We’ve been receiving more and more comments lately about kids in campgrounds. Some are complaints: Kids are loud! They run through campsites! Their scooters are annoying! They watch TV outside all the time! And others are complaints about people complaining.
If you had the option, would you choose to stay at a campground that allowed kids or did not allow kids (say 18 and younger)? If you would choose to stay somewhere without kids, would you please leave a comment and explain why? Have you had negative experiences with kids at campgrounds or would you just prefer an adults-only stay for other reasons?
As always, thanks for voting.
I don’t mind kids of any age. What I mind is barking dogs!!
I would just prefer not to be at said campground during school breaks!
Childrens Parents Are The Problem, In Todays Society…
Amen
I’d prefer no 18 year old KIDS
More times than not it isn’t the children that are the biggest bother as long as they have been taught proper campground behavior. In my mind it is a dead even tie between dogs that haven’t been trained to limit unacceptable behavior and the totally discourteous adults’ that don’t give a crap how what they are doing effects those around them. We have all read peoples horror stories so I won’t go into them again.
Bingo, PPPO’s ({bleeped} Pour Pet Owners, 10 times worse than children playing.
The problem is not the kids but the parents or lack of parenting. Growing up, tent camping, we were taught camp ground etiquette. We learned and was disciplined if we didn’t follow the rules.. Seventy years later the rules still apply to my children and grand children. Camping was and still is a family affair.
My two boys and two girls grew up camping and learned to enjoy the out doors. The education offered by the great outdoors is a necessary part of growing up.
I have met grumpy out there, always complaining, even had a few grumpy people end up complimenting me on my children’s demeanor.
No kids because the parents are not responsible enough to keep them under control.
We travel with our 16 year old. Oddly enough, he likes hanging out with us?!?!
So, RV parks that do not accept kids, just will not work for us.
Kids are fine, it’s usually the parents that are the problem
We all went camping whether or not it was in an RV or not. Cachuma Lake was the go to spot for my family. We mostly tent camped but did on occasion have a pop up trailer. I can’t imagine a location where kids were not allowed. How else are you going to get them interested in something healthy and fun like fishing, or exploring a creek, or getting a basic understanding of nature. This world is for everyone to share not just adults.
No, what kind of a world would that be. We were all kids once. We need children in our lives. I don’t think I would like a campground that told me I couldn’t bring my grandkids.
Amen Leslie, It would be a pretty sick world without little kid’s running around!!!
Then you don’t go to that campground. No one is saying kids shouldn’t be allowed at all campgounds, just giving a choice of campgrounds that are for adults only. Why not?
I worked with children for many years of my career- they can be wonderful…but we have stayed at several campgrounds recently where there were packs or roaming children with no supervision- the parents were not giving any guidance for respectful campground behavior. The sounds of screaming & loud music drowned out the sounds of nature well before & after quiet hours. It seems to be the experience at most campgrounds we have visited in the past 2 years even though we make an effort to avoid family oriented campgrounds. Some campgrounds have areas where dogs are not allowed…maybe make a quiet loop- no kids no generators no loud music…be able to enjoy nature if that is why you camp. We are actually looking into buying land for our own RV site because it is getting so hard to find a quiet relaxing camping experience at public campgrounds anymore.
It’s not the kids so much as their parents. After all, the kids might not know that their behavior is rude since their parents never bothered to set boundaries for them. Between that and their sense of entitlement it’s a wonder that today’s parents aren’t pushing for rules requiring others to help spoil their kids.
Right on!
The squeals of delight, peels of laughter, kids running around, riding bikes, playing ball and having a good time. It reminds me that I was a kid once. That noise is part of camping. Sometimes parents need to learn a bit about teaching their kids manners and the unwritten rules of camping. Sometimes it’s up to us seasoned campers to teach a lesson in a positive way.
Aren’t the kids in campgrounds actually parents of kids anymore? Seems like almost everyone is a kid.
We enjoy kids…well behaved kids. My kids wouldn’t walk for a week (yes I’m exaggerating) if they behaved the way many kids in campgrounds do now. We used to camp with young kids and never had an issue but now really prefer older campers. A complication in our lives now is a rescue furkid who is not kid tolerant. Mid teens and up hasn’t been an issue but he is scared spitless (but not bark less) of younger ones. He’s small enough to scoop up and calm but it’s hard on him and us when there’s a lot of young ones running and screaming through a campground. Poor guy had a really rough life before he came to us so we baby him a lot now. We avoid the campgrounds that we know will be loaded – Jellystone and some KOA’s – but we don’t seek out 55+ unless one just happens to fit our travel plans.
My wife and I love kids, and are excited to be able to eventually camp with our young grandchildren. However, when it’s just the two of us, our preference is to camp in parks/areas where there aren’t a lot of young families. I’m a big kid at heart, but I have little tolerance for kids who are not disciplined properly or have parents who are not teaching their kids how to behave and respect other people. I guess it’s just a generational thing – my two boys are raising their kids differently than they were raised in many ways – but if we’re staying beyond overnight somewhere, we’d prefer a little more solitude and the company of mature (behavior, not necessarily age) adults.
I use to camp with kids but now I am quickly becoming less tolerant of kids. I’m actually not bothered by the kids but the parents that let them run wild. We’ve kinda learned to enjoy the 55+ parks as well. Less obnoxious drunks. Ok I guess I’m just old and grumpy.😁
When it is just me and my wife, RV travel and camping is more pleasant without kids. Since we have grandchildren, when camping or traveling with our family, kids come with the territory and for the most part kids make times more enjoyable except for those few times their energy can be a bit too much for us seniors to handle.
I was at a campground in November full of kids. When the heater went out in the pool, they all flocked to the hot tub. The kids were splashing around and kicking me while they were playing “put your head under water”. I just pushed them gently to let them know it was me that they were making contact with. They were having so much fun, I just put up with it and watched them play.