Nothing is more fun than taking a trip. With these 5 tips for traveling with children, you as a family can enjoy yourself to the fullest. For many people, traveling with children means a lot of stress, an excruciatingly long schedule and not being able to do what you would like to do. I have written this article with 5 tips for traveling with children especially for these people.
Traveling with children can be quite a challenge. Not least because of the large amount of luggage you have to take with you. Keeping the kids busy in the car can also be a challenge. Today I will mainly give you tips regarding luggage and what you can do on the spot. Little tip in advance:let it be a holiday and don't try to control everything or do it perfectly. If something doesn't go according to plan, it's not that bad. The most important thing is that you enjoy and recover.
Why carry around with you a complete suitcase filled with clothes, toys and whatnot for every family member? The more items of clothing, the larger the wash will be afterwards. Apart from the fact that you need longer to get dressed, because here you have too much choice just like at home. Especially for small families it is much more convenient to just take 1 large suitcase and do everything necessary in it. Not possible? I'll prove to you that it's possible (especially if you take the tips I'll give you later):
– Count on 2 pairs of shoes for each family member. 1 pair that everyone wears and 1 extra in the suitcase.
– Keep 2/3 complete outfits for each family member, which can be easily combined with each other. Also handy:choose clothes that you can easily and quickly wash in between and that dry quickly.
– You can of course take more underwear and socks with you.
If you are traveling with a baby, you can take a separate diaper bag with you and if you cannot do without a laptop on the way, you can of course also take it with you in a separate bag. But try to limit yourself, also with a view to the mountain of laundry that you have to get rid of after the holiday.
Why carry around with anything and everything? See what you can borrow or rent on site. In many cases you can rent a buggy at the zoo, for example, it is so easy to just leave your own buggy at home. Sometimes car rental companies offer extra accessories that you can rent at attractive prices, so that you do not have to travel with 100 pieces of luggage. The same also applies to hotels. An email can work wonders.
In extreme cases, there are also plenty of second-hand sites where you can often buy things like a buggy at a bargain price, so that you don't have to bring it from home. Also take a look at the options for borrowing certain things for a short period via the various Mama groups on Facebook. The lighter you travel, the less stress you have. Moreover, you can arrange most things before you leave.
Why carry two boxes of diapers when you can buy them locally? And what about all kinds of basic necessities that you can just as well buy on the spot. Of course that depends entirely on your destination, but take a look on the internet to see if it is not possible to find everything you need near your destination.
This saves space in the car (if you travel by car) and trunk space if you go by train or plane. Does your child need special food? Then it is advisable to take it with you. Also note that water is not good everywhere. Buy bottled water instead of drinking from the tap.
This is of course entirely dependent on the age of your children, but especially with young children it is good not to plan more than 1 activity per day. You then fill in the rest of the day depending on the mood and how your children are feeling. For example, if your children are very tired after a day at the amusement park or zoo, it might be wise to postpone dinner in that one nice restaurant for a day. Small children in particular are quickly exhausted by all the new experiences and stimuli they receive.
Keep your child in mind in your activities:perhaps a whole day at the zoo is too much and you would rather only enjoy a few hours in the morning. You can then spend the rest of the day quietly in a park or simply in your house (if you have rented a house at a holiday park, for example).
When planning the activities you can always look at what there is still to do in the area. If your kids still have enough energy, you can always go somewhere else with them. But as said:don't commit to it and stick to a maximum of 1 main activity per day.
As the last of my 5 tips for traveling with children, I want to give you the following:if you are a mother who likes to live according to a strict schedule, then the holidays are the opportunity to experiment a little with your rules. Let the children stay up for half an hour longer or give them the iPad during a visit to the restaurant, so that you and your partner can eat in peace. It's vacation and that means you can safely deviate from your otherwise strict regime.
Above all:enjoy your holiday and your family! The less stress you have before and during the holiday, the more you can enjoy.
Do you have a nice tip to make traveling with children easier?
