Unless you live right near Disneyland then when you organize your holiday, you
know that it means you are going to have to take into account how to get
there. There are two issues that you need to deal with. The first is
what transportation method you’ll use and the second is how you will keep your
young children amused on the way. There is no denying that traveling with
children is a whole new test of your parental ingenuity.
Do the
scout/girl guides thing and be prepared with backups and lots of
distractions. Who knows maybe by following these tried and true tips
you’ll arrive triumphant at the other end
OK, maybe not triumphant but perhaps
you’ll manage to keep your cool the whole way and that is something!
Here
are 12 things you need to carry with you and not in the trunk or luggage
hold:
1. A change of clothes for each child and socks (it can get
cold on airplanes and the socks provided don’t come in any size other than
big).
2. Extra clothes for you in case of
spills.
3. Tissues (can you ever have too many where young children
are concerned?), a few empty plastic bags (to contain any smelly nappies and
dirty clothes) and a face washer. Take a Ziploc bag for the face washer so
that when it’s wet, not everything else in your bag gets
damp.
4. Variety of snack food (cereal, sultanas, crackers, fruit etc)
in Ziploc bags. If you’re on a plane, the food never comes quickly or
often enough and if you’re in a car, you can guarantee a child will be hungry 15
minutes after you departed.
5. Drink bottles disposables are handy
but sometimes having the comfort of a familiar drink bottle makes it worth
taking your child’s with you. It depends a bit on the child and how adept
they are at drinking from a regular bottle.
6. A new toy for
each child something they haven’t seen before and won’t see until you get
going and they start to get restless. Make it something that isn’t noisy,
doesn’t take batteries (or if it does, take some spares), that they can interact
with, that doesn’t require your involvement to put it back together if it falls
apart and that isn’t made up of a million pieces that can get lost down the back
of the seat. A tall order I know but I can tell you from experience that
it’s worth spending a bit of time choosing something that fits the
bill.
7. A couple of books, preferably one or two new ones.
8. Balloons they don’t take up much space and are perfect for
that transit stop that seems to take forever. There is nothing like a
child chasing a balloon to make everyone feel that bit better and lighter about
life. The other thing to do with balloons is to blow them up and then let
the air out slowly with the opening directed at the child. My children
love this. They squint and turn their faces away and then double up with
laughter and shout ‘more, more’. Again this may require a bit of
discretion because the noise of an exhaling balloon can be loud and well,
unbecoming.
9. Bubble mix another space saver that works a
charm. Best saved for outdoors.
10. Drugs. I’m going to
get controversial here as I know this isn’t a choice everyone is comfortable
with but drugs to help children sleep, especially on long haul flights, can be
an absolute lifesaver for you and the child. Taking children across many
time zones in a steel capsule with an uncomfortable chair for a bed isn’t their
choice for a good night’s sleep, so make it easier for them by helping them to
get some rest. It means you will all arrive in better shape.
11. A favourite toy or sleep buddy (preferably something small) can
be an enormous comfort to an over-tired or stressed child.
12. And lastly don’t forget to take something to read for
yourself. You never know they may sleep or watch a movie and you could be
left wondering what to do with yourself. Nothing too ambitious or
bulky. A magazine or short story should do the trick. Check out
www.espressofiction.com for great short stories.
What should you put it
all in? If you have to do any walking, a daypack is best because it won’t
slip off your shoulders, leaves both hands free and has lots of compartments so
you can find things, like your wallet, in a hurry.
If this list sounds
like a lot to you, believe me when I say that being prepared can make all the
difference between a never-ending ordeal and an unusual, possibly pleasurable
way to pass time.
Happy traveling!