7 tips to make travelling with kids easier

**Collaborative post**

Travelling pre-children is a far cry from travelling with them, if you’ve ever had the “Are we nearly there yet?” question on repeat during a long journey or even “I’m bored” you’ll know exactly what I mean.

As a parent, it is your job to keep them occupied however it’s not always easy as you need to concentrate on travelling, making sure you are all in the right place at the correct time, have everything you need, safeguarding them in busy areas as well as ensuring you keep sane and level-headed at the same time. Let’s face it, us parents only have so many hands to juggle all those balls which we need to keep in the air.

There are however a few tips to make travelling with kids easier, on them and on us:

• Leave in plenty of time

When travelling as a family you need to plan ahead to all the things which could add time onto your journey, forgotten comforters, arguments about who is sitting where on the plane, in the car or even on the train or they can’t find their shoes yet again.

I get this often when travelling anywhere with the kids, well to be fair even when dining out in restaurants, they both argue that they want to sit next to me, hold my hand or sit in the front if that’s an option.

That’s without them walking slower than us adults would and adding in a few extra toilet trips, browsing the shops and wanting food breaks into the mix. You’ll also want to allow for traffic and factors beyond your control.

There is no harm in arriving early, you’ll always find something to do to amuse yourselves and it is far better than having to rush, run or even worse be late.

• Pre-book all you can

Pre-booking can save you a lot of time and stress when you have children. Of course, you book your accommodation ahead of time, flights if you are flying but there are other things which can be pre-booked.

Before moving on to the other things which can be pre-booked, remember that your accommodation is a huge factor in your travel experience. So whether you are staying in a hotel, Airbnb, or even in the exciting Pirates Village Santa Ponsa, make sure you pick something that suits your needs and budget.

Here are the other things you can pre-book:

Airport parking, online check-in, baggage and even in-flight meals.

You could splash out on booking the hospitality lounge, car-hire for the other end of your journey, or you could look into carnet train tickets to remove a little more of the stress for those frequent travellers out there. These are perfect if you make frequent trips between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport, carnets are the fuss-free way of buying your tickets and are valid for 12-months.

• Teach your children your contact details

Of course, no-one likes to think that their children will get lost, however, in very busy places it is so easy to lose track of them, even for a few minutes.

I’m sure I’m not alone in losing sight of the kids, they do like to play hide and seek everywhere. I remember a time Harry hid under the clothes rails in Tesco and again behind the kitchen rolls thinking it was hilarious, of course, it was for him but not for us parents. There was also another time he wandered off in the Natural History Museum oblivious to the fact he was being searched for, he wanted to see more Dinosaurs.

I have taught the children my mobile number from a very young age, they also know our home address off by heart. They know to head to a policeman/woman, firefighter, shop worker or to a help/information desk but mainly know to stay in the last place they saw us as will always head there to look for them if missing.

We’ve had the chats about stranger danger and they know to scream for attention if they feel uncomfortable in any situation. I also have identity bands with my phone number on them which they wear in really busy places such as theme parks, there are also GPS watches for children available.

• Have the required documentation

Of course, if travelling abroad you will have your passports to hand but you’ll also want any insurance documents, both travel and personal.

You may also need your Visas and birth certificates if your children have different surnames to yourself. If taking other children with you, you’ll also need a letter of permission to travel from their parents.

• Entertainment for the kids

Wherever you are heading with the kids, you will need to pack some sort of entertainment for them.

Anything from snacks, colouring, headphones to tablets, travel sickness bands and pills, reading books and even their favourite bedtime comforter.

You can find other top tips for travelling with kids in this post. 

• Travel light

When you have children with you, it is so easy to over-pack, however, that will lead to extra fees at the airport and additional issues with fitting the cases into the car or into the overhead lockers. You will also have to carry all of that luggage with you, and if you have children’s hands to hold it will be far harder to do so. Travelling with children requires not only careful packing but also ensuring that every aspect of your journey is streamlined for ease.To mitigate these challenges, it’s crucial to ensure your luggage is in optimal condition before embarking on your journey.  Regular checks and maintenance can prevent unexpected issues, which is the last thing you want while travelling with family. Suitcase repair online shop can resolve the issue when your suitcase is damaged, broken, or malfunctioning, minimize the inconvenience that arises during travel, and ensure that your luggage is reliable and ready for your journey.

Check with your airline before you arrive so you know how much luggage allowance you are allowed, there is no point in spending out hundreds of pounds at the airport paying for extra baggage allowance before you get onboard your flights to Calgary for instance.

You may want to give the children a rucksack of their own to carry, this could contain their travel entertainment, snacks and drinks – they will like feeling independent and can choose which items to pack for themselves (although do keep an eye on this – I know Emmy likes to pack about 20 teddies if I don’t stop her and Harry will pack every car he owns).

• Give children a camera or travel journal

If your child are anything like mine they will always want to take photos with your camera/phone. Be that selfies or pictures of your trip.

Of course, I don’t fully trust them not to drop, break or break my phone/camera so they each have a kids camera of their own. They have a VTech kids camera which comes with a drop-proof case as well as games for them to play with.

Emmy also has a very cheap version of a GoPro to film with and also has her own YouTube channel – All About Emmy which I control for her but she films most of the content for.

They could also keep a travel journal of their adventures, a perfect keepsake of your adventures and something special to show their teachers when they return to school.

What are your top tips on making travel easier with children?