Guest Post - Traveling with Children

Today, I have a guest post from Danielle Birch. She gives some much appreciated pointers on traveling with children!

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Now summer is upon us, many of us are taking our annual family vacations. From visiting relatives, to spending a week by the beach, getting away is often the highlight of the year for many of us. But if we have young children it can often be very stressful – stressful enough to make people think twice about taking their children away. But taking a holiday is really important for your well-being, as well as your children’s, as it gives you a chance to take a break from the normality of everyday life and enjoy new experiences.  But if the thought of enduring a long flight or car journey with your kids fills you with dread, there are some ways to make the whole experience a lot easier to deal with.

The way you deal with any problems or issues will really affect how your children behave. If you become very stressed and irritated because you’re stuck in traffic, or the flight’s delayed, your children will pick up on the tension and become aggravated themselves. So if you try to stay positive and calm throughout, it will help your children to stay relaxed too. If you’re catching a flight and it’s your child’s first time in an airport, they might find it quite intimidating. Tell them about the exciting adventure they’re about to embark on, and how the airport is the start of the adventure. It goes without saying that you should dress them in comfortable clothing, but you could make it even more exciting by getting them a new outfit and use a t-shirt printing company to mark the date of your holiday! This will really help create a sense of occasion for them, and if you have more than one child you could dress them in the same bright colors so it makes it easier for you to keep an eye on them.

When you’re going away a lot of time is spent waiting around. Whether you’re waiting for your flight or waiting for your car journey to be over, your children will need something to keep them occupied. However, it’s not practical to bring their toy box with them so you need to be selective. Paper and pens are always a good choice, as they’re really versatile. It’s best to avoid taking anything that involves lots of little pieces, as they will be more likely to get lost. Take an old favorite toy and you could perhaps get them a small token for when they are getting really agitated after traveling for hours. The surprise and novelty of the new toy should help keep them occupied for a little longer. A couple of their favorite books will also help you get them to sleep, and will obviously come in handy throughout the holiday. Sticking to their routine as much as possible will help them adjust, it’s not always feasible but it will help give them some stability in the journey.

How children cope when traveling will change from family to family. But ultimately you will reach your destination so if things don’t go according to plan, at least you know it will be worth it in the end!