Seven Tips For Stress-Free Travel With Kids

Yes, parents reading this will know that "stress-free" and "kids" rarely fit together in the same sentence. You will also know that "stress-free" and "travel" don't always go hand in hand. However, there are ways of minimising stress when travelling with children and I hope you can find something here which works for you...

Online Check-In Many airlines only use this method, but if possible, to save time on arrival at the airport, you can check-in online at home for your outbound and return flights before you travel. This can avoid waiting in lengthy queues, and you just need to take your hold luggage to the bag drop area on arrival at the airport. Following Covid-19, online check-in will become the increasingly preferred method for almost every airline, so at least that's one positive to result from such an awful situation.

Labelling You label your luggage, yet your children are the most precious thing you have. Label them too! You can buy handy wristbands which have space for your to write flight numbers and contact details, so should your child get lost, someone can contact you and get you reunited with your child as soon as possible. We use these on the wrists of our children when travelling, but we also buy extra to last us the duration of the holiday, then whenever we leave the hotel, we pop a wristband on them and know that someone could contact us should the unthinkable happen. You can also get a lanyard style if you would rather use that method. I have hyperlinked the words wristband and lanyard here, so that you can shop online for them. These are not paid links, it's just where I buy mine, and if you search online, I'm sure you will find alternative suppliers.

Reigns For younger children, you may want to consider reigns. My eldest - then 6 to 7 - asked for reigns for our 2019 holidays, as she had momentarily become separated from us for literally seconds and it frightened her. We used the wrist reigns, as toddler reigns wouldn't have been appropriate. But if your children are travelling with a hand luggage bag, then you can buy children's backpacks with reigns attached too. Don't stop at the children! They will no doubt want to take their favourite teddy, and would be devastated if they lost it, so ensure teddies are secured to you child, their hand luggage or some other appropriate place during travel, using toy ties. There are hyperlinks in the text to take you to some examples of what you can buy. Again, they are not paid links and these items can be purchased from a variety of stores.

Sunflower Lanyard The sunflower lanyard scheme was introduced to help people with hidden disabilities when they are in a situation that could trigger aspects of their illness. They can be used in airports, supermarkets, etc. You can get one from security or the special assistance team at all UK airports (some airports still issue their own version of the lanyard, but all airports recognise the sunflower lanyard) or you can purchase one in advance from the official website. If you are travelling with a child who has a hidden disability, such as ASD, ADHD, anxiety, or some other medical condition which may make transit through the airport and onto the plane more difficult for them, get a sunflower lanyard for them to wear. Staff are trained to look out for them and offer assistance if required. For example, I have certain chronic illnesses which make it difficult for me to stand for any length of time and I collapse, so when wearing a lanyard, I am usually escorted straight to the front of the airport security queue (along with my family) and I'm offered the opportunity to be amongst the first or last passengers to board the plane. Providing nobody abuses this system, it works so well for anyone with a genuine hidden disability.

Security Fast Passes

You don't want to have to queue for long with children, especially when they are , tired from a middle of the night start to the day, hungry, and excited to get on holiday! This is where the security fast passes come in. For just a few pounds each (some travel agents add them on free of charge - I do when possible), you can buy a security fast pass which entitles you to use the priority lane at airport security. This bypasses the lengthy queues and gets you through to the departure lounge much quicker. Well worth it! Airport Lounges Airports can be notoriously expensive places. They can also lack seating, and the busier ones can be an overwhelming place for your children. This is often what adds to the crying, screaming and tantrum sessions that you get from your children when in the departure lounge. This is why an airport lounge is really beneficial. You have to pay to enter the lounges and it is recommended to book in advance, as they often sell out months in advance. You can book via a travel agent (I book them for clients, even when they haven't booked their actual holiday with me) and some travel agents (myself included) will try to give you lounge passes free of charge, or at a reduced cost if they possibly can. You can enter 2-3 hours before your flight departure time (timing differs between lounges). We love airport lounges. They offer a safer and more contained environment for our children than the main departure lounge. There are fewer people in the lounges, enough seats for everyone who has booked in, food and drinks are included in the price (some lounges offer unlimited food and drinks, and some also include champagne free of charge too!), they have news papers and magazines, WiFi, TV's and many also offer facilities for children, such as games consoles and cinema rooms. We find they are worth every penny and we never travel without booking an airport lounge on the outbound journey, and also book one for the return journey if possible.

In-Flight Entertainment If you can pack a surprise new travel toy for your children to open on the plane, it will keep them entertained during the flight. Obviously longer flights may require more items, but books, busy boards, learning cards, activity packs, puzzles in a box, magnetic puzzles, art, activity books, brain games, and family games are great ways to entertain the children during the flight. They can also be used on holiday when visiting restaurants, on coach trips or in the room whilst they wait for you to get ready. I've hyperlinked a few in the text to give you ideas. Again, these are unpaid links and are just some examples of what we have found works well for our children. Hopefully these hyperlinks will give you some ideas of what you could take for your children.

Created by Julie @ Worldwide - Explorer Travel Holidays, July 2020 #familyholidays #travelwithkids #stressfreetravel #traveltips #WorldwideExplorerTravelHolidays