Tips & Guide - My Family Tent

5 Sleeping Tips for Camping

My Family Tent Tips & Guide Mar, 2023Mar, 2023sleep, tips 0 Comment

A good nights sleep while camping allows you to wake up in the morning, feeling fresh and ready for all the fun to come and all the parenting joy camping brings! But getting a good nights sleep can be challenging when camping. Here are our top 5 sleeping tips for camping to get your cosy and enjoy your night.

1. Choose the right tent size

Tent size is the first and foremost element when it comes to comfort in camping sleep. Sleeping side by side with your family will be more enjoyable if you can turn around without nudging each other.

Your tent should be large enough to fit one more person than you have(ie. a family of 4 would be more comfortable in a 5 person tent, especially as children grow bigger!).

Also, a tent that is too small can come with bad ventilation, which equals condensation, discomfort and disturbed camping sleep. And do not forget all your stuff such as bags and shoes. They need some space, too. So consider a slightly larger tent or one with additional space or area. Side mesh side storage pockets to stash small items are a great feature to look for in your tent.

Ideally, your tent should come with good insect screens and built-in sheet underneath to keep insects from invading your tent and bothering you when you are trying to fall asleep.

Pay attention to the number of windows and doors too. They really help out with the ventilation inside the tent and help you sleep better.

2. Choose the right place to pitch your tent

Location, location, location. Places with a beautiful view such as a trickling stream or lake certainly are lovely. However, they are also very humid and insects tend to gather there a lot. The relaxing, trickling sound could also be very annoying at night and disturb your camping sleep.

Try to pitch your tent on level ground for a comfortable sleep. If that’s not possible, make sure your head is pointed up-hill to avoid an uncomfortable headache all night.

3. Bring Earplugs for your best camping sleep!

Earplugs are a godsend if you are a light sleeper. We love earplugs that block out just enough ambient noise such as wind or waves, but you can still hear people talking (such as your child needing you in the middle of the night). These earplugs are tried and tested and provide just the right level of noise canceling whilst still being soft for side-sleeping.

4. Choose your sleeping mat and bedding carefully

The right sleeping mat or mattress should be comfortable for you and keep you warm through the night. This is a very personal choice and something that will be very different for an adult compared to a child. Of course your budget will often dictate some of your choices on bedding, so do the best for your budget and research well. Read reviews and ask your friends about their experiences.

If you are camping in both summer and winter, but can only afford one sleeping bag, treat yourself to a cozy sleeping bag and adjust your clothing when the weather is warmer. It’s much easier to throw off layers when it is warm than to try to get warm with an inadequate sleeping bag on a cold night!

5. Full Bellys and Empty Bladders!

There’s nothing that will kill your nights sleep quicker than a midnight run with a kid to do a wee! So, make sure everyone has a visit to the toilet before bed and their tummies are full of food too! Having water bottles handy for night time thirsts are also a great idea.

Happy Sleeping!

How to Pitch a Tent on the Beach

My Family Tent Tips & Guide Feb, 2022Mar, 2023 0 Comment

blue tent by the sea in Alghero Sardinia

It is summer and you, together with the whole family, have planned on spending days and maybe nights on the beach with a tent, and now you’re right there, asking yourself how you can possibly set your tent up. When camping, one will need to know all about tents and ways to keep it warm, especially on the beach where the brutal summer heat and warm beach wind transform to a really cool breeze at night. Tent camps on the beach sound exciting, but it can be kind of distressing, too. Still, they can be a great experience of a lifetime.

Tents can easily be set up anywhere, but not too easy on the beach. You see, the beach is a sea of sand and as many of you may know, tents stand with the help of solid, hard ground. Sand, on the other hand, is fine and smooth, making it hard to be used as the foundation of tents. Fortunately, that problem can be the solution. You can use the sand to your advantage.

Use sandbags

First off, you need to decide which spot of the beach you want your tent to be situated. Now, get your shovel and dig a hole about two to three feet away from each post of your tent. In this method, the space between the tent posts and the dug holes are important, so make sure to make your measurements accurate.

Put the dug sand inside small plastic trash bags or any kind of bags available. You may also need to put more sand inside the bags as you fill them up. Also, make as much sandbags as you can as you might need more of them later. Then, tie each sandbag to each Guy Line Attachment, the rope attachments on the sides of the tent.

Use rocks

Some use rocks instead of sandbags. They wrap and tie each guy line attachment around big, heavy rocks found on the beach. They are a lot heavier than sandbags and can hold tents down pretty well, too. The sandbag method, however, is more commonly used as it is a lot easier and doesn’t require too much strength, especially when it comes to putting down the tent. But either way, sandbags, and rocks can both effectively hold down your tent. Just make sure you set them up well.

Bury the sandbags

After tying the bags to the guy lines of your tent, bury them to the hole that you dug earlier. Put some sand to fill the rest of the space in the hole. Push the sandbag and more sand if you have to. You can also add heavy rocks on top of the holes. Make sure the sandbags are tightly buried on the ground. It will help hold your tent down even with the strong wind on the beach. If you’ve got a Rain Fly, tie it down, as well.

Adjust the tightness

You can also adjust the tightness of your tent set up in this method. Simply put more sand to the sandbags to do so. The wind on the beach can be kind of strong. For more security and stability, put those sandbags you’ve made a while ago on the outlines of your tent. The bags will help weigh the tent down. The more bags you add, the stronger the hold of your tent will get.

Add water

What you need on a beach camp are all on the beach! Beach winds are supposed to be relaxing, not devastating. In times when strong winds get a little bit tougher though, you’ll need more than just sand. You’ll need water, too. Grab a bucket, fill it with water, and put just a little amount of water to the sand inside the bags. Also, put water in the holes where the sandbags are buried. The water will make the sandbags heavier and will, therefore, hold your tent better.