Camping and Glamping with Toddlers: A Starter Checklist

Camping with a toddler can be one of the best holidays a small child has: outdoors all day, puddles, sticks and stars. This guide covers camping versus glamping, choosing a site, sleep in a tent, keeping warm safely, ticks, sun, water and fire, with a printable checklist.

Last reviewed: October 2026. Safety advice comes from the NHS, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and The Lullaby Trust.

Camping with a toddler can sound like a recipe for no sleep and a lot of mud. Done right, it’s one of the best holidays a small child can have: outdoors all day, puddles, sticks, stars and a tent that feels like an adventure. The trick is to start small, choose a site that makes life easy, and plan sleep and safety before anything else. Glamping, with a ready-made bell tent, pod or cabin, is a gentle way to try it first. This guide covers both, with a printable checklist.

Camping or glamping?

Sleep in a tent

Sleep is the make-or-break part of camping with a toddler. A few things help:

• A travel cot in the tent if your toddler still sleeps in a cot, or a familiar sleeping bag on a mat between the adults.
• Safe sleep for babies: The Lullaby Trust says a travel cot is an ideal sleep space when away from home, with a firm, flat mattress and no extra padding such as folded blankets underneath. Babies shouldn’t sleep on air beds or in adult sleeping bags.
• Layers, not a duvet: nights can be cold, even in summer. Dress your toddler in layers and use a sleeping bag suitable for the temperature.
• Darkness and light: early sunrise wakes children in a thin tent. A darker “blackout” tent or an eye mask for older children can help; a small torch or nightlight helps with night-time wake-ups.
• Same routine as home: story, comfort toy, the same song.
• Expect a late bedtime on the first night. Everything is exciting.

Keeping warm safely

The CDC says fuel-burning equipment such as gas stoves, heaters, lanterns and charcoal grills should not be used inside a tent, camper or other enclosed shelter, because carbon monoxide can build up to dangerous levels. Fire services also warn that opening the tent door doesn’t make it safe, and that barbecues keep giving off fumes for hours after cooking. Sleeping people may not notice the early symptoms.

Instead, the CDC suggests extra bedding and clothing. In practice:

• Warm sleeping bags rated for the night temperature
• An insulated mat under every sleeping bag (cold comes from the ground)
• Hats and socks for the night
• A hot water bottle for adults’ sleeping bags, kept away from small children
• An electric heater only if the site has hook-up and the heater is designed for tents; follow the site’s rules

Ticks, sun and bugs

Ticks

Ticks live in grass and woodland and can spread Lyme disease. The NHS advises regularly checking for ticks on clothes and skin, and on children and pets, after being outdoors, as tick bites are not always painful. To remove a tick, it says to use fine-tipped tweezers or a tick-removal tool, grasp it as close to the skin as possible and slowly pull upwards without squeezing or crushing it, then clean the bite. See a doctor if a rash appears or your child becomes unwell.

Sun

The NHS advises shade between 11am and 3pm, covering up, and sunscreen of at least SPF 30 with 4-star UVA protection. Babies under 6 months should be kept out of direct sun.

Insects

Long sleeves at dusk, a net over the travel cot if midges or mosquitoes are a problem, and an insect repellent suitable for your child’s age. Check the label for the minimum age.

Print this checklist

Printable checklist

Use your browser’s print button to print this list.

Sleep

• ☐ Tent (practise pitching at home) or glamping booking
• ☐ Travel cot or toddler sleeping bag
• ☐ Insulated mats
• ☐ Warm sleeping bags for adults
• ☐ Layers, hats and socks for night
• ☐ Comfort toy
• ☐ Torch or nightlight

Clothes

• ☐ Waterproof all-in-one or rain suit
• ☐ Wellies and a second pair of shoes
• ☐ Fleece and warm layers
• ☐ Sun hat and long sleeves
• ☐ Lots of spare socks and trousers

Kitchen and food

• ☐ Stove for outside use only, and fuel
• ☐ Cool box
• ☐ Easy toddler food and snacks
• ☐ Cups, bowls, cutlery, washing-up kit
• ☐ Booster or portable high chair

Health and safety

• ☐ First aid kit with tick remover
• ☐ Sunscreen SPF 30+
• ☐ Insect repellent suitable for your child’s age
• ☐ Children’s paracetamol or ibuprofen
• ☐ Any prescribed medicines
• ☐ Bright markers for guy ropes

Fun

• ☐ Bucket and spade, ball
• ☐ Torch of their own
• ☐ Books for bedtime
• ☐ Magnifying glass or bug pot

Hygiene

• ☐ Wipes and nappies or potty
• ☐ Travel potty for night-time
• ☐ Towels and wash bag
• ☐ Bin bags and a wet bag

Shopping by category

These Amazon searches cover the main kit: family tents, toddler camping sleeping bags, insulated sleeping mats, tick removal tools and kids’ rain suits. We haven’t tested these products and don’t rank them.

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Next steps

Thinking about a campervan instead? Read our campervan holiday with kids guide. For days outdoors with animals, see where to see wildlife with kids.