Keeping a toddler warm under canvas

The weather is lovely at the moment but don't be fooled, at night it can still plummet and without the proper equipment you can really feel it when camping under canvas. We went on our first camping trip of the year at the end of May, it was dry and sunny but still very chilly at night, dropping down to around 5 degrees at night, although we did our research, invested in 3/4 season sleeping bags and while I sure some of the people on the site were freezing we were nice and snug in our tents and Mr A actually slept better than at home, going through each night without waking, tossing or turning.

Here are our top tips to keeping toddlers and young children warm at night

1. The biggest tip we can give is create a barrier between you and the floor. I you sleep on the ground or a small foam mat you will lose body heat during the night through conduction so having a barrier such as an airbed with not only provide comfort but also insulation from the ground. We used an Eurohike double bed and it really makes all the difference, you can make camping comfortable it's just down to the choices you make.

2. Buy a toddler sleeping bag - we used the Vango Nitestar Mini from Go Outdoors and could not have been happier with it. It's a well designed mummy style bag with the same specs as an adult sleeping bag, insuring your little ones keep nice and warm. It has a twin supper for easy access, off-set double layer construction so no cold spots can develop and it's breathable, cosy and comfortable and we are giving one away - just scroll to the bottom of the post to enter.

Mr A enjoying the camping bed and Vango sleeping bag

3. Pack extra blankets. I know you don't want to be carrying around any extra weight but if the temperature does drop you are going to regret not packing an extra layer. We took a lovely family sized fleece blanket which was really handy for night and the cold mornings.

4. Layering is key. Have light breathable layers and don't go overboard either as a child who gets hot, starts to sweat and a child who sweat later becomes cold due to being wet. Do cover extremities, we put socks on Mr A for bedtime with warm pyjama bottoms, vest, t-shirt and a hoodie - you want something that can cover there head - as this is were you lost a lot of your body heat, so packing a light hoodie is a great way to keep your little ones warm.

5. Co-sleep - we all shared the double bed, each of us in our own sleeping bag - with Mr A in the middle and a family blanket across us, this way we had our own space but also could snuggle together and use each others body heat to keep the room warm. Camping in the spring is different to the summer and we are really looking forward to more adventures under canvas.