Last year, I read that during his presidency Theodore Roosevelt often slept outside in a tent with his children. Teddy had a reputation for being a rough and tumble adventurous man, but consider the oddity of the president of the United States sleeping in the yard with his children. It’s hard to imagine any president or world leader doing the same in this day and age. One of the reasons this detail stood out to me was that during his childhood, Roosevelt was sickly and unable to be particularly active; his father would carry him around the library in their home reading to him. He was a father who spent large amounts of time with his son, who then grew up to spend large amounts of quality time with his children. This realization prompted me to commit myself to camping with my own children, amongst other things. Last night, I kicked off 4th of July weekend by sleeping in the backyard with the kids. As far as adventures go, it was anti-climactic. We went out to the tent after it was already late, because a prior commitment kept us from starting earlier. We didn’t cook over a fire. We didn’t go hiking. To call it an adventure would be a bit of a stretch. However, to my 3-year old son and my 5-year old daughter, this was a pretty epic day. They got to sleep in a tent, outside, with the wind howling, alongside their dad. They loved it. This wasn’t my first time camping with the kids, though it is the first time my boy has slept outside. During the winter, we camped in the living room to get him warmed up to the idea and I have taken my daughter several times in the past. There are a handful of important ideas I’ve picked up from taking the kids camping. First, the most important component of the whole thing isn’t great locations, elaborate comfortable equipment, or any other trapping of the camping experience. No, the most important component of the adventure was dad’s presence. I have talked to a lot of guys who can vividly recount days spent with dad camping, playing, working, or all manner of other activities. Kids need to have a close relationship to their dads. That close relationship is best established and translated in the form of time and attention. This is an increasingly rare thing in our culture, where busy parents spend less and less one-on-one time with their children. The second important thing I have learned from camping with the kids is the importance of danger. Obviously, the danger associated with my own backyard is limited. However, small children have little concept of that truth. For them, sleeping outside, in the dark, and without a cushy bed is dangerous. Kids need to be brave and enjoy these “safe” dangerous experiences. It teaches them courage and provides bonding opportunities that are otherwise unavailable in more comfortable settings. Finally, camping with the kids provides an opportunity to wonder at the creation and appreciate its beauty and majesty. The first time I took my daughter camping in the Bears Paw mountains, we got up at 1 AM, went outside, and looked at the stars. My daughter couldn’t stop talking about how beautiful it was. Montana is an amazing place. In the coming years, I plan on showing my children as much of this place as I can manage. In doing so, they will learn to appreciate the creation, look for beauty in the world around them, and hopefully develop a depth of character that can only come with time spent appreciating God’s masterpiece firsthand.
