Just spent the weekend car camping with 2 and 5 year old grandsons. The kids and I slept in a tent. Grandpa slept in the truck (he snores so loud that we always make sure we are far from him!) Unknown to me the 5-year-old is extremely scared of dark. We went to bed 8PM when there still was light. Midnight he awoke and screamed! I had to find a small flashlight and he slept with it on. I cannot sleep with light so there went my night's sleep. The little one managed to get his wrist caught in a hole in the mesh pocket of the tent. He awoke and screamed. The little one then awoke every 15 minutes, sat up, and wondered where he was. 5-year-old has asthma, so I was concerned if he were to get all worked up over the dark, so every time he awoke I would have to reassure him. It was warm enough that we all used our sleeping bags as blankets. Come morning, I discovered I had left the coffee in the kitchen! The kids slept all the way home. Other than the poor night's sleep they did great.

With kids, it is practice, practice, practice. Do not take your kids backpacking until they regularly sleep well in a tent. Lots of backyard camping and kid-friendly car camping are needed first.