Travelling can be a core part of who you and your partner are, and that doesn’t need to end when you decide to have children. More and more parents are travelling with their children as the norm, and there are many services available to help parents enjoy a family holiday abroad. This makes foreign travel and experiences easier on everyone in the family. It just means that you have to plan ahead. Here are more tips for traveling with kids.
Plan ahead for your family holiday
Pre-planning can be as easy as emailing or calling your travel agent. Or speak with the place you want to stay at, such as a hotel, to confirm whether their facilities are child-friendly.
Also, ask them to recommend places nearby with child-friendly services. That way you’ll be able to plan great activities for your family holiday.
Fit the car seat early
Also important is to get your kids used to travel from an early age. Car seat fitting should be at the top of your list of things to do before giving birth.
Firstly, it will give you more independence, and it will be great in the long run too. A lot of parents find their children fall asleep in the car, also known as highway hypnosis.
Therefore, getting your youngster used to the motion of a vehicle early could be beneficial for keeping your kids’ sleep schedule on track and making for a smooth journey.
Pack a travel kit
Next up on the baby travel tips list to brainstorm ways to keep your little one content while in the car or air. Kids can get bored quickly, especially when they’re unable to move around freely.
Therefore, packing a travel kit that includes entertaining activities is crucial.
The type of activity will depend on your child’s age, IQ, interests, and other factors. Examples are:
- Coloring books
- Reading books
- iPad with games
If you do rely on technology, remember to make sure it’s fully charged before leaving for the family holiday. The last problem you want is not to be able to power on the iPad.
Traveling with kids: Be patient
No matter what type of family vacation you’re on, the best way to keep travelling children happy is to keep things fun, light, and interactive. As children usually take longer to sightsee than adults, it’s important to plan enough time for them to enjoy a new environment. While they are doing so, be as patient as possible.
Engage your kids in activities
Keep your children engaged. This is important; it will keep the overall mood positive and reduce the likelihood of tantrums too.
Simple things like letting your kids be the photographer can help them feel included. Children have a unique way of viewing the world, so as photographers they will likely create some entertaining shots by the end of the family holiday.
Take regular breaks
Break time is essential when traveling with kids. Hunger can cause even the most even-keeled person to become grumpy.
For this reason, make sure your kids get food in their tummies regularly. Plan pit stops if you’re driving. And when you arrive at the destination, try to keep to regular meal times.
If you think you may miss a mealtime, pack some healthy filling food to take with you. This way you will reduce the likelihood of family members being hangry.
Make trips from an early age
By putting the above tips for traveling with kids into practice from an early age, you will be able to enjoy fun trips with the whole family well into middle age. The memories that you’ll create while visiting new places make for a better quality of life. It’s well worth the effort you invest at the start. Plus, you’ll likely become a more patient parent.
These are all great tips! We recently went on a 4,000-mile road trip with our four kids to South Padre Island and we had a blast. It doesn’t have to be hard. Just have fun.
Great advice, Marie! Your trip sounds awesome :D
Thanks. Great, my child is growing so shall consider the tips.
Great to hear as you travel with your young child and rest of family :)
Good idea
I’m glad you find these kids travel tips useful!
When my kids were small, we kept certain toys as “reserve” that they only saw in the car; thus there was something new and interesting to help with boredom or the wiggles. For one especially long road trip that lasted several days, we gathered multiple sets of “car toys” which we brought out on alternate days to help make everyone’s trip a little more enjoyable.
I love that idea of “reserve” toys! Bringing them out would give the kids nice surprises along the way, especially if it’s a long car ride ;)
It’s definitely best to plan, to take entertainment, and be prepared to break the journey. :)
Preparation is so helpful!
A lot of people seem to think so. However, my husband and take our six little ones to Disney World – we’re about 4 hours away by car, a few times each year, and with proper planning on my part, we always have a phenomenal time! It can be done.
So cool that you can drive there within a reasonable time! Your Disney World trips will be ones your kids appreciate when they’re older, I’m sure :)
Thank you, yes, they love love it. It’s about 4 hours, with one rest stop, mostly for diaper changes. 😏 No matter what it entails – planning, packing, etc., the trips are the very best when you spend it with the people closest to you.
It’s the people we love who enrich our lives, rather than the material things, right :) <3
That’s right! 😊🙏🏽