The pea pod was a crucial piece of gear when we went camping, perfect for naps or sleeping at night.
A peapod became our number one secret to camping when our kids were toddlers. This small, tiny tent is perfect for sleeping at night or napping during the day.
Strangely, I can’t recall the first time camping with our kids when they were young. I do remember one week long trip in Colorado to the Collegiate Peaks camping with our daughter when she was about one. That trip was so incredible and showed me that we can still have tons of fun camping and hiking with our kids. It just meant that we needed to alter our plans a little bit and make sure that we had the proper gear, including the peapod.
Camping With Toddlers – Fun Work
Having a toddler is a fun, but very hands on time. They are so busy and can get into a lot of stuff. Before taking our toddler camping I was a bit worried about how much stuff we would need to take and what we could actually do.
I was so happy when we finally did it though because it turned out camping with toddlers isn’t that much different than being at home with a toddler. Having a toddler is a lot of work no matter where you are. I figured we might as well do it in some beautiful spot in the mountains than to be inside our house or backyard all the time.
When we went camping there were two of us, so one of us could hang out with the toddler while the other adult did something else. Maybe they went for a walk, prepared dinner, or set up the tent. It turned out to be super fun.
Our Number One Trick To Camping With Toddlers – The Peapod
The best investment or trick that we found to make camping with a toddler easier was something to help them sleep at night.
The first time we went camping we brought along a pack and play, portable crib. That worked, but it took up a lot of space in the tent, and it was still open at the top so it got cold.
Camping with a one year old in Colorado was new for us, but a lot of fun.
I don’t remember how we found a peapod, but I’m glad we did. We first used it on that trip in the Collegiate Peaks in Colorado.
The peapod is a tiny, pop up tent that is the perfect size for a toddler. It packs down into a small case that can easily be stored and shoved into the trunk when packing for a trip. It has a nice pad on the bottom and mesh windows for air flow and so you can see inside of it.
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We would put it inside of our tent and then when it was night time we would place our toddler inside of it to sleep. It has a zipper door, just like a tent. When they were very young they couldn’t unzip the door so they were safe in there all night long, which meant you could all sleep better. However, as they got older they figured out how to open that door…
We would put a blanket inside it for them to sleep with and cover them up. If it was really cold we would drape another blanket over the top of it. Some nights we would be a bit cold, but she was always toasty inside her peapod.
Great At Night And During The Day
We found out that our toddler would use the peapod during the day also. At that age kids need to take a nap and that can be hard if you are camping. This little tent was perfect as we could take it wherever and pop it open for her to nap in.
I remember spending a few hours at a lake one day. She took a nap in the peapod and I spent the time fishing while my wife read a book next to our toddler. it was pretty great.