Family holidays are what memories are made of. I can still remember my childhood breaks like they were yesterday, even though they certainly weren’t yesterday!
Whilst it’s easy to think of all the fun and laughs you will have on your long-awaited holiday with the little ones, there is a certain element of stress that goes along with it. Traveling with children is not one of the most fun things in the world, especially when tantrums and over-tiredness comes into play, so it’s important to figure out a few ways you can at least reduce the severity of these tantrums, and help everyone get from A to B without blood pressure soaring!
We just mentioned over-tiredness, and I think this is probably one of the major factors, along with over-excitement. We can’t do a lot about children being excited about their holiday, and we wouldn’t want to either, so it’s important to try and help your little ones get as much shut eye pre-travel as possible. A good way to do this is to drive to the airport the night before, park up, using a company such as Airparks, and then stay overnight at an airport hotel. This means your holiday starts a night earlier, everyone is where they need to be in good time, you can get plenty of sleep without having to worry about getting up at stupid o’clock to get to the terminal door for your early flight, and you can make the night a part of your holiday with a family meal etc. I’ve done this several times, and I’ve used many Glasgow Airport hotels with parking for this. You will find hotels at most large UK airports, and there are some fantastic rates to be found if you look hard enough. I can’t rate this idea enough.
Distraction is another technique that will help you when travelling with your little darlings, so if you have an iPad or tablet, then get it loaded up with plenty of games, films, books, apps and puzzles, and make sure it is well charged. It may be a good idea to buy a mobile battery for your device too, to stop that irritating low battery light flashing just as you’ve managed to settle everyone down!
Also try and cut down on the amount of sweets and sugary treats you give your children, because this just adds up to hyperactivity, and then you have that to deal with on top of everything else. Stick to fruit and juice, without resorting to fizzy drinks if at all possible, and again, make sure everyone gets a proper sit down meal at the airport whilst you’re waiting to board, because that way nobody is complaining they’re hungry and then resorting to junk food.
Finally, the best piece of advice to give? Stay calm! Whilst you might want to pull your hair out when little Jimmy won’t stay still, or little Charlotte wants to run up and down the cabin aisle, you must retain at least an outside expression of Zen, because eventually they will pick up on this and hopefully Zen-out themselves. But If you need to travel without your kids you could always send them to summer camp.
