Tips for Traveling with Children

October 15, 2017
Jess

winchester26abig
Traveling as a family is one of life’s greatest joys, but add in some young kids into the mix and things can become challenging. It’s hard to find a balance between traveling as you normally would and maintaining your kid’s schedules. Changing a few things about how you travel can result in calmer and much more enjoyable trips with your children. Here are my top 5 tips for traveling with children.

1. Try to Keep Their Routine As Much as Possible
If your children are still at the age where they take regular naps, it’s wise to keep their routine as normal as possible. Try to accommodate their usually bed times as well as it will help them keep to a schedule and feel more calm and relaxed. If you have a bedtime routine at home, try to keep things as normal as possible while traveling. It will make your children feel much more relaxed.
2. Be Organised
With children you may struggle to be as spontaneous as you once were when traveling. It’s a good idea to have a plan and to book some things in advance to make it easier. For example you can buy your Disney tickets online to save time queuing with children and to get started at Disney as soon as possible. There’s a bunch of things available to buy online now, so wherever you’re headed check out what you can buy in advance to save time and hassle. You may even find that you will save money by booking in advance.
3. Carry Snacks
Children get hungry and it can really affect their mood. Snacks can also be overpriced and filled with sugar and crap. It’s a good idea to carry some healthy snacks for your children to ensure they’re not going to have any temper tantrums because they don’t want to eat the food where you are. If you’re traveling to exotic countries, it may be even more important to bring food from home so your child feels comfortable with the snacks that you give them.
4. Find a Balance
While traveling with children is a new, fun adventure, there’s no doubt that things will be different. I suggest finding a good mix of things you want to do and things that will excite and interest your children. You may even want to do some ‘normal’ things on your trip such as taking your children to the local parks so that they can get some energy out.
5. Be Smart With Your Flights
If you’re flying somewhere, try to choose flights that coincide with your kid’s bed time or nap time as that will make the flight go much faster for all of you. Make sure you also take some age appropriate things on the flight to entertain your kids. Some suggestions include: iPads loaded with movies they’ll love, colouring in books and pens and toys. The more entertained your kids are, the happier they’ll be on the flight and I’m sure the other passengers will also be thankful!