Travelling with young children can be a challenge, especially on long trips in a car, airplane, or train – it’s really hard for them to sit in one confined position for a long period of time. The trick to making travelling fun and exciting for children is to keep them entertained and their tummies full.
With boredom, comes restlessness, and with hunger comes crankiness. A combination of this can mean an unpleasant trip, not only for the children, but for everyone travelling together. If you take some time to prepare before embarking upon a long travelling venture, you might have a much happier experience.
Tips for Keeping Kids Entertained When Travelling
Pack Travel Bags – Pack a travel bag specific to each of your children. Some important items to remember are your child’s favorite stuffed animal, blanket, and toys. Nothing comforts a child more than his or her favorite blanket and stuffed animal. Just these items alone can make a big difference when travelling.
Also include snacks and water in spill proof containers for those in-between moments when your child may be suddenly hungry or thirsty. This may help in keeping your child satisfied until the next available meal time.
Bring Along Activity Books – Purchase some portable trays, so each child has his or her own personal activity center. Children can use these trays as tables when travelling. Bring along new colouring books and other fun writing activity books that your child can draw, write, and color in. Remember to also bring the colors, pens, and pencils along.
The importance here is that these activity books are new. The reason for this is that your child will be more excited and entertained with something new, than drawing books that have already been marked up.
Purchase Toys and Games Designed for Travelling – To avoid the crying or nagging of dropped toys or other items, purchase games and activity centers that are designed specifically for travelling These items will usually have pens attached by a string to an activity book, and have magnetic pieces for games or puzzles.
By keeping everything within your child’s reach, and taking precautions for the unexpected, your child may have so much fun that he or she will not even realize how long you’ve been travelling. Having a variety of different engaging toys and games are even great for children to enjoy together.
Pick up a few Disposable Cameras – Investing in a few disposable cameras can create hours of fun for children, without the worry of it breaking or becoming damaged by an accidental drink spill, especially if you purchase the waterproof type. Give each child a camera and ask him or her to take pictures of items that he or she has never seen before. This makes it fun and can keep children occupied for hours if travelling by ground.
Once you arrive at your final destination, have your child’s pictures developed so he or she can immediately see what kind of pictures were taken. Younger children, especially, really enjoy taking pictures, so stocking up on a few disposable cameras can be a worthwhile investment.
Bring Along Electronic Items – Both older and younger children enjoy electronic items, such as DVD players, music players, and handheld gaming systems. Depending on the age of your child, a movie, for example, can easily deliver two hours of non-stop entertainment. If deciding to pack along electronics, always remember to pack extra car chargers or batteries.
Keeping children entertained when travelling is easy with some pre-planning. Children love to be busy seeing things and doing things, so making frequent stops if travelling by car can also be a great way to break up a long trip. Be creative and think from your child’s perspective. After all, no one knows what your child loves more than you.
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