Is It Rude to Camp with a Baby?

No, it is not crazy to go camping with a baby.  However, whether it is rude to camp with a baby is debatable.  On one hand, parents deserve to go camping and there are some benefits for the baby too.  On the other hand, parents know that their baby – who will presumably cry for at least part of the night – could disturb other people who are trying to relax and enjoy their vacation.

Yes, People Will Be Annoyed

There are plenty of wonderful people who empathize with parents and won’t be bothered by a crying baby.  As one camper said, “The only noise that your neighbors will be bothered about will be inconsiderate noise, not noise that can’t be helped.”

But let’s be real here.  Not everyone loves babies.  And, while they might not complain about it to you, no one wants to camp next to a screaming baby.

Reddit threads are full of people complaining about how babies ruined their camping trip.

Here are just some of the comments:

“It infuriates me when people bring babies or really young children tent camping. That is just a horrible experience for the kids! Their sleep will get disrupted and then everyone else surrounding the area they’re camping in will be miserable too.”

“It’s a dick move to bring babies to places they’re going to interfere with other peoples relaxation. We’re talking about an infant. Infants cry. Loudly. Dont bring them to places where a quiet environment is part of the experience. It’s not fair to ANYONE involved and completely lacking in social awareness. How is this not common sense?”

How Much Do You Care about Annoying Other Campers?

If you are really worried about your baby crying and bothering the other campers, then campground camping with your baby isn’t the smartest idea.

You will get stressed each time your baby cries.  Your baby will then pick up on the stress, causing the crying to get worse.

Instead, you might try dispersed (wild) camping with your baby instead.  If there is no one around, then there is no one to bother.   This is what I did when my daughter was a baby.

Admittedly, wild camping with a baby can be tricky.  There’s no running water, toilets or trash cans for all those poopy diapers.  So I understand why many parents choose to stay at campgrounds instead. (For advice, read this guide to camping with a baby)

To Minimize Annoyance

If you are camping at a campground, at the very least:

• Choose a family-friendly campground: There will be other parents (and probably babies) so they will understand your plight.
• Avoid busy times: It’s generally not smart to take a baby camping on the busiest camping days of the year. There are too many people who will not be understanding (even when they are the ones annoyingly drunk or playing loud music).
• Request an isolated camp site: Tell the campground you have a baby and ask if you can get the most isolated camp site. They might even put you next to another family.
• Get your sleep setup right: The faster you can get your baby back in bed, the faster she will stop crying. You’ll need a baby sleeping bag which zips open from the bottom for diaper changes and don’t even bother trying to co-sleep!

Campgrounds Are Noisy Places

Even though I have two kids, I don’t like babies (yep, I’m admitting it).  It drives me crazy when people bring their babies to places which aren’t really meant for babies.  I’m talking about cafes (where I am sitting to get some quiet away from my kids!), fancy restaurants, movie theaters and even bars.

But campgrounds are different.   They are notoriously family-friendly places.  And let’s not forget about all the other obnoxious things campers do.

If someone doesn’t want to camp around crying babies, you can argue that they should be the ones to camp somewhere else.   Instead of letting their camping trip get “ruined” by your baby, they can be the ones to go backpacking or wild camping instead.

As one Redditor said,

“I’ve had people arriving late/leaving early (and some doing so at a time I’m not sure if it was late or early). Generators running all night. People making lots of noise while cooking late into the night. Moaners and screamers. Youth groups. I find all of those just as irritating as a crying baby, but they are all part of choosing to camp in a public place. Of the bunch, the crying baby is the only one that people are going to be actively working to quiet down.”

Let’s Assume that You Aren’t an A-Hole…

Parenting is hard and exhausting.  So, it’s easy for parents to forget how annoying their kids are for other people.

But let’s assume you haven’t forgotten this.

Let’s also assume that you aren’t one of the parents with an “Instagram-filtered fantasy of what camping with their baby is like and love the idea of being The Most Adorable Young Family Ever posting flattering pictures.”

In that case, it is NOT rude to take your baby camping.  You just need to be considerate and prepared.

Apologize to the Neighbors

For starters, apologize in advance to the neighbors for any crying or disturbances.   They will be less annoyed if they know you aren’t acting like an entitled parent who doesn’t care about the disturbance your baby causes.

Of course the neighbors will say they don’t mind.  As one camping parent said,

“I used to apologize to my neighbors about my baby crying in the night. They used to tell me they didn’t hear a sound so no problem. It made me feel far more relaxed and less stressed at 3am trying to sooth the baby back to sleep (which helps sooth the baby as well because they will pick up on stressed parents). In hindsight there is no way my neighbors couldn’t hear, the walls just aren’t that thick! Bless them and their tolerance. Helped a lot more than they probably know.”

However, you still might want pack a “goody bag” with some snacks and earplugs to hand out to the neighbors. 🙂

Have a Plan to Deal with the Crying

The ways you calm your baby at home might not work when camping.  For example, if you normally walk your baby around to get her back to sleep, you won’t be able to do this in a small tent.   Your plan might involve getting a new tent which you can actually stand up inside.  You’ll also need a dimmable lamp so you don’t trip and fall while carrying the baby in a messy tent.

Plan ahead about how you will do diaper changes (get a proper baby sleeping bag which can be opened from the bottom), feedings, and other baby tasks while in the tent at night.  It takes some practice but isn’t nearly as difficult as you might think.

Oh, and if you’ve never gone camping before, it’s probably not the smartest thing to try it for the first time with a baby!

For more, read: How to Sleep in a Tent with a Baby

Sources:
https://www.reddit.com/r/camping/comments/b7exmh/unpopular_opinion_please_dont_go_tent_camping/
https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/mr8k14/wibta_if_i_told_the_people_with_the_loud/
https://www.reddit.com/r/camping/comments/2z0i72/camping_with_a_baby/
https://www.reddit.com/r/childfree/comments/f23pru/campsite_babies/
https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/mr8k14/wibta_if_i_told_the_people_with_the_loud/
https://www.reddit.com/r/childfree/comments/mgarnn/newborn_ruined_my_perfect_camping_experience/
https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/mr8k14/wibta_if_i_told_the_people_with_the_loud/
https://www.reddit.com/r/camping/comments/3bru5m/camping_with_baby_how_to_handle_crying/
https://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/parenting/1803745-Camping-and-baby-crying-in-the-night
Image credit: “2017 Think Outside Photo Contest entry” (CC BY 2.0) by vastateparksstaff