5 tips to travel with kids
In this new post I would like to share some tips based on my experiences travelling with two mini adventurers of 9 y 7 years old.
1.- To be practical. When my son and daughter were little I was always carrying a lot of things with me, things that I never used but had them "just in case". Now I´ve learned that all of that is pretty unnecessary and I've tried to teach my kids to think the same way.
I've tried to show them that taking time to pack is the best option so they can choose properly what to bring.
We always pack: 1 outfit per day plus 1 outfit for emergencies, eg: underwear, socks, pants and t-shirt per day. 1 set of pijamas (or 2 depending how long are we travelling) 1 jacket, waterproof if it´s needed. 2 sweaters 1 pair of shoes 1 pair of flip flops
And that's it! You really don´t need a lot of clothes you won't wear. The most important thing is to be the dressed according to the weather.
My kids love to carry their bags everywhere, so we try to pack as light as possible.
2.- To be organized. I learnt this when I travelled alone to the UK in 2016. If you want to organize your bag the best thing you can do is to put everything in little bags. This is so useful when you travel with kids because they can make a big mess looking for a pair of socks.
So, put underwear in a bag, t-shirts in another, pants in yet another and then all those little bags inside the suitcase.
Keeping everything as simple as possible will always make travelling easier.
3.- Budget. I believe this is really useful in every aspect of life. So what I do is to tell the children before travelling how much money they will the have to spend per day. If they decide to buy something with all the money at once that would mean they can´t buy anything else.
At first your children might not be happy but eventually they will choose properly. I think that teaching my kids about money has made them more autonomous and independent.
4.- Consider their opinions. Listen to what they have to say, ask them what would they like to see. If you are planning a trip, sit with your children and ask them for help to make the decisions.
Soon they will be planning next trip on their own!
5.- Trust them. Airports or bus stations can be quiet messy, especially if you're travelling with kids. Between luggage, passports, boarding passes and hand luggage is so easy to get crazy.
Since the first time we travelled together, I've tried to teach my kids to be responsible for their hand luggage. My kids are now 9 and 7 years old so they're perfectly able to take of their stuff with them.
And then you just have to enjoy!
Thanks for reading
