s most memorable insights during their trip was watching his son “grow up”.

Without his wife to mother over their son, Che Wey perceived that Kyren had acquired a greater sense of independence.

“He didn’t keep pleading to be carried, and he walked with us. He tolerated the pain of falling down and other minor inconveniences. When it was time to eat, he ate. When it was time to sleep, he slept. It was as if he became more manly,” Che Wey said with pride.

Camping with the kids is the Wong family’s way of creating memories.

“Kids grow up so fast. After a few more years, they won’t have the time to do it with us. They’ll want to go out with their friends.

“Before that stage comes, I want to create memories with them. In 10 or 20 years, I might need to make an appointment to see my kids,” Che Wey laughed.