A family from beautiful British Columbia is looking for a solution for their 12-year-old son, who has been sleeping in a tent in the backyard for three and a half years.
Daily Hive has agreed to keep the family’s identity anonymous for safety reasons but spoke with them about the search for a specialized tent.
The tent belonging to the young boy has decayed to the point where it might not make it through the fall and winter and the family has been searching high and low for a canvas military-style tent.
You might be thinking, why doesn’t he sleep inside the house? Well, there’s an answer to that.
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It all began near the start of COVID-19, in late April, Early May of 2020, according to the mom.
“Our three kids slept under and on top of our trampoline for a few nights to mix things up,” she said.
After that, the dad gave the kids the family tent to set up.
“All three kids set it up, then slept in the tent for several nights. Slowly, the other two made their way back into the house.”
Not their 12-year-old son though.
“He has slept out there rain, snow or shine ever since.”
The parents initially posted about the family’s dilemma on Facebook and say the son’s tent has decayed thanks to UV damage, and searching online and retail marketplaces have not yielded any results in finding a replacement for the degrading tent, let alone one that will work all year.
The issue, is that most tents aren’t made to be outside in the elements for years but rather a few weekends a year.”
“They deteriorate due to weather exposure and eventually start falling apart.”
The family started with a basic tent from Canadian Tire, covered by a tarp. While it lasted the first winter, keeping the bedding dry was a struggle. A larger canvas tent has lasted for two years but is falling apart. They’ve even stitched the tent several times.
“The awning has blown off, and one end of the tent is ripped open.”
Why not just convince their son to come inside and ditch the backyard tent?
“We don’t feel a need to convince him to come in.”
They say he enjoys sleeping outside and hasn’t affected his sleep or behaviour.
“Besides reading way too late on many occasions.”
He also loves the sound of the rain, wind and birds.
“His absolute favourite is the quiet stillness.”
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