Keeping children happy when traveling is a lot easier than you might imagine. Since I’ve traveled often with my child I’ve become something of an expert in how to keep kids happily occupied.
The mode of travel is always an important one to start with as it will help to determine the other steps you need to take in the future. Do you plan to take your trip by plane, train or automobile? I always like to start talking up whatever mode of transport we plan on using well in advance of the actual vacation and make it sound as fun as possible. If you’re taking the Eurostar, for instance, you can find plenty of videos on YouTube with the Eurostar that will delight your child. Most kids adore trains, and will happily watch them whoosh by on the screen while you explain to them that soon you’ll be traveling in a big train just like that and heading through a huge tunnel deep under the sea until you reach France.
If you’re going by airplane you can do much the same thing. Discuss different planes, read books about planes and airports like Richard Scarry’s “Day At The Airport,” and perhaps go to the park and fly your own RC airplane.
The mode of transport is also crucial to what toys you’ll be taking along for your trip. Will you be traveling by plane for just a few hours or overseas? Or will you be taking a long car ride to the ocean? Car trips will naturally allow for more toys compared with airplane journeys, but that’s no problem as you can just take the most important and favored items with you on planes.
Whichever way you intend to travel, it’s always a nice idea to put things inside mini bags so that every 15 minutes or so you can pull out a shiny new object to keep your youngster enthralled. Each new item will seem like a happy surprise to them! If you’re on a plane or train you might also consider bringing a laptop along. This way you could bring a fun DVD for your child to watch which is lovely when you’re on an overnight and overseas flight. You might also provide similarly themed toys on your trip to how you’re traveling. For instance, my son just naturally loves trains, so I always bring some of them along for Eurostar journeys. Collapsible train sets are lovely items too as you can fold them up nicely to put inside bags and pull them out for the journey (and hotel room!) and they take up very little space.
Playing games like I-Spy provides welcome diversions on trips. If your children are old enough to understand the alphabet you can say, “I spy with my little eye something beginning with….T” and then wait to see what things your children see that begin with the letter T. Pointing out everything you’re seeing is a good move also. Even if you’re in an airplane you can still use the plane’s sat nav system to tell them that you’re currently flying over the Rocky Mountains or an oasis-filled kingdom of animals in Africa and perhaps make up some fun stories relating to what you’re passing by/flying over.
Having snack food on hand to keep kids full and sated is also wise. Low blood sugar can spell disaster even for adults and for children it’s even worse, so always take little snacks with you on journeys. Whatever you decide to to with your children, remember that if you’re happy and excited about traveling, they will be too, and provided they’re fed and stimulated, you’ll all have a happy journey!