Traveling with small children can be difficult, and I know this too well. I have been on several long car rides with a baby and toddler, plus as young kids. Also we have flown to Ireland with an 18 month old toddler (whilst I was 20 weeks pregnant), and to the UK with kids aged 4 and 6. So here are some tips to handle long (or short) distances:
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BY CAR
- Plan frequent rest stops – especially at a park or playground.
- Pre-packaged snacks
- Use a Bento-Style lunchbox to store food / snacks
- iPad / tablet / portable DVD player
- Busy Bags are perfect (and are available in New Zealand!)
- Kids music cd’s (to play in the car)
- Coloured pens / pencils
- Colouring in books
- Stickers / Sticker books
- Books to “read”
- Give your child an old wallet with cards in it – we all know kids love to play with wallets!
- Take a baking tray and magnets
- Playdoh balloons – put playdoh in a deflated balloon, and tie the end … No mess!
- Kids Magazines (like those ones that have a toy/activity in them)
- Let them take their own back pack and put things in it they might like: toys, treats, activities, etc
- Play car games: I-Spy, counting cars, pointing out colours, spot-the-truck, etc
- If your child is a bit older, use a map and mark on it where you are going, make a game of spotting the towns you’re going through
- As a last resort, and if you have the option to do so, take turns sitting in the back with your child
CARSICK CHILDREN
- Try using sea bands
- Travel at night (so the child sleeps)
- Make sure the car is properly ventilated
- Avoid giving your child too many things to look at inside of the car (sorry about that) – looking out the window is a great idea for kids who get carsick
- Distraction – talk to your child, sing with them, play verbal games
- Take frequent breaks – get out of the car and get fresh air
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BY PLANE OR TRAIN
- Travel by night
- If you have a toddler, and enough money, buy a seat for them. It is nice to have the space (trust me on that).
- If you have a baby, invest in a baby wrap or carrier
- Busy Bags! Can’t recommend these enough.
- Headphones for children – the airplane headphones aren’t the greatest.
- Take a dummy – will help with the pressure on the way up/down.
- Chewing gum for older kids – perhaps even AirWaves to help if they’ve got a blocked nose.
- Take pamol (esp for flights, in case the ear pressure becomes too painful)
- Pre-packaged snacks (take plenty, our kid hated the plane food)
- Coloured pens / crayons
- Colouring in books
- Stickers / Sticker book
- Books to “read”
- iPad / tablet / portable DVD player
- Buy a Trunki for your child to take with them (these are awesome)! Great for storing all of the above as well 😀
- Take a compact stroller – you can take this all the way up to the gate. It will get stored last in the luggage, and then given to you when you get off the plane.
- My biggest piece of advice for the plane, is to take things that you can’t easily lose. Remember that you are in a small confined space!
You can also check out PINTEREST for great ideas.
If you have any other ideas that have worked for you, let me know!
