For the traveling family, each age has its own challenges, but you can amp up the enjoyment and dial down the frustration by strategizing about how to go on the road while accomplishing your goals: Getting away, spending time together, and seeing the world. And for more amazing travel advice, check out these 20 Ways to Make Travel Less Stressful. Wipes, baggies, rubber bands, a roll of electrical tape, #allofthechargers. And you should definitely bone up on the 30 Airport Secrets Only Insiders Know. Moments of peak frustration happen when your responsibilities out-number your hands. Delegate as much as you can away from your toddler-wrangling fingers: use ear buds for your phone, a backpack for your carry-on, your brain for remembering the gate, boarding time, and seat assignments. 5. Favorite movie on loop 4. Snacks on loop 3. Drive at night 2. Apps 1. Free their data!
- Clay 4. Expecting them to appreciate your rendition of “Margaritaville” 3. The license plate game 2.Unlimited questions from you 1. Unlimited liquids for them One time, after a multi-day trip to Disney World, my wife and I asked our boys what their favorite part of the trip was. Their answer: The big escalator in the hotel. Kids don’t need elaborate and expensive entertainment to have fun, and you don’t need to feel pressure to make every hour a gargantuan experience. They can be happy with hotel pools and subway rides.
Travel is the perfect time to teach how and when to not talk to strangers—and how and when you should.
Excursions that involve looking at/touching/swimming with animals are better than excursions that involve monuments. And consider avoiding the 15 Most Haunted Places in America altogether. The triumvirate of tantrum-triggers—hunger, fatigue, boredom—are formidable foes. Your vacation success hinges on your ability to outsmart them before they attack.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb
They’ll remember—this one time—you let them jump on the bed.*
- Be the spotter At their core, children are mini-Sherlocks. They want to have some kind of quest, which means you can make every outing one. “Help me find” 3rd Street, or Gate B9, or a pizza place" will go a long way in keeping their minds going while you are. And if you’re looking for some amazing travel #inspo, here are the 10 Most Stunning American Resorts Under $150-a-Night.
In her blog Suitcases and Sippy Cups, Jessica Bowers, writes that one of the best come-in-handy items that can turn into a toy is a mini-flashlight. For hotel rooms, you can use it to play “I Spy” or make shadow animals.
1.Give them a budget for the trip so they can make choices about what’s really important. 2. Make at least one of souvenir something small that they can collect everywhere you go (keychains, postcards). Even if they go in a box after every trip, it’ll be one place (other than Instagram) where they can rewind their life a bit as they get older. 3. Maybe read this if your tween wants a shot glass.
A long line shouldn’t always be a deterrent to not do something, as long as you’re not spending more time waiting than doing. Studies show that children who are more patient have better outcomes as adults. And if you need to relax during your trip, check out The Best Way to Do Yoga on an Airplane.
Instead of filling the day with everything you can do, pick one big thing you all want to do. Then down-shift. Misery quickly comes when you treat your vacation schedule like a work one. And for more amazing parenting advice, here are the 40 Parenting Hacks for Raising an Amazing Kid.
Their favorite blanket or stuffed animal. It. Will. Get. Lost. All the elevator buttons. If you have small kids and will be in crowded areas, attach your cell number to them: A tag on their wrist, or even with a marker on their arm.
Nobody will judge you if you want to make sure you, too, have a “sippy cup” on hand with “mommy’s juice” or “daddy’s milk.” As you’re gathering up everything you need to bring, take some time and let them choose a few things they “need,” too. It could be stuff from the dollar store, new socks, really anything that helps them share in the build-up of the excitement trip. Packing cubes are worth it.
A high-quality itinerary should be like a high-quality playlist: You don’t want to hear the same song over and over, and maybe you don’t want to do the same kind of thing over and over. Depending on where you’re going, you’ll keep your kids (and yourself) most engaged by mixing it up between nature, attractions, structured events, unstructured ones, walking, taking buses, go time, down time.
Most of your fellow passengers will tolerate and sympathize about a crying baby. They will not do the same about a tyke who kicks the seat.
Jason Greene, founder of One Good Dad, encourages his kids to order food in the native language when they travel internationally. It’s an opportunity, he says, to teach them how to think independently, how to navigate unfamiliar situations, and to try new things—all life skills that they’ll use in the future.
Chicken fingers in Spanish: Pollo empanizado y frito.
The most comfortable place for their head is up against your shoulder. For more parenting tips, check out The 30 Funniest Pieces of Celebrity Parenting Advice. To discover more amazing secrets about living your best life, click here to sign up for our FREE daily newsletter!
