Most children love camping, caravanning, motorhoming, or anything to do with staying outdoors. The sense of normal rules being suspended and lots of time spend in the outdoors as a family make for a perfect holiday for kids. Sometimes, however, they need persuading that going out in the caravan for the first time ever, or the first time after a long break, is going to be fun. Here are some tips for kindling their enthusiasm.

Grumpy looking child

• First off, make sure that all the basics are right – that they are not going to be cold or wet or hungry – a bad experience can put children off for years. Always take at least three times the number of children’s clothes you think you’ll need, assume it’ll be colder than you think, and always carry treat size chocolate bars about your person.
• Consider the needs of the whole family when you’re selecting a campsite. Children need quiet in the evenings, and many caravan parks have a children’s play area, or other attractions they may be interested in, such as a duck pond or woodland.
• Think about letting your children plan the whole holiday under supervision. If you’re not fussy about where you’re going or what you’re doing, this can be an excellent way to get kids involved and have a holiday in an area you’ve never even considered. For older children you could go more in depth and get a lot of educational value out of this – ask them to plan the route, work out the budget, plan the budget and use the internet to research local attractions and learn about their history.
• If all else fails, harness the power of Roald Dahl. He wrote his books in a caravan, which you can go and visit at his house, now a charming museum (http://www.roalddahlmuseum.org/). There is also a Roald Dahl book about a boy and his father who live together in a caravan – Danny the Champion of the World. A read of that to a young child will have them desperate to get in the caravan again!

Enjoying a caravan or motorhome trip as a family can be a real joy, and produce memories that you will all cherish forever. However, it is even more important than usual that you make sure your Caravan Insurance is up to date before you head out – children are lovely, but can produce more accidents than usual…