Traveling With Young Children
January 14th, 2011 by Blair Stover, under Travel and Leisure. No Comments
When traveling with your young children, you will be definitely be kept on your toes. There are several tricks, however to aid you in being prepared when fatigue and boredom come over your child. These clever tactics will work for any sort of travel, whether you may be traveling on an airplane, in a car or by train. The key is providing variety. Do not depend upon one form of entertainment!
If your child does not own a hand held game, this may be a good time to invest in one. Do not let them know about your purchase until the moment it is needed. The newer it is, the longer it will entertain the child. If your child already owns one of these, consider purchasing a new game or two for the system. Also, bring a few child-friendly movies. Buying or renting new movies is a good idea, but do not forget their favorite movie too, as this can be comforting while experiencing new places. Books on CD are another electronic form of entertainment. These can be purchased or checked out from your public library.
One more way to entertain little ones is to load a backpack up with surprises. New games or movies could be included in the backpack. Visit the local dollar store and get about twenty children’s toys, gadgets and activity books. Wrap each item individually then allow the child to open one item at a time then play with it until its novelty wears off. Then invite the child to open a new one. When you have more than one child, you do not necessarily need additional toys since the kids can trade once playing with the one that was first opened. Bear in mind you should choose a range of things. Since these are not expensive toys, parents will not get upset if they break or are accidentally left somewhere during travel.
Different items to include in the backpack of tricks are games. Various travel games can be printed off of online sites. For instance, travel bingo includes pictures of items your child will see while in a plane or on a car ride and they can check the pictures off as they are encountered. The license plate game, matching picture games and word searches are some other kinds. Games like this can be found online to entertain a child of any age.
Finally, add a lunch bag filled with snacks. Hand over the control to your child. Explain to them that they can determine when they will eat what from the choices in the bag. Include numerous healthy choices and a few small treats. Choose treats that are long lasting and take awhile to eat, like ring pops or lollipops. Remember to pack a drink or two as well. Do not forget to include a large variety. The goal is not keeping the child full, it is to prevent boredom.
Looking for more information on travel trips, destination reviews, and travel news? Visit my blog http://www.blairstovertravels.com. Follow me on twitter @BlairStover78
