Source:https://www.parents.com/
Traveling with kids can be highly rewarding, offering memorable experiences, fostering curiosity, and enhancing family happiness and creativity. However, it can also be costly and challenging, with concerns about budget, child behavior, and packing. To ease these difficulties, explore tips on avoiding common family travel mistakes, ensuring a smoother and more enjoyable trip for everyone.
1. Booking Separate Seats for Travel:To ensure a smooth family flight, it’s crucial to book seats in advance so you’re guaranteed to sit next to your children. While some airlines offer free family seating, many do not, so it’s important to research and potentially pay extra for seat selection to avoid being separated.
2. Not Packing Enough Food: To avoid a cranky, hungry child during travel, bring their favorite snacks, especially since airplane food can be unappetizing. For adventurous eaters, some airlines offer pre-ordered child-friendly meals, such as Air France’s organic options or British Airways’ ‘Feed Kids First’ policy.
3. Bringing the Wrong Equipment: A trip—and especially one where flights are involved—isn’t the time to bring your largest full-size stroller. Instead, consider a travel stroller that can fit in the airplane’s overhead bin or the trunk of your rental car. Parents can sometimes find other necessary but bulky items, like cribs or pack and plays, in hotels and vacation rentals, making it easier to travel light. Ask your accommodation about available baby gear in advance.
4. Traveling Without a Change of Clothes: Kids inevitably get dirty, and when you’re traveling, even a small mess can end up ruining your day. To save yourself the heartache—and the laundry bills—Vazquez recommends traveling with an extra set of clothes. To take things one step further, travel in something you could throw away if you had to because “if something is really nasty, you don’t want to pay the extra cost for laundry,” she says.
5. Ignoring Jet Lag:Jet lag can be challenging for both adults and kids. To manage it, Henley Vazquez suggests taking a short nap upon arrival before starting your activities. Planning for a nap and having a structured plan for the day can help prevent exhaustion and make the trip more enjoyable.
6. Forgetting Passport Rules If Traveling Internationally: A major travel mistake is arriving at the airport with an expired passport. Child and baby passports have a shorter validity of five years compared to adult passports, which last ten years. Additionally, parents should carry a copy of their child’s birth certificate, especially if their last name differs from the child’s, to avoid border issues.
7. Not Bringing Enough Medicine: Kids get sick a lot. When you’re not close to home, hunting down a pharmacy is the last thing you want to do. It’s even more cumbersome if you’re out of the country and suddenly need to be concerned about things like dosage conversion rates.
8. Ignoring Your Kids’ Interests: When planning a trip, ensure it’s not only kid-friendly but also incorporates your child’s interests. Even activities that may not seem ideal for kids, like a cruise, can offer enjoyable experiences such as kids’ clubs or ship exploration. Tailor the itinerary to your child’s passions—whether it’s visiting the Kennedy Space Center for space enthusiasts or exploring the Galeries Lafayette in Paris for fashion lovers—to enhance their enjoyment and engagement.
9. Discounting Early Dinner: Early bird specials aren’t just for senior citizens. Late afternoon is one of the best dining times while vacationing with younger children. The benefits are twofold: It’s easier to get a reservation at hard-to-book restaurants, and it’s usually less crowded, so you won’t have to worry if your kids are a bit loud. As a bonus, early dinners mean earlier bedtimes!
10. Failing To Do Your Research: Before traveling, make sure you understand the details of your destination. For instance, confirm that your children meet the age requirements for amenities like kids’ clubs at an all-inclusive resort. Checking these details in advance or consulting a travel planner can prevent disappointments and ensure your trip goes smoothly.
11. Not Planning Stops for Road Trips: Kids of all ages tend to get antsy. To ward off the annoying “are we there yet?” questions on a family road trip, it’s important to plan stops along the way. Find local parks for little ones to get the wiggles out, or look up interesting road trip stops like museums or aquariums.
Read More:https://childreninfobank.com/safebank/11-mistakes-to-avoid-when-traveling-with-kids/
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