Travelling with kids can be a daunting task, especially if they are children in foster care, who are still settling in with you. However, travelling can be an exciting and enriching experience for your whole family. It provides a great opportunity to bond, share new experiences, and create memories that everyone will cherish for a lifetime. In this blog post, we will give you 5 essential tips to help make travelling an enjoyable and stress-free experience.
Plan Ahead
One of the keys to travelling with kids is to plan ahead. Unlike adults, children require more attentive planning and preparation for a successful trip. Ensure that you make all necessary travel arrangements ahead of time, such as airline reservations and accommodation. You should also consider the destination and the activities available, making sure they are appropriate for your children’s age and developmental stage. Preparing an itinerary will help ensure that everything is in place, so you can limit surprises.
Involve the Children in the Planning
Involving all the children in the planning process is a great way to help them feel included and provide something to look forward to. Engage them in deciding where to go, the activities they want to participate in and packing. Together, choosing the destination, the itinerary, etc., will make the trip more enjoyable for everyone and help the children feel invested.
Be Prepared
Having the necessary items and tools while travelling can make a huge difference when travelling with kids. Be aware of each child’s needs, and ensure you carry essentials like snacks, entertainment items such as books, toys, or electronic devices, nappies, and first aid kit. Create a checklist with all the necessary items, and do not forget to pack any vital medications.
Be Patient and Flexible
Travelling with children, especially younger ones, takes greater patience and flexibility than travelling with adults only. Be careful not to set your expectations too high. You may have great ideas of how kids will respond to certain activities only to find out that they may not be as in to is you had hoped. Sometimes it helps to adopt a ‘go with the flow’ attitude, knowing that kids spur of the moment attitudes and moods can change unexpectedly. It’s great to encourage the kids to experience new things, try new foods, and participate in local cultural events, but be prepared to change things up if things are not going over well. With patience, you can ensure everyone in the group has a great time.
Create time for Downtime
While exploring new places is fun and exciting, keep in mind that extra stimulation, rushing around, and stressing about schedules and itineraries can be overwhelming. While you may want to pack everything in, it’s quite likely that too many activities will be too much to navigate. Kids (and adults too) need time to relax and have some down time. Leave time in your day for rest and relaxation. Sometimes less is more.
Conclusion
Travelling with children can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience if you plan and execute it well. By involving the children in the planning, being prepared, making sure to incorporate downtime, and being open to making changes as necessary, you can help everyone feel excited and be a part of something special.
