Take them camping; they'll want s'more

When my husband first suggested taking our oldest daughter camping, images of a leaking tent, burned hot dogs and bears flashed through my mind. Then I pictured us loading everything up at 3 a.m. and evacuating when Olivia, who was only 3 at the time, suddenly became terrified of all the sounds of the wild.

To prove I didn't give my daughter or the great outdoors enough credit, my husband took her on a trial run camping in the pasture behind her grandmother's house in Connecticut. They put up their tent, read books by flashlight and even told a few ghost stories before sleeping soundly through the night.

Next they moved up to real camping at Fort De Soto Park. We went with a group of friends and children of all ages. We cooked out on the grill, then walked along the shore and played on the playground at the entrance to the camping area. The kids were ecstatic, playing in the four tents we had and "hiking" between the two adjoining campsites.

Around 9 p.m. the moms headed home with infants and toddlers, and the kids 3 and older settled in with their dads for the night. They had their obligatory s'mores cooked over the grill. (Most campgrounds don't allow campfires at individual sites, though Fort De Soto does have a common area where you can have one.)

I think the highlight of the evening was on the walk to the restrooms about 75 yards away. The kids, armed with flashlights and toothbrushes, came face to face with a pack of raccoons. They were a safe distance from catching rabies, my husband assured me, but close enough to be mesmerized by the creatures.

Only one of the six kids got a little teary during the night, but she still wasn't about to leave. The next morning after pancakes on the grill didn't go over as well as the s'mores, the group headed for the Hurricane Restaurant in St. Pete Beach for breakfast and then a swim in the gulf.

We've been several times since and really enjoyed it. A friend of mine has taken his son camping on his birthday every year for about six years, which is a tradition I'd like to start, too.

Families with young children are frequent at Fort De Soto, according to Bob Browning, the supervisor of the county park.

"We've seen infants out there. Around 3 or 4 years old, they are really interested in the outdoors," he said. "Probably between the ages of 4 and 10 or 11, they are interested enough to have a lot of fun but not so independent that they want to do it all on their own."

Though my daughter loved seeing the raccoons, Browning said, they are usually the culprit for mishaps on a family campout.

"When kids get scared of things that go bump in the night, it's usually raccoons getting into the trash can or walking around crunching on leaves and branches or fighting over a piece of hot dog," he said. And if they smell food inside a tent, they do anything to get to it. "We have had raccoons that actually opened the zipper and went in and some that clawed through the screen."

For this reason, never keep food in your tent. Even a cooler isn't safe unless it's in your trunk, tied shut or stashed under a picnic bench that will block the lid from opening.

Other things to prepare for are bugs and sun with the usual repellents and sunscreens. And try to stay away from the few campsites along deep water if you're camping with small kids. There are plenty that run along the shallow shoreline that still offer a great breeze, Browning said. Speaking of breezes, camping at Fort De Soto is still pretty comfortable through May, but kids (and adults) are going to be pretty hot June through September.

Take your kids to visit the camping department at Bill Jackson Shop For Adventure on U.S. 19 in Pinellas Park and they will be pestering you nonstop to go on a campout. The Jacksons, who own the store, started camping with their own children when they were 5 and 6.

"We had gone to Atlanta to visit family, and one sister had a cabin out on a lake in some big pine woods," Harriet Jackson recounted. "The children started running through the woods yelling and I shushed them." Then she realized the woods allowed kids to be kids and from then on every family vacation they took was camping or backpacking.

The basic things to take on a family campout include a four-person tent, which is easy to assemble and about 10 feet by 10 feet. A two-burner gas stove is simple to work and essential at campsites that don't allow campfires or have grills. Mrs. Jackson also suggests a foam mat to roll out under the sleeping bag.

"If a kid has a rock in his back or a shell cutting through, he's going to be miserable and not want to go back," she said. She also recommends you stick a rubber doormat outside the tent and place all shoes on that before entering.

"The rule is you never ever walk inside a tent with sandy feet or shoes," Mrs. Jackson said. "And always do your cooking and put everything away before sundown, because this is when the animals come out for feeding."

Terry Tomalin, St. Petersburg Times outdoors editor, went on his first camping trip with the family when he was 6 months old. He has since camped all over the world, but recommends that families start out at state parks.

"They are ideal for kids because they have good restroom facilities, they are secure and have registered campers and rangers always on duty in case of an emergency," he said. "And some have activities like campfires on weekends." Tomalin likes nearby Myakka River State Park and Hillsborough River State Park. Fort De Soto and other county parks outside Pinellas have many of these same amenities.

In any case, if it's your first time out he suggests going no more than an hour from home. And stay away from private campgrounds that are going to be dominated by RVs.

"Bring plenty of flashlights because every kid wants to have his own," he said. "And it's always a good idea to bring a deck of cards or a Monopoly game."

A $25 cotton sleeping bag is plenty warm for Florida three-fourths of the year. But bringing the pillow from home with the Scooby-Doo or Minnie Mouse pillowcase makes the tent a little more like home, Tomalin added.

Four-person tents start at $129 at Kmart. Stoves start at $22.

For information on state parks, call the state Division of Recreation and Parks at (850) 488-9872 or click on www.Flastateparks.org. To make reservations call 1-800-326-3521.

To reach Fort De Soto Park call (727) 582-2267. Reservations there must be made in person at the campground or parks offices in downtown St. Petersburg or Clearwater 30 days in advance.

-- You can reach Katherine Snow Smith by e-mail at Oliviachar@aol.com; or write Rookie Mom, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731.

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