Including your kids in your travel plans is a great chance to bond as a family, enables them to broaden their horizons, and can also be lots of fun.
But traveling with kids also means a bit of extra work and planning on your part.
Here are 3 tips for making travel with kids a stress-free affair.
Do your packing well in advance
You might be able to haphazardly throw a few items into a suitcase the night before a trip you’re making alone or with other adults. After all, if you forget something, you can just buy it at your destination.
When traveling with kids, never push packing to the last minute, as leaving something important behind could mean uncontrollable kids or a crying baby.
If you’re traveling with a baby or toddler, it goes without saying that you should pack essentials like diapers, milk bottles, wet wipes and so on. Keeping these items familiar to your children may go a long way to having a memorable holiday.
But even with slightly older kids in tow, you’ll want to include a few items that can keep them from getting restless such as some of their favorite books, tablets, and toys.
Do research on family-friendly attractions
When travelling alone, you might be able to sleep in at the hotel and then go where the wind takes you.
But when you’re travelling with kids, some planning is necessary. Do your research in advance on family-friendly attractions such as theme parks and animal sanctuaries. Make sure to check the website of each attraction to see if there is a promotion for families and figure out which are the cheapest tickets to buy.
When you’re at your destination, some planning is also required to ensure you get to the attractions you’ve picked on time. For instance, if you have to wake up early in the morning to go to a theme park, you’ll want to tuck the kids in bed early so they won’t have difficulty waking up.
Get the kids involved in the travel planning
If your kids are old enough, here’s a trick that can save you some time and effort—get them involved in the travel planning. Delegate tasks such as printing out maps, coming up with things to do, planning an itinerary or finding the cheapest ways to get from the airport to your accommodation.
You can also get them to do research on the history, culture and cuisine of your travel destination and share what they’ve learnt with the rest of the family.
Younger children can also get involved by offering their opinions when you’re planning your itinerary, or watching a kid-friendly documentary on your travel destination and then sharing with the family what they’ve learnt.
This turns your kids into active travellers rather than passive followers. Not only does it make the trip more meaningful and educational, it also helps them be more engaged and responsible as they travel.
That means you’re likely to have fewer temper tantrums because of boredom, as they’ll be too busy observing this new world around them.
Buy travel insurance
Before you leave Singapore on your next family holiday, protect them with family travel insurance from HL Assurance. If you go on frequent family holidays, an annual travel insurance policy is the best way to stay safe all year round.
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