Family Travel

Making family trips with your children will leave you with lots of cherished memories. The good thing is, traveling today is so much more family-friendly than 20 years ago. But all the same, it’s still good to plan ahead. Try this tips to make traveling with family much more fun.

How to prepare
Be sure to plan carefully. Look into details when your family travels. Remember, your child travels differently from you.

• Look for child-friendly places. Check online, with your travel agent or call ahead to find out about child-friendly hotels and locations around your holiday destination
• Do reserve a crib or car seat that is safety-approved when traveling overseas
• Plan to travel during the times your child can sleep. This will make it less boring and more tolerable for your child
• Get your child used to sitting in the car seat by playing with your child when he or she is seated in it
• Plan for frequent stops if you are driving. It’s more fun to break the journey into several stops to accommodate toilet breaks, tea breaks and just to enjoy the scenery
• As doting parents, we tend to bring more “just in case” items that we probably won’t use. Try writing down only the essentials that you need, to keep your journey light

On your journey
The fun begins! Here are some good-to-remember points that can make the journey a great one.

• Bring along your child’s favourite toy and maybe one new toy to keep him or her occupied when traveling
• Have an “essentials” bag with you always. This should contain spare diapers, extra clothes and the all-important plastic bag for used diapers
• A hungry child can make your trip a nightmare. So do prepare your child’s food for the journey.
• Solid foods like infant cereals are easy to fix and not messy, just add water and mix
• Snacks and drinks are easy-to-eat favourites
• Don’t forget to bring along your child’s medication, if any
• More importantly, bring along emergency phone numbers and know the locations of the nearest hospitals just in case

When you get there
Just a couple of things to note and look out for when your family travels.

• Make your room child-safe. Check especially for dangerous areas your child can climb, jump, fall or knock their heads. Examine electrical points, table tops or table angles, uneven floors, etc., for accidents-in-waiting danger
• You may want to bring some power outlet socket covers
• Bring tape along, as you may need to tape some loose and protruding items down and out of access of your child’s curious hands
• Have fun!