By now you’ve surely heard of glamping—the upscale version of camping derived from the oxymoron, glamorous camping. What started as tabloid celebrities bringing the luxuries of their everyday lives into the backcountry is now a worldwide tourism industry phenomenon. Think mints on fluffed pillows and paraffin facials inside pre-pitched safari tents, that sort of thing.
I’d like to propose a new word for a much older, more admirable tradition, and one dearer to my heart—dadcamping. Derived from the root words, dad and camping. Clever, huh? Dadcamping can be seen as immature, irresponsible
and dangerous to some women—although daughters seem to enjoy themselves just fine until a certain age, when the bare mention of it causes their eyes to roll back in their heads. “Ahhh, Dad, do we have to play your silly games?”
Dadcamping isn’t limited to just camping with Dad. It’s more a state of mind, or more accurately, a state of mindlessness. Fine examples of dadcamping include: blowing donuts in the ski lodge parking lot; blasting The Gourds’ bluegrass remake of Snoop Dogg’s Gin and Juice; riding no hands through the campground; black diamond runs; turtle,
minnow and frog catching; marshmallows for breakfast; class III whitewater; naked swims at public beaches; rope swings and cliff jumping; and Tyrolean traverses (shown here).
Not only is dadcamping fun, a recent study lead by researches at the Université de Montreal found that fathers, more so than mothers, tend to give their children the leeway to take risks and explore. More freedom, say these very brainy academics, better equips youngsters for the challenges of life that lie ahead. “The less protective the parent, the more exploratory the behaviour of the child,” says Daniel Paquette, a psychology professor at the university.
Half of the study tells us what we dadcampers already know—fathers are more likely to give children space to take risks. More importantly, the study identifies a clear link between our arm’s-length, more adventurous style of parenting and the intrepidness of the kids.
Those who question the value of dadcamping (more commonly known as the activation theory of parenting) are those from the attachment theory camp, a massive group of concerned citizens made up of mostly mothers and mother-in-laws.
Until this new research is more widely accepted, dadcampers must continue to guard certain secrets, which are reserved for its members (dads and kids) only. The Dadcamper Code lays out the one and only object of the fraternity as follows: You take your pointer finger and put it to your lips like you’re going to shush someone in church and repeat these three words, “Don’t tell Mommy.”
This article first appeared in Canoeroots and Family Camping, Early Summer 2010 issue. For more expert tips, download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it here.
