Vacation is the perfect time for both parents and children to bond and experience new places and try new things. Traveling is the best way to learn especially for children as they have a first hand account of that place they visited, something no textbook can ever replicate.
So if you’re planning to fly out of the country this coming holiday break, here are 10 handy-dandy tips you can use while traveling with your kids, especially young children.
1. Book Ahead
Say goodbye to spontaneity in terms of traveling with kids. Don’t risk a night in a motel or couch surfing when you have children. Make sure you have booked ahead your accommodation and transportation so you can have a worry free vacation.
2. Be Prepared for the Climate
Do your homework and research on the weather of your planned destination. Children should be dressed comfortably for the weather and terrain. You don’t want to deal with a fuzzy kid when you’re having the time of your life.
3. Pack a Portable Toy Box
Bring anything that will keep their mind off boredom especially during instances when your flight gets delayed. Mind games are the best toys to bring along like Rubik’s Cube, Mazes, and Puzzles.
4. Invest in a Child Locator
Toddlers are not big fans of reins, backpacks with a leash, or anything that gets them tied to one location. Keep tabs on them at airports, train stations and crowded attractions with a child locator. The child wears a small unit (strapped to a belt or shoe) and you keep the transmitter. If you lose your child set off the alarm and follow the sound to find them.
5. Keep Bugs at Bay
Make sure you have a pack of antibacterial wipes and hand sanitizer in your bag. A wipe of the cutlery in restaurants where you’re unsure of hygiene, or a squirt of hand sanitizer when there’s no washing facilities, can zap a few germs and prevent toddlers catching some common bugs.
6. Pack Medicine
You will never know when the drastic climate change can affect your child, especially if you’re traveling to a tropical country. Always ready your first aid kit and medicine pack.
7. Avoid Sweets
Resist the temptation to keep them going on a long journey by feeding them sweets. Pack a mixture of snacks like cheese cubes, breadsticks, fruit and bagels – anything to avoid arriving in a strange city with children in the middle of a sugar rush.
8. Encourage them to Keep a Travel Journal
Get your children drawing and listing things they’ve found interesting or new foods they have tried. You may also encourage them to collect postcards from places you visit and ask them to write themselves a message on the back. By doing this, they can reach adulthood with a library of memories all their own.
9. Prepare a Number of Family Games you can Play in case of Delay
You will never know when delays will happen. Make sure to keep in handy a couple of games you can play.
10. Be the One to Pack your Children’s Bags
You don’t want your child bringing his/her entire collection of toys ‘just in case’. Teach your child how to pack for travel by helping them pack.
