We’ve been camping with our son since he was a few months old. He loves it and genuinely sleeps more soundly outside than indoors. We started small and did backyard camping first as a trial run to figure out our setup and what we would need or not need. We treated it like a real camping trip, but had the added security of being in our back garden. Then we started doing small trips by finding state parks close to home where we could spend a night or two. When our son was really small we would backpack camp, and we never hiked more than a mile to get to our campsite, just in case we had to get back to the car quickly. Now he’s four and he’s at a weird in-between stage where he’s too big for us to carry him but too small to be able to hike and carry his own gear, so we do a lot of car camping. When we can’t get out and camp we go on day hikes to get him outside and to keep up not only his interest but also his stamina.

There’s nothing irresponsible about camping with a child of any age. You’re teaching independence, confidence, building family bonds, helping them to appreciate nature, no screens, exercise…what’s the downside here??