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Having young children, between 4 & 6yrs old, for holidays? Tips in
making them preoccuppied and enjoy the holidays as family.
1) Bring along, children story books, coloring book and colorful
pencils/markers.
2) Bring along plug & play game that can easily connected to the TV
found your holiday accommodation.
3) Hand-held games and enough batteries.
4) Figures's toys; dinosours, matchbox and soft-toys.
5) Snacks/biscuits that the children love.
Try-out, as it works for me and it sure works for you too.
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Rosnah Binti Jusan, Singapore
TRAVELLING WITH YOUR FAMILY:
When travelling overseas with your children, help them and yourself
to learn about other cultures & life without boring them with your
lecturing about unwanted facts & figures.
Before we leave on our trip, we nominate & each member chooses for
themselves, an area or topic in a culture that that person will
gather information, ideas & photos about; e.g. food, costumes,
stories, art, buildings. This way it is that person's pet project
that they have chosen & they can collect as much or as little as
they like, even just photos is fine.
We give the kids 2-3 disposable cameras each, & they also collect a
few souvenirs in their area. When we get home, we invite family &
friends over for a casual meal in the cuisine of that country and a
"show & tell" from each of us.
Everyone's happy, as this format is far less boring for everyone
than showing your photo album (YAWN !!!). Then the whole family
makes up a scrapbook of our trip that will last FOREVER!!!
- Timothy C. Smith, Australia
TRAVELLING WITH TRAVEL-SICK CHILDREN:
My 11 yr old son suffers from severe air sickness (not severe enough
to stop us going though). He hates flying as he is very unwell the
whole flight.
MY TIPS:
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Consult a doctor with the child before travel & get prescriptions,
advice for medications, remedies etc.
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Stock up on anti-nausea medications, patches, sedation, pain
relievers, herbal remedies, anything your doctor & research
suggests. Get a doctor's letter for carrying medications through
customs.
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Research travel sickness remedies on the web & word of mouth.
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Keep the medication up when on a long flight.
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Buy a "special bag" for your child that is theirs only, to carry
spare sets of clothes, extra vomit bags, moist towelettes, spare
toothbrush & paste, bottled water, Lucozade or similar, dry bikkies,
lollies, cushion & small blanket (for airport transit/delays),
special toy, magazine. This will make them feel secure, special and
prepared.
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While planes are stocked with SOME items your sick child will need,
airports are not, so you need to be prepared.
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If required, organise a wheelchair with the cabin crew on board
before you land & they will happily have one waiting for your child.
Saves carrying a heavy, sick child through miles of airport. This
sounds dramatic but is absolutely a lifesaver for your child & you
after a long flight.
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REASSURE & COMFORT your child throughout journey. Getting annoyed
never works as they can't help their physical reactions.
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Never assume that the cabin crew will be there to help: they're
either too busy, don't understand or don't care. (Always surprised
when we get a caring helpful flight attendant) Having said that,
make sure they help you out with some things, even if you feel
you're being annoying.
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If your child can't or won't eat, save snack food from their meal
trays, request lemonade & water from cabin crew. Your child will
survive a really long flight without food, but should have water,
especially if vomiting.
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Airports do have medical personnel, but take care because they may
not let you board your next flight if they think your child is too
sick. Manage it yourself if you can.
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If you're immobilised with a sick child lying on you for long hours,
make sure you move your legs around, get up & walk every few hours:
you're more at risk of a DVT than your average traveller.
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Have a good sleep before you travel: you may be 'on-duty' as your
child's nurse for many uncomfortable hours!
GOOD LUCK!!!!
-Linda-Marie Smith, Australia
Talk about the place you are going long before you leave and the
places you will visit. (kids love talk of castles) Bring a DVD
player to dinner with headphones. Kids don't enjoy a leisurely
dinner, so put on a movie and enjoy dinner with your spouse. You'd
be amazed at the number of staff that watch over the kids shoulders.
Nearly every city has a park. Visit and let the kids run. Take time
to see the place through their eyes and perspective.
- Courtney Howie, USA
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When tavelling with your
teenage kids, Is not as sweet as honey.
Let them choose an event,
And give them pocket money.
Never despair. don't lose control.
Let them have some imput,
And enjoy the hol!
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Dianne, OZ
Always go well prepared with a packed lunch for children travelling
with you especiall if your flight leaves between 12 and 1. If they
have to wait until the aircraft has taken off and food distributed
it may be too long for them to wait.
- Jaye Dixon, UK
When travelling with baby, bring a light stroller, small toys and
lots of patience along! On packing, roll up the clothes to save
space and don't bring too much .. its easier to wash and reuse the
clothes. Put a change of clothes in the hand luggage in case of
spillage as well as fever medicine. With all these in mind, just go
and have a good time even if not everything falls in place!!
- Helen Yap, Malaysia
Make sure young kids always have a game boy advance with them, it is
a pocket hypnotist... imagine your destination to be mediocre - that
way you wont be disappointed
- Suenne Carter, Australia
Pre-school essentials:
We drive around a lot in Malaysia with our two pre-school kids.
Attached is a list of things to bring, beyond the usual, that I have
found extremely useful to have around:
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Medication for diarrhoea, fever, cold, including simple first aid
supplies like band-aid plasters and a thermometer
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Toys - small items but let the kids choose so that they know what
they're getting for the trip and won’t argue over it)
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snacks – non-sugared, otherwise the kids get too active
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lots of water
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interesting children's songs on CDs
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A nail-clipper (often overlooked but kid’s nails grow quickly)
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Salve or ointment for insect bites
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Talcum Powder
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Tissue paper / paper napkins
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Plastic or other bags for motion sickness
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Kid-sized plastic utensils including bowl, spoon and fork (very
handy if you are eating at a fancy restaurant which only serves food
in breakable utensils.
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A set of clean clothes with you in the passenger cabin and not in
boot in case your kid throws up or otherwise dirties himself
Take plenty of toilet breaks in between drives – insist that they
relieve themselves. Do not attempt to rush. Plan for afternoon naps.
That relieves the stress for everyone, which is what a holiday
should be about anyways! Most of all, enjoy every part of the
journey. Even the preparation.
- Lum Yin Peng, Malaysia
Travelling with children - As a single mum with relatives in the UK
and Thailand, I'd suggest to other parents these tips:
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Always have access to food and water - healthy snacks and meal
substitutes. Small packets of cereals, fruit, dried fruit. Take
lollies to suck on plane trips (water, milk or juice for younger
ones) to stop ears hurting.
It’s a lot easier to breast feed than try to organise formula. If
you can't take lots of formula with you and see if you can buy a
water heater with the appropriate plug and a bottlebrush. Ask if
your hotel can wash bottles for you.
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Take plenty of nappies - in some places it's difficult to get them.
Take games, books, colouring in books, crayons, pencils, puzzles etc
to keep them occupied. Play games such as I spy, hangman, spotting
games (can you see a red car, 50 points for seeing 3 churches etc).
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Learn key phrases in other languages - written or spoken, such as
"Where is the toilet?" or "My son is allergic to nuts."
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Buy drinks in sealed bottles only and don't use ice unless you are
sure it is clean. Buy fruit only when it is easy to peel - bananas,
oranges, mangoes etc.
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Keep some basic plastic cutlery handy.
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Organise your touring time including stops for the kids: parks,
cafes, children's activities in the country you're visiting.
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Introduce your kids to local food - but be wary of street sellers
and hygiene. Consider the cleanliness of eating places and the
smells.
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See if you can find a contact in the country you're visiting eg pen
pal sites on the net. You can ask questions about the area before
you travel.
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Book a hotel in advance for at least the first night. While you can
get great bargains walking round the streets in Thailand, it's no
fun doing this with tired children in tow.
Have a good trip!
- Cathy Davies, Australia
When travelling with a baby or toddler by plane you can keep a
pram/stroller with you up till boarding. However it has to be one
that folds up to a long thin stick, not just in half and not one
with big wheels - e.g., an umbrella stroller.
- Suzanne, Australia
When travelling with
children make sure they each have a backpack with a few snacks and a
drink just in case they don't like what they get on the plane! It
also pays to pack into their backpack toothbrush, toothpaste and a
change of clothes - or a least a change of shirt - just in case!
- Kerry Gittins, Germany |
