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Top tips for stress-free travel with kids
Holidaying abroad can seem like a daunting prospect when you've got kids in tow – especially if they're in the toddling phase – but with careful planning, you can reduce your stress levels and get down to enjoying a well earned break.
If you're planning on getting away from it all with your children and need some useful tips on how to avoid tantrums, stress and calamity, why not check out my top 5 tips below:
Get your kids involved
It's all too easy to hurriedly pack what you think are the essentials for your children (especially if they are still very young), but are you packing what they want or simply what they need?
To minimise holiday tantrums, it's best to get a good mix of the essential items and the things they'll want to have with them, such as their favourite toys and clothes. As you pack for them, let them get involved and tell you what they want you to add in. This becomes ever more important as your children get older when it becomes crucial that they are involved in the decision making process.
Image courtesy of Meddygarnet @Flickr
Purchase travel insurance
To ensure you are covered for anything that could go amiss with you and your little ones whilst on your holiday, it's a good idea to purchase travel insurance. The average policy will offer peace of mind when it comes to paying out for accident/sickness, public liability claims, holiday cancellation, theft or loss of holiday money and loss of baggage.
Without this cover, should something go wrong, your holiday could be ruined and you could be faced with a bill for emergency medical treatment.
Most insurers offer family policies (you'll often find that kids under the age of 18 are included free of charge) which offers better value for money than purchasing individual policies for each family member. To find a cost-effective solution with the features you need, it's a good idea to use a price comparison website such as moneysupermarket.com to cut out the legwork.
Pack snacks
Children soon feel hungry again after a meal, so it's a good idea to pack a variety of snacks to minimise the risk of tantrums resulting from an empty stomach.
Aim to pack healthy, slow release energy food such as bananas, nuts and cereal bars to keep them happier for longer.
Image courtesy of Smabs Sputzer @Flickr
Keep them interested
If you want to keep your children entertained during a long flight - or during the day whilst you sunbathe and keep a watchful eye on them - it's a good idea to pack a variety of toys to keep them interested. Children have very short attention spans so it's vital you can produce another toy for them to play with as their attention begins to wane.
It's really a matter of quantity over quality for once in this area as you'll need a wide variety of toys to guarantee a holiday with the minimum number of tantrums.
As your kids get older this task gets easier as you'll easily keep them entertained with a handheld games console, iPod or e-reader such as the Amazon Kindle.
Give them their own backpack
Once your children are old enough to have their own seat on the plane, you should start to take advantage of their hand luggage allowance. It's also an ideal opportunity to start teaching them to be responsible for their own belongings too.
They'll love the extra responsibility and they'll be able to pack their favourite toys, learning a valuable lesson in the process (after lugging their backpack around the airport they'll soon learn to pack more wisely).
So, for a stress free holiday (well almost), follow the above tips and you'll find things go much more smoothly.
Share your tips and / insights for stress-free travel with children.
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