Camping – Yea or Nay?

We were just setting up camp and the trees provided some protection from the wind huffing off the mountain. It was our first time camping out with children. My husband and I spent many weekends in the rough, hiking, swimming in icy lakes and enjoying nature. We wanted our children to grow up respecting nature’s gifts as well, and thought camping was a perfect solution.

We had just set up the tent when the boys went down to the water. Throwing rocks was great fun they thought until one of the jetted stones landed on the other’s head. I still have a photo of him with a baggie of ice on his head and a red face.

Later that afternoon, he decided fishing would be a great idea. Unfortunately casting, reeling in quickly because of his impatient nature, never yielded a fish. His older brother did catch one and holding it up, hooked on the line, got teary eyed at the thought of killing it, and released the fish back to the stream. My husband did have an odd way of killing a caught fish. While I grew up seeing my dad just break the fish’s neck, which is cruel I admit, but at least it’s quick. My husband grew up with his dad whacking the caught fish on a rock till it died. Returning the fish to the stream was a great relief to us all.

My middle son suddenly seemed accident prone. At our campfire that night, we were roasting marshmallows with sticks “the men” hewed. Nature called and he set his stick down and went for a stroll. It was dark and when he came back he picked up the wrong end of the stick and burned his hand. All night beside his sleeping bag he had his hand in a dish of cold water.

I would say the adventure of camping never appealed to him after that. Nature is beautiful, having trees protect and watch over you, but also dangerous and harmful to the unschooled. To my son, it is better viewed in photos.

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