Travelling can be a nightmare without the inclusion of children but travelling with kids can become a little manic. You want to ensure the travelling with kids experience is as stress free as possible for everyone. This may mean making some compromises that you wouldn’t necessarily make if you were at home but anything for a little bit of peace, right?
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Plan Your Journey
It is vitally important that you plan your journey because the last thing you need is someone needing the toilet when you are miles away from the next service station. Finding the best route to your destination which also takes into account stopping for toilet breaks and for fuel is key to having a stress free journey. Sometimes this might mean you have to spend a little longer in the car as you may not be going the quickest way but if it saves arguments and stress, what’s a few extra minutes?
Bring Snacks
Kids are always hungry – even when they’re not. We all experience it during the school holidays where they constantly come up and ask for yet another thing to eat. Make sure you have plenty to eat and drink in the car – especially if you end up getting stuck in traffic! You can still make stops at service stations along the way for more but always have a selection of things to choose.
Let Technology Be Your Friend
You may limit screen time at home but screens can be a godsend when it comes to travelling. You can download movies or their favourite TV programmes onto a tablet, let them use a Kindle to read or even just let them play some games. This will generally keep them quiet for the whole journey. The last thing you want when travelling with kids is a lot of whinging and moaning.
Make Sure Everyone Is Comfortable
Kids love to sleep in the car, we all know that. The movement often rocks them to sleep and so you want to make sure they are as comfortable as they can be and they won’t wake up with a stiff neck or body. Make sure that the temperature is right also so they don’t overheat or freeze.
Chat To Them
Sometimes your kids will just want to chat. Let them talk to you about their day, their week or things that interest them. Travelling together can be a great way to catch up on each other’s lives and find out what they’ve been up to. You may even want to discuss what you will be doing when you get to your final destination.
Distract Them
If your child suffers from travel sickness or simply doesn’t like travelling, do whatever you can to distract them – whether that is by letting them use a device, chatting to them or playing games with them such as I Spy or counting car colours. You’ll find that the more you interact with them, the less they’ll think about the negative side of things.
Travelling with kids may sound stressful but if you give these tips a try, you’ll surely have a calm and stress free experience.
If you liked this, you might like 10 Ways Your Kids Can Spend More Time Outdoors.
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