How to Holiday With Kids
We asked 100+ mums, dads, nannies and all kinds of carers for their best tips when travelling with kids, aged two through to teens. Here’s the shortlist of the Juggle Street team’s favourites, some great ideas and travel advice that you may not have thought of.
1. Preparation and packing
2. Trains, planes & automobiles
3. Destination everywhere
4. Safe Travels
We asked 100+ mums, dads, nannies and all kinds of carers for their best tips when travelling with kids, aged two through to teens. Here’s the shortlist of the Juggle Street team’s favourites, some great ideas and travel advice that you may not have thought of.
1. Preparation and packing
“Even though our kids are long out of nappies, I take stacks of baby wipes and repack them in ziplock bags and put in all our handbags and backpacks.” Lisa
“When my kids were little I would sit them down with a globe and explain the time zones and why they might need to sleep or feel awake at unusual times." Pien
“I pack my two their own special travel backpack each with books, sketchpads, pencils and craft stuff.” Jane
“Engage unenthusiastic older kids and teens by talking about, and Googling, the destination together in advance so they feel involved. Look into different things to do where you’re going so everyone’s interests are met, and make a loose plan for your trip.” Amanda
“Always travel with a change of clothes – for your child and yourself – and a plastic bag to put soiled outfits in.” Kayte
2. Trains, planes & automobiles
“Bunnings colour swatches for trips. Allocate a colour for each child (we have three) for 15 minutes screen time per swatch. They get given 4-6 swatches a day then buy time, swap or hoard for the next day. Got us across the Nullabor and Darwin-to-Alice by car.” Tony
“We found this great travel table called Snack ‘n’ Play Lap Tray we use on car trips that strap around the child or the booster seat. It’s a stable surface so kids can colour-in and play card games, and they can keep their ‘stuff’ in the table’s side pockets.” Emma
“A pack of Uno – it amazes me how eagerly they play it.” Meagan
“Stickers when they are small; good headphones when they are big.” Sarah
“I get my kids to race up and down empty stretches of airports so they’re tired by the time we board the flight.” Niamh
“A drink or one sweet to suck on for take-off and landing to relieve pressure on their ears. For babies, save your bottle or breastfeed for this time.” Rosie
“Never run out of food/snacks. That way when they turn you can bring them back from the brink. Avoid sweet foods so they don’t get sugared up, especially in confined spaces such as planes and cars.” Richard
“Get them something new that they really wanted, like small LEGO boxes, and wrap them. They can unwrap them on the plane adding to the excitement of travelling.” Caroline
3. Destination everywhere
“Immerse yourself in what the kids want to do and enjoy their joy and their stories. You need to slow down, be prepared and relax; stressed parents are annoying and make the kids stressed too.” Katrina
“The best advice I ever got was ‘one day on, one day off,’ so you do activities for one day then rest the next.” Andrew
“Take a nanny. The difference it’ll make in how much you all enjoy your hard-earned holiday is worth every cent.” Sharon
“Hire bikes. Our family got bikes in London and Paris and went all over the cities on two wheels.” Nikki
“For older ones, get them to start an offline Snapchat journal for the trip … and keep them busy wherever there is Wifi. Get a travel journal for younger kids to write about their trip and collect things to stick in it bits and pieces they find in the holiday, like tickets to exhibitions, food wrappers in another language.” Veronica
“When travelling with little people, this is the best pram ever! The GB Pockit stroller folds up so tiny it's hand luggage. Great for planes and in and out of cars as you can put it at your feet. I walked my sleeping child down the aisle of the plane right to her seat and transferred!” Claire
4. Safe Travels
“When we go away with our twin 3-year-olds, on arrival I do a safety check of the accommodation – power points, cupboards, balcony doors, bathrooms, pool fencing… Hotel or holiday house, I can now scan a space for potential hazards like a barcode!” Bella
“We dress our kids in bright colours so they will stand out in crowds at airports or when sightseeing.” Julian
“I’m a nanny and travel a lot with a few Sydney families. I make the kids lanyards with a sleeve for contact numbers and hotel info, a little local currency and how to ask for help in the language of the country we are in. I haven’t lost one yet, thankfully, but you can’t be careful enough travelling with kids.” Penny
“We have a travel first aid kit with ‘just in case’ essentials like children’s Panadol, digital thermometer, Band-Aids and small bandages, antiseptic, tweezers, ice pack, rehydration power and calamine lotion for burns or bites. I also make a list of emergency numbers in the place where going and print out a Google map of the nearest hospital. Don’t take the kit in your hand luggage due to the liquid restrictions on many international flights.” Carrie
Want more tips? Check out this fab book called Travel Without Tears: 645 Ways For Families To Take On The World by Sally Webb (Temple & Webster).
Learn more about Juggle Street or Join Now.
