How to... travel with children and pets

Camping trips can be fun for all the family, even the animals.

Children are natural outdoors fans, though reflecting the attitudes of their parents towards our natural environment, and with a little stimulus they can learn to appreciate the great outdoors and the many activities that can take place there. As city dwellers, our children learn of nature from school, books, TV and the Internet, but many of them sadly do not get the chance to experience the many beauties of nature first-hand; this need not be the case in the UAE, as there are many fantastic destinations within an easy drive.

Our mantra with children is to keep them busy - safe, but busy; as there's nothing worse than a youngster sitting on a camping chair doing nothing and moping about not having his or her video games. We have a toy bag in which all sorts of equipment is stored: Frisbee, Pétanque (a French game of bowls, particularly interesting on sand dunes), all sorts of ball and racket games, beach toys, etc. Camp crafts are a favourite with the kids we often camp with, and they will spend hours happily working as a team to build a shelter, or an animal trap (never caught anything to this day), and we usually let them set up their own little campfire.

Safety rules include always wearing their shoes, never straying from camp, always staying with a buddy, and never lifting up rocks or sticks with their bare hands. Also, a zero-littering rule is strictly enforced, starting with the adults. Often the parents will prepare an interesting game or activity: an insect trap is a popular one, where some tasty morsel of food is left in an empty tissue box, which is then buried flush with the ground, so that the insects can drop in but not get out again; or a light can be set above a white sheet to attract dozens of marvelous different flying bugs.

Binoculars are part of the kit, as is a blunt knife for them to carve bits of wood - also, what's wrong with getting on with school work while camping? It might not be their maths homework, but we've had great success with children practising their musical instrument (seems every music teacher favours the recorder) and also bringing paints and a small hardboard canvas for them to portray a scene from history class, or the landscape scene that is before their eyes.

And when was the last time you, your partner, your kids and your friends laughed yourselves silly trying to play badminton or other games of your youth? Pets also revel in the outdoors, and we often bring our dogs with us. If your pet is a little rambunctious or you are unsure if it will stray, loop the leash onto a long rope tied taut between trees or cars, and your pet will be able to run up and down this rope happily without being able to move far off. Our own dogs are trained not to stray so they can run free and also serve as useful guards of the campsite.

A note on pets and other people where you might camp: many local villagers do not have experience dealing with pet dogs, and so due care and respect should be enforced so that your pet does not disturb their livestock or farms. I once had an elderly farmer hobble out of his hut carrying a rifle, reacting to calls from his wife that a fire-breathing dragon-wolf beast had emerged from the vehicle (a tail-wagging puppy) so in all fairness what is a harmless pet to its owner can be interpreted in a very different light by a farmer, particularly if his prized camels or goats are in the vicinity.

A friend also brings his cat on trips, so that is also possible, keeping it on a long leash at all times. The feline hunter instinct soon emerges and it has a great time. Another time a pet iguana prowled around camp and basked in the sun. All in all, the outdoors are a connection to the world we live in, and with a little planning and creativity our children and pets need not only experience life in our cities.