This is a partnered post from Kendra Thornton on tips for traveling with kids. Enjoy! 😀
When you travel with your kids, you want everyone to be as comfortable, healthy and happy as possible. This is easier said than done, when you consider some of the daily challenges that you face when traveling with children! Luckily, there are some tactics that can help keep your whole family healthy when you take vacations or other trips.
1. Eat a Good Breakfast – If you want to spend a lot of money on high priced snacks and ensure that your kids eat plenty of unhealthy foods, be sure to arrive at the theme park starving. On the other hand, if you eat a good breakfast first, you set the stage for a much healthier day.
Theme parks are not the best places to get nutritious meals. If you take the time to have a healthy breakfast, your whole family will have a head start on the day. The last time our family traveled to Florida we stayed at a nice Walt Disney World in Orlando hotel that included a good breakfast in the room rate. I found this great tip by sifting through some of Gogobot.com’s family-friendly reviews. That helped us get a good start to the day!
2. Bring a Hygiene Kit – It’s easy to get lazy about hygiene and cleanliness when traveling. This is not a good idea, as it’s easy to pick up germs in many places. One good tip I found online is to create a hygiene travel kit before leaving. This should include a few basic items such as sanitizing wipes, face masks and hand sanitizer.
These items are very useful when you are around people who are ill, or when you or the kids touch objects that are likely to accumulate germs. This includes door handles, tables and chairs in restaurants and handrails for staircases and escalators.
3. Take Your Time – This is more of a way to avoid stress than a health tip, but we’ve all heard that stress can make us ill! Leaving some extra time can help you relax and enjoy your trip. Young children like to have some time to look at new places and shouldn’t be constantly subject to time pressure. When setting up your daily itinerary, be sure to leave time for bathroom breaks as well as spontaneous stops and activities.
4. Plan Drives or Flight Times Strategically -When scheduling your driving time or flight, take into consideration when your child normally sleeps. Try to do your traveling when he or she is typically awake. It’s often hard for kids to sleep when traveling, so you don’t want to create a situation where they are overtired at the end of the journey.
5. Don’t Overeat -Restaurants often dish out giant sized portions. You can save a little money and stay healthier by sharing some dishes. A family of 4, for example, can order 3 rather than 4 main dishes and split them up. This not only prevents anyone from overeating, it gives everyone lots of different foods to sample.
6. Bring Spares – if you need anything, make sure to bring spares. This can change from Echo Frames prescription lenses to be able to see clearly, to spare phone chargers. This may seem overly precautious. But if something breaks or gets lost, it will prove genius!
I hope these travel tips will of benefit to you and your family this holiday season. Just remember to enjoy your vacation and soak up as much sun as you can. Stay safe!