Short camping trips help Ha My’s two children become less shy and closer to nature.
Nguyen Ha My, 31, is an English teacher in Hanoi. My’s family of four all love to travel. The whole family chooses to strengthen their relationship by taking long vacations during the holidays or summer vacations.
In 2020, Ha My saw that her eldest son was still shy and slow to speak despite traveling a lot. My thought that her son needed more experiences closer to nature, while also increasing interaction with people, and she chose to change things up with camping.
“Not only was it new to the children, but at that time my husband and I didn’t know much about this activity, we thought we would just try going on one or two trips to see how the children reacted,” Ha My shared.
The first camping trip took place in Ba Vi (Hanoi), My’s family rented some basic camping equipment, prepared their own food and invited two friends to join. Lunch in the middle of the forest was lacking everything, but if he needed something, the son would run to the neighboring camps to borrow it for his parents. The whole family sat on a tarp, drank water from paper cups, clinked glasses and talked and laughed all afternoon.
Seeing the children happy, the parents were also happy, the four members of My’s family returned home and wanted to continue traveling. On subsequent trips, the whole family prioritized locations near Hanoi, with flat terrain and crowded people such as: Soc Son, Dong Mo (Hanoi), Thung Nai, Ban Xoi (Hoa Binh), Dai Lai Lake (Vinh Phuc)…
My family’s criteria for choosing a camping spot changed during the Covid-19 period, at the same time the whole family had more experience. The destinations had to meet four factors: deserted, completely natural terrain, clean streams for children to play in and beautiful natural scenery. Of which, four members especially love highland areas such as Sa Pa (Lao Cai), Moc Chau (Son La), Pu Luong (Thanh Hoa), Huu Lung (Lang Son)…
The frequency of camping has gradually increased, from two trips a year, one trip every three months to one trip every two weeks. There was even a time when My’s family went camping together every week.
For each trip, My planned 1-2 days in advance, mainly planning the travel schedule, and the food and activities were familiar so it didn’t take much time to prepare. In winter, they usually prepare BBQ, in summer, the food is lighter, and the use of the stove is limited to avoid the heat. My husband folds camping gear in the trunk of the car so it is always ready to go.
The cost of short trips ranges from 2 million VND. Longer trips can cost from 5 to 8 million VND per trip. For camping gear, at first My only bought basic items such as tents, tarpaulins, sleeping bags, etc. After traveling a lot, she upgraded her camping gear to more specialized items with good brands. The total cost was about 70 million VND.
During outdoor camping trips, My observed that her two children talked more, constantly asking their parents questions about animals, insects, and plants that they saw for the first time. “I will always remember the moment when the whole family welcomed the sunrise together in Ban Buot (Son La), the air was fresh, surrounded by green trees and a small stream in the middle of the forest. The two children woke up by themselves and stretched out of the tent door, seeing the sunrise for the first time like that”, Tra My said.
Ban Buot is also one of My family’s favorite camping spots. This is a new place that not many people know about, located between Mai Chau (Hoa Binh) and Moc Chau (Son La), Buot village is only more than 1 km from the national highway but life is almost completely isolated from the outside world.
Here, My takes her two children to bathe in the stream, walk in the valley, wake up early in the morning to hunt clouds, go to Tat Nang waterfall, come back in the evening to interact with the children in the village and participate in bamboo dancing and campfire activities with the villagers. The journey takes place over two days and one night but is full of memories and new experiences for the whole family.
In addition to letting her children live in nature, on each trip, Ha My creates a different interactive game such as treasure hunting, solving word puzzles related to the environment for the children to practice English vocabulary, or the challenge of making a personal list for each camping trip.
My also focuses on activities to educate children on how to protect the environment. Camping helps save electricity because most of the time sunlight is used, water is also taken advantage of from the surrounding rivers and streams. After each trip, the whole family cleans up the trash at home together. My only tells her children that trash from soft drink cans, plastic boxes can be recycled, trash from fruit peels is organic waste…
“Camping trips have almost become a regular activity for the whole family during the holidays. To avoid boredom, we choose new destinations, or refresh old places with new schedules, dishes change according to the season, sometimes simply change clothes. The most important thing is still the growth of the children through each camping trip”, Ha My said.
For families with young children who also love camping, Ha My shares her experience that before each trip, they should check the weather forecast and travel route, and prepare emergency car supplies in case of an accident on the road. If choosing a camping spot near a river or stream, make sure the water source is not fast-flowing.
