8 Easy Steps to a Stress-free Travel with Kids

This article was written by Isadora Guidoni.

For those who have already travelled with kids, they know it can be pretty stressful and overwhelming. It’s hard making the kids stay occupied and collaborative. But if you follow these steps, the trip can be as easy and calm as possible.

1. Where to

If you’re going on a vacation and can choose where you are going, be sure to choose places where you know there will be a lot of activities for the kids to do and stay occupied. Don’t go somewhere where you think they can get bored easily. If choosing is not an option, you will have to make some plans and prepare some tricks to keep them busy.

2. Plan ahead

Make sure to plan ahead all the little details. You don’t want to find yourself in a pickle with hungry and crying children in the backseat because the hotel doesn’t accept an extra bed in the room.

Plan everything: from the travel to the hotel to the activities they’ll be doing, to the emergencies.

3. Have extras

Pack spare outfits in hand for the journey there, a dry clean rag and some wipes for when the kids get messy and dirty, an extra foldable bag to put the dirty clothes. Be mindful of how many bags you’re taking with you, though. You won’t want to carry too many things with you that it becomes more of a trouble than it should be.

4. Bring snacks

Be sure to have some extra snacks with you, in case the journey takes longer than expected. The kids may get hungry more often or be picky about food, so bring some snacks from home that you know they like. Just be careful with how many sweets you give them to avoid a sugar rush. Pack some savory snacks and healthy ones too like cheese cubes, fruits, crackers, and breadsticks.

5. A bag full of tricks

To keep your children busy during the flight or car journey there, have some things in hand. Have a little bag with some small toys, puzzles, coloring books, stickers, things that you know they love. Don’t let them know about little treats, if you have them, make it a surprise to keep them distracted.

6. Precautions once you get there

Most of the tourist’s accommodations are not super child-friendly. Check everything in the room. Block sockets with furniture or with tape, check for loose towel railings or shower curtains, check the hot water before letting your kids use it, even if they’re a bit older (it’s usually scalding), and check the hotel windows, they may not have screens or can be easily opened. Don’t be afraid to ask for another room if you’re not feeling comfortable.

7. Have fun activities ready

Make a list of things they can do and always have another option. Look up child-friendly places they can go, attractions you can take them to, parks, different activities they can do there but not at home, etc. Look it up on the internet, call the hotel or even read catalogues. Have it written down and keep the kids busy and interested, so the travel can be good for all of you.

If you’re going somewhere that has no good options, be sure to also make a list of things they can do there. Bring DVDs they can watch, puzzles, a tablet or notebook with lots of games, coloring books, stickers, a child-friendly camera so they can photograph whatever they think it’s pretty, a journal they can write on, and so on. Be creative!

8. Patience

Even if everything is laid out perfectly, something unexpected may happen, like a flat tire or flight delay. So have patience and be prepared. Take a deep breath and deal with the situation, but don’t let the stress take over you. Your humour can affect people around you, so even if it’s hard, try to transmit a calm and reassuring sense to your family, because if you’re uneasy, your kids may feel uneasy too and that can make things worse. Make it a fun travel, enjoy the good moments and forget about the bad ones.

Tell us about your experience on travelling with kids. What are your tricks?

This article was written by Isadora Guidoni, also a writer for homeyou.com, a company that connects homeowners to reliable, affordable and professional contractors for their home improvement projects. Check more on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter.

Shan

👩🏽‍💻 Mompreneur @momsayssa
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✨ Chapter Lead @iamsogal Johannesburg
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