Tips for a perfect family vacation with young children

Having younger children shouldn’t stop you from continuing your travels, but will most likely change the way you take your vacations. A vacation is a great time to bond with family, see new places, and get in some much-needed R&R. Take these tips into consideration while planning your family vacation so you can spend more time enjoying the scenery, and less time stressed over what you may have forgotten.

Begin your trip well rested and prepared

It’s easy to put off packing and other arrangements until the last minute, especially for busy families, but this is a sure-fire way to get your trip started off on the wrong foot. Packing weeks in advance may be impossible due to the need to use the items you’ll be packing, but try to at least have all of your belongings packed the day prior to your departure.

By making sure that you’re packed, have made arrangements for pet care, and home security while you’re gone, you’ll feel less stressed walking out of the door and will be less likely to forget a key item or leave the front door wide open in all the chaos.

Get your children excited

By speaking with your children about the trip you’ll be taking, showing them pictures of the destination, and allowing them to give input as to what they’d like to see while they’re there, you’ll relieve some of the trip anxiety for your little ones. If your kids are old enough to voice their opinions, try allowing them to plan activities to do while on the trip.  According to StuffedSuitcase.com, knowing that they helped plan part of the trip is going to make kids very excited for the vacation day to arrive.

While being in a brand new place surrounded by new faces and things to do is exactly what you’re looking for, this could be very overwhelming to a small child. By preparing them as much as possible for the change you could save yourself a meltdown or two.

Travel smarter

Try to make your travel days as easy as possible on the whole family. If this is your first trip with your children, it’ll be a brand new experience for you to lug the extra baggage, strollers, diaper bags, and little people around the airport. Take the stress out of your travel day by booking flights with your whole family in mind.

Try to book flights that are non-stop, or have the least amount of layovers; you’ll be glad you’re not having to pack all your belongings in and out of airplanes all day long. Make sure to get seats all together  so that you and your partner can switch off on kid duty. And make sure to pack plenty of snacks and entertainment for the trip.

Don’t be surprised if everything doesn’t go exactly according to plan, but being fully prepared will allow you to take those mishaps in stride and still enjoy your family vacation.