6 Tips for Traveling with Children

1. Allow more time than you think you’ll need

When you’re traveling you need to take your time and add some more because children won’t understand the time-critical nature of travel as much as you wish they might. The best way to guarantee a calm journey is to factor in enough time for any level of tantrum, numerous toilet breaks and anything in between, this could be the difference between making your plane or not. If you are travelling by car, one good tip is to factor in your own pit stops, so you know in advance how long the journey will take as a whole with these included and it won’t seem as long for all the family.

2. Slow and easy wins the race

In general, trying to rush on any type of journey with children is a recipe for disaster. The best thing you can do is relinquish your control and just do things at the pace and timing that suits you and your family.

3. Don’t queue unnecessarily

Airports can be very distracting for children, the last thing you want is to end up in a queue with a child who is desperately trying to wander away and explore the sites of the terminal. If your airline offers online check-in, do it. If your airport has a family security area or a fast track option, you should avail of it to make the processing time as smooth as possible.

4. Entertainment

Whether you are travelling by road, rail, sea or in the sky, on-board entertainment is critical to keep your little ones occupied for the duration of the trip. However, one tip for long haul trips is to try and book overnight travel so the kids can sleep for as much of the journey as possible. When that’s not feasible, you should be armed with multiple forms of entertainment to keep even the most active minds occupied. The general rule of thumb is to pack a different form of entertainment for each hour of the trip.

5. Accommodation

Before you book your trip, discuss what would be the best accommodation for your family. You might be better off booking a self-catering apartment with a kid’s pool while the children are younger and moving on to the bustling family complexes as they get older. Having accommodation, you are comfortable in is most important so everyone can enjoy the break. If you are arriving before your accommodation’s check-in time, call or email ahead to see if they can offer you an early check-in so you can get settled as quickly as possible after traveling.

6. Explain the adventure

Oftentimes, children get frustrated because they are unsure about how long the journey will take, where exactly they are going, how they are getting there, etc. One way to get them prepared in advance is to start explaining the various elements about the holiday in the days leading up to it. For example, you might be taking a long trip by car so it can help to explain that it’s a long journey in advance but that you’ll be stopping off at a viewpoint or somewhere enroute for lunch.

While the task or organising everything might seem daunting in advance, you’ll forget all about it when you’re on the holiday. The tantrums and journeys are short lived in hindsight when you think of how long the wonderful memories of those family holidays will last.