Travel? It’s child’s play!

Despite the fact that holidays are fun and exciting events, you could be forgiven for pulling your hair out in the days and hours leading up to your departure into the sky, and off to warm and exciting climes!

If you’re travelling with children in tow, travel stress can be amplified, so it’s important to try and cut out the stress as much as possible, without cutting corners and ending up in a mess. A good place to start is to pre-arm yourself with as much information as you can. A good way to do this is to use an online flight tracker, I tracked my easyjet flight here, so you I knew exactly what the state of play was with my flight. There are more often than not going to be no problems, so armed with that knowledge, you’re calmer before you even leave.

You will of course have remember to book your travel insurance, right? You should all be saying ‘yes’ at this point! Booking a multi-trip travel insurance policy means you don’t have to remember to book policies for every single trip you go on throughout the year, and you can do this for a family, which cuts costs in the long run. Look into this if you go away a few times per year.

Once you arrive at the airport, the key to remaining calm and keeping everyone tantrum-free, is distraction techniques. If you have an iPad or tablet, load it up with games, music, films, and books, and invest in a mobile battery booster too, to stop it running out at a crucial moment! The tablet has probably been a godsend in terms of travel with children, because it’s the single piece of equipment that can occupy any child, regardless of their hobbies and tastes!

It’s always a good idea to try and avoid too many sweets and fizzy drinks, as this can just make them hyperactive, which on a cramped plane isn’t a good idea, and there is always the obligatory come-down afterwards! Instead, why not head to a restaurant in the airport, preferably not McDonalds, and have a family sit-down meal, so everyone gets a good feed, and it at least instils a little normality. Eating out of routine times, having to get up at stupid o’clock, these are all recipes for over-tiredness, as well as over-excitedness too, so at least try and take a few steps to minimise it all.

At the end of the day, you can’t cut out excitement, and why would you want to, but allowing it to turn into tantrums isn’t the way forward. Cut out what you can, say ‘oooohhhmmm’ a lot when you get stressed, and look forward to your holiday in paradise.