When my husband and I started camping with the kids one thing we found out pretty quickly was that our 2 person backpacking tent no longer would suffice! We both agreed: the bigger the better!

That being said, everyone is different and tent living (just like home ownership) is a very personal thing. Think about when you bought/rented your first house. What was important to you? What couldn’t you live without? What was your budget? This is the same approach that needs to be taken when thinking about purchasing a new tent.

When looking at your tent situation you need to ask yourself the following three questions:

Do I want the ability to stand? The ability to stand when camping with kids is key as it makes all the processes that going along with dressing, diapering and getting storage (see also: toys) in and out that much easier. There is nothing more fantastic than not having to climb around the tent on the air mattress looking for the binky, toy car, soft blanket, toiletry kit, etc. etc.!

How much room do I want to store bags, toys, gear, etc.? If there is one thing I have learned over the years, it is that when camping with children I have about 3x as much stuff (stuff, of course, that is ALL needed!) than if it were just my husband and me. I have also found that it is easier to have all of that stuff easily accessible rather than stored in the car 50 or 100 feet away.

How many air mattresses do I want to fit in the tent? So the real question is, how do you want to set up the actual sleep arrangements? First and foremost, think about your sleep arrangements at home. Does your toddler end up in bed with you? Does the baby need a pack and play? These are all items that will transfer to the tent. If you end up co-sleeping more often than not then it probably means that you should skip the second air mattress and have your mind set that the toddler will be sleeping with you on your mattress. If you have a baby then I highly recommend the KidCo Peapod Travel Tent. It doesn’t take up a lot of room and it keeps baby happily contained when sleeping in the larger family tent.

A rule of thumb here is that your tent is your home away from home and the more you replicate your home with your tent the happier you will be! 

This year my husband and I are taking the plunge and upgrading to a larger tent. Now that we have two children and I have experienced the wonders of the “hotel” tent I am sold on having more room!  In my research I have found two options that seem like good choices and range from $280-$480 in price. They are as follows:

Columbia Cougar Flats II (15 foot by 10 foot 8 person 2 room family cabin dome tent)

The North Face Mountain Manor 8 Tent

A seemingly good option for a six person tent (if you have trouble committing to the 8 person options) is:

LL Bean’s King Pine Dome Tent

I’d love to hear if people have any other larger family tents that they enjoy…I can post them as gear picks of the day so that others can buy them too!