My family, including my in-laws, recently took a short weekend trip out of town.
So you might be thinking that I am a very lucky girl to go on so many trips (see this post and this one ), but the truth is, I usually blog post trip, but as I so rarely blog, it just seems like I go on a lot of trips. Still, I admit I am lucky to have the opportunity to go on these trips.
The trip was fun! The weather was not great, but it did not dampen anyone's spirit even if it literally soaked us one day. I consider any trip that does not result in me wanting to kill my travelling companions a great trip (my family usually had one major blow-up per family trip – I think it was because we were just not use to being together, in such close quarters, for such an extended period of time).
However, this post is not about the trip, but some lessons I have learned about I thought I will take this travelling with a small child:
Part one – from home until the plane.
It is okay to over pack (for the kids), but do not go nuts. I am a huge believer in being prepared, maybe it is reminiscent of my old girl guide days, but I have a tendency to pack for all four seasons. I have learned to restrain myself to packing for only three seasons by packing clothes that can be layered. I know over stuffing your luggage can be very expensive these days, but children clothes really do not weigh that much, so pack a couple (NOT DOUBLE) extra outfits and definitely extra underwear, and socks. Even if the kids are toilet trained, you never know if they will get themselves soaked or really dirty – my child has yet to meet a puddle that she does not like. Also, the one and only time I did not over pack, it SNOWED, in late APRIL!
Having said this, keep in mind that for the most part you should be able to buy what you forgot or do not have enough of at the destination. Also, if you are planning to buy a souvenir t-shirt anyways, maybe pack one less than.
Bring entertainment, and be prepared to make/be entertainment. You never know if the plane will be delayed (we were stuck at the airport for TEN hours, and were down to our last diaper), or if the weather really sucks, you may be stuck in your hotel room. I like open-ended toys, so it has the potential to keep my kid occupy for a bit longer. I bring things like play-doh, a notebook, things to draw with, a doll or dolls. Once, between the stuff we had and the stuff we found at the hotel, we could had set up a pretend restaurant and store in the hotel room (take out containers from the restaurant, plastic cutlery and cups etc...). We also usually go and buy her some little (and cheap) new toy for the plane. I find anything new will usually keep a child occupied for 15 minutes.
Electronic devices are sometimes our best friends. I found my iPad a great source of distraction. For one thing, it weighs next to nothing, and I can load a whole bunch of children stories onto it, along with games, and movies. We packed books once, and they weighed a lot, so we could only bring about three. No one wants to listen or read the same three books for a week, now we have dozens of books on my iPad, and the machine can even read them to her. I am not too thrilled about letting my kid play with my electronic gadgets all the time, but hey, it keeps her happy waiting for and during the time on the plane, so I am willing to live with that.
On the plane, sometimes you may have to throw some rules out the window. At home we have a pretty strict television watching time limit, however, on the plane, we allow her to watch all the television she wants (assuming we were lucky enough to get one of the planes with the little personal television systems). Yes, I admit I let my child watch almost three continuous hours of television on a flight to Florida. I figure there are very limited amount of activities she can do on the plane, it is not like I can ask them to stop the plane so I can take her to the park for a run, and I am not really comfortable letting her play in the aisles; it seems like the attendants are always serving something or collecting something and I am sure the other passengers might appreciate not seeing an excited kid play like a monkey in the cabin. Sometimes, in these situations a little bending of the rules is probably good. Like, so what if we give her an extra piece of candy if it can help keep her distracted from her ears hurting during take off and landings, or that she gets an extra cup of juice because it makes her feel this is extra special, and keeps her hydrated in the very dry cabin.
Do you have any tips?
Next post will probably be about what I learned during the trip.
2 comments:
These tips are great. We flew with our daughters for the first time on March Break, and let them watch all the in-flight TV they wanted!
It's hard to travel with kids. People aren't too sympathetic when they hear you've spent a few days in Mexico (or wherever) but it's not exactly relaxing when you have the little ones along! Such a good experience for them though, and family time is always valuable.
I so agree; family trips are great and fun. And, I love to expose my little one to other cultures, and to show her how big and diverse the world is. But it does not stop me from wanting a vacation after my 'vacation'.
Where did you go? And, How was your trip?
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