Do you love to travel? Do you want to see the world, experience new places and create memories? Winter break and Spring breaks are coming up quickly.
Are you a bit nervous and apprehensive about packing up the entire clan and going on an epic adventure? Don’t be. Traveling with your kids can be so much fun! It can also be such a fantastic learning experience for all of you. Yes, there might be delays, and of course, it will be a bit more hectic, but you just have to plan accordingly and remember this adventure is not necessarily a vacation, it’s a trip.
Here are a few tips for a smooth(er) one!
- Take your time. Kids are not in a hurry. They like to stop and smell the roses, for real, they do! They also need more breaks, whether for the toilet or a tantrum or just from all the moving from A to B. It’s better for everyone involved if you have extra time.
- Be ready for anything. Massive flight delay, no worries! Pack extra snacks, activities, clothes, and diapers if needed! Whether flying, driving or relying on public transport, someone else in charge of travel can sometimes be stressful and hard to navigate in a new place, but children love it. It’s all a new and exciting adventure for them! So use those buses or trains when possible.
- Plan ahead. Have all accommodations, dinner reservations, and a few activities or destinations planned per day. Perhaps even let the kids help with the planning. Older kids will especially love this and will feel more invested in the trip.
- If you’re traveling internationally, make sure you check your passports before you book – children’s only last for five years, and time flies when you’re having fun, so you want to make sure your passports are still current for the duration of your trip.
- Keep the activities coming – be ready with on-the-go hand held games, puzzles, journals, coloring books, word searches, stickers or Play-Doh for a long flight or road trip.
- Avoid sweets. But be sure to have plenty of healthy snacks. Save the sweets for once you have adjusted to the new place or time zone. It seems like a great idea to get them through the trip by handing them some skittles or chocolates, but neither a sugar rush nor a sugar crash is any good, especially upon arrival in a new city or country.
Lastly, have fun. Enjoy each other. Find something for everyone along your journey and enjoy the ride. It will be a roller coaster at times, but the memories will last forever. When you collect experiences over things, you will never run out of storage space. Kids won’t remember that best day of watching television.
Are we there yet?
The Momtourage