Vacationing with the children

What you need to know:

Tips. Travelling with children is as interesting as it is challenging. Evelyn Masaba tips on how to make it more fun than challenging.

Travelling with children is always very interesting, you will either enjoy it or be neurotic and end up missing the fun
Here are a number of tips some parents have shared on how they handle travelling with their children.
Planning
Always have a well-planned list on you that you will use whenever the time to travel arises. It is even better when you have it saved on your computer or phone and edit it for the different trips, then print it. This list helps you remember what you need for the event, what will not be necessary on the new trip and of course, what children will need. It helps you stay organised and not lose your mind.

Medication
This is quite important. Always make sure you carry all necessary medication for the children, especially if you are going to rural areas, away from pharmacies and hospitals. Children are usually allergic to several different forms of medication so carrying the ones you regularly use in an emergency kit will be useful and may buy you time to travel back to civilisation for proper medication.

Packing
If you have teenagers, it is better you let them pack their own holiday outfits and just double check to make sure everything has been covered and is weather-appropriate for the destination.
If you are going to fly, don’t forget to separate the luggage in different bags to minimise damage in case of loss.

Kid time
When you get to your destination, do not just plan activites that only suit adults; plan for children too. Keep them busy and help them learn about their new surroundings. Children love seeing new things and will make friends easily when they meet other children in a child-friendly environment on their vacation. Help them get the most from each trip.

Toys
For the little ones and those in the terrible two stage, carry toys to keep them busy on the way. Children do not like being in one place for long, which is why they become fussy and irritable on long trips. Their favourite toys will help them focus on something else other than the fact that they are cooped up in one place for hours.

Forget the rules
It is vacation after all, forget about maintaining neat beds and silence at the dinner table. Break the rules for the length of the vacation and let them have fun. It helps you to enjoy too. Supervise them, but do not be in their faces, especially for the teenagers or you will make them resent holidays with you. You do not want to have a rebellious teen fueled by hormones driving you nuts on your vacation.

Mummy and Daddy time
Do not forget why you went for the vacation in the first place; to get away from everything and relax. So, stop worrying about children or the planning of other activities for the vacation. Ask the hotel, if they can get you a babysitter or have your older children babysit so that you can enjoy yourselves.
When you take the children for sightseeing, capture your own memories, live in the moment and create memories with the children.

Hotel Booking
With the emergence of technology, you do not have to wait when you arrive at the hotel to confirm your bookings. You can use sites such as Jovago.com to make your reservations and the travel adviser will confirm the booking for you to take one load off of your plate as you plan for your travel. Make sure to get hotels that are suitable for children with planned activities and play areas for them.