I distinctly remember my first ‘baby’ plane trip, boarding the plane complete with baby, nappy bag, bottles, changes of clothes and oh, as I squeezed down the aisle it struck me….. I was one of ‘them’…… I was the parent with the baby that other passengers were watching and hoping I wasn’t going to sit next to them, wondering if the baby would cry the whole trip, all while avoiding my gaze. I knew exactly what they were thinking.
Since then and many different type of trips and travel later I now have a number of essential strategies.
Some Tips
- Know about what activities and places of interest there are for kids and ones that allows kids to run around and let off some energy
- Always take snacks, whatever your kids age.
- Look for places where kids stay and even eat for free – this is a sign that they are kid friendly.
Other tips when traveling are; depending on the size of your family, accommodation can often be a challenge, so planning is a must, no more, lets just get there and find a place – pre-book!! Often apartments are by far the cheaper and roomier option.
Travel with kids breaks down barriers and lots more people chat to you and approach you. Travel games and activities that are age-related make the trip so much easier. One of the best is a checklist of Spot it – eg. A stop sign, a train, a blue car etc.
A couple of my favourite ideas – on airplane travel, take a few balloon in your pocket, when you stop and change flights or are waiting to board, blow them up and let the kids kick them around the airport (in a quieter area) and burn some energy, they are soon going to be sitting for a number of hours. Time to board? No problem just place the balloon in the nearest bin. Another great idea – go to the $2 shop and buy new cards, cars, puzzles, notebooks, pens etc put in a little clear backpack and when the toy car falls on the floor and slides 6 rows ahead – don’t worry, just leave it go – if it’s a favourite, then you are in the position of trying to get it back!! Leave the favorites at home.
You can take children all around the world. Just make sure you have more down time in the day. I can certainly guarantee that when you travel with children you look at the world from a different angle.
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