Top Ten Tips for Travelling with Toddlers

Top Ten Tips for Travelling with Toddlers

Going away with toddlers is like trying to herd sheep up a high street: you're all pulling in different directions and everyone else avoids you like the plague. But it doesn't have to be hell. Just take our advice.

1. Try to give yourself an easy day before you leave. This may sound laughable, given you have so much to organise, but if you are running around right up to the last minute you will arrive frazzled and take three days to come down to earth - a waste of the start of your hol. The World won’t end if you don’t leave the house tidy or clear out the fridge. This is your big break, enjoy it.
Involve the kids in planning the trip so they know what to expect and don’t get upset by the inevitable change of routine. Get books and maps so they learn as they go, collect souvenirs on the way and get them to do a scrap book or project when they get back – a great keepsake.

2. Take a portable high chair – preferably one that attaches to the end of a table, so easy to pack, invaluable on the road.

3. Buy a new bag of toys for the car or plane. New loot is interesting, old stuff will just get chucked under the seat. Take them out one by one so they last. Squeezey balls, puzzles, crayons, comic with free gifts and twisty shapes are ideal.

4. Avoid theme parks until your child is three or over, otherwise they are an exhausting and expensive waste of time (the theme parks, not your toddler). Will they remember the trip. Nope. Will you be broke. Yep. Save it for when they are older and you can get your money worth.

5. Take books, CD players and anything that will entertain them when they are away from their usual forms of fun. Bring out your surprise just before take off.

6. Stock up on the meds: eczema cream, Calpol, funny plasters – you might not be able to get them at short notice and running out will make it a nightmare.

7. Pack less. Come on, you already look like a pack donkey – with your portable pushchair, bag of nappies etc.Your little treasures don’t need a new outfit every day. You’re on holiday, relax. You can always rinse smalls in the sink. Don’t give yourself sagging shoulders (from baggage overload) before you even start.

8. Find out what babysitting facilities, kids clubs and organised outings there are right at the start of your holiday. Then plan and book. It will ensure you get a break too.

9. Split up. Do different things if there are two adults in your party. Means you can indulge in their favourte past times and won’t get on each other’s nerves (quite so much).

10. Down time. Don’t try to fit it in years worth of activities on one holiday. Give yourself – and the kids – a break. Read a book in a park or play a game of cards, enjoy a sunset or have an afternoon nap.

Family Traveller Tip: Don't expect too much. Just taking them away is a great achievement, pat yourself on the back.