Entertaining Kids on a Rainy Camping Day (Camping with Kids)

A 13 foot fiberglass camper gets really small on rainy days. Especially for the 4 of us (plus dogs). So how do we handle it when the walls are closing in and the rain won't stop? Probably the same way you do at home when the kids are on break during cold and rainy seasons. Here's a list of things we typically pack for the kids:

1. Books
2. Coloring books/Crayons
3. Matchbox Cars
4. Compact doll set
5. Games (travel card and board games, battleship anyone?)
6. Leapfrog with games
7. DVD player and Movies.
8. Snacks (when our kids get bored they tend to get hungry, pack some fruit!)
9. Screen room/awning (sometimes you need to get outside...a shelter provides you with some more "room")

A couple of things I'll call out here. We don't really like the kids to just sit around and watch DVDs all day when we're camping. However, they can be a useful tool on a rainy day. We have over-the-seat DVD players that we put in the car only on trips. These can run off 12v/DC or 110v/AC power. Since they are portable, you can move them to the camper. We typically set one up in the lower bunk and let the kids climb in together for movie time. For these reasons, I actually prefer the over-the-seat DVD players to the built-in ones in cars (it's cheaper, easier to replace if they break, since there are two, you can watch the same movie on both or each can watch their own with headsets, and lastly we don't have fights about not turning on the DVD player during normal everyday driving). Oh and the other benefit is Mom and Dad can use them too after the kids go to sleep.

The other thing I'll point out is the screen room. With a small camper like ours, space is a premium. We always carry a screen room and it can provide a nice addition for rainy days. Reading a book in my camp chair while listening to the rain is much preferable to sitting in the camper with everyone packed in like sardines.

Lastly, get out and away from the campground. Tourism can be your friend on a rainy day. Find something fun, entertaining, or educational that's inside to do. Also, even getting out for a meal can help. Depending on the age of your children, you may want to find somewhere with an indoor play-place like a McDonald's or Chick-fil-A. Just be flexible and you can have a lot of fun no matter if it's raining or not!