What to take on holiday with kids? [LIST]

If you think that packing for holiday is difficult then you haven’t packed for holiday with a child. Will you have your suitcases packed to the brim? Yes. Will you forget to take something? Yes. Most of the time kids want things that you don’t have at that moment. There are, however, things without which you’ll have some troubles.

Before holidays you have to survive the travel

A short airplane flight can be as stressful and tiring for children as a long drive. Trip essentials are: favourite and engaging toys, water bottle and snacks. At some point even the bravest child can get frustrated with a long trip and no toy will change that. That’s when new toys come in as they’ll surely interest the child.

If you’ll be traveling by plane then additionally take the following:
• chewing gum or candies and a bottle with food for smaller children (especially useful for the take-off and landing),
• a blanket,
• saline in a mist (air in planes dries the delicate skin of small children and makes them more vulnerable to infections which may result in sickness for the time of your holidays).

It’s best if you can plan the trip ahead to make sure that it won’t disturb your child’s  sleeping cycle. Catching a plane in the early morning hours will, without a doubt, cause irritation.

Traveling to an exotic country takes a bit more planning to do. The list of things to remember can be found here.

Nothing destroys holidays more than a sickness

A bad weather or a lost luggage won’t destroy your holiday the same way as an illness will. Especially, if it’s your child who’s sick. A travel first aid kit needs to contain essentials which will allow you to quickly react in an unforeseen situation. What should it contain?

• Thermometer,
• Painkillers, fever medications,
• Saline ampules (to clean kid’s eyes on the beach),
• band-aids (with colourful graphics – thanks to them your child’s wounds will heal much faster! :)) and a disinfectant
• Antidiarrheal and antiemetic agents and a hydrating solution (even the slightest food poisoning can dehydrate your child and then you need to go to the hospital),
• bug spray, bite gel,
• a high factor sunscreen (30 or 50 SPF) and a special lotion in case of sunburn (children’s skin is much thinner than the skin of adults and the sun can cause a sunburn extremely quickly).

Don’t forget about the sunglasses for the kids. It’s worth to spend a little more on those as they are meant to protect the child’s eyes and not destroy their eyesight as many do. They should have an appropriate protective filter and its authenticity confirmed by a certificate. And for your youngest children (3 y.o. and younger) take a hat as sunglasses can damage the still developing eyesight.

Crazy holidays without drama

It’s a nice warm evening. You’re waiting for your dinner at a local restaurant, full of tourists and locals. Your partner took over from you and is taking care of your child. It seemed like a tiring day but your child doesn’t think so and seems to have lots of energy left? Your child is probably very tired and because of that has troubles sleeping. Bringing a favourite blanket didn’t help either. It’s totally out of the question to eat a warm meal together. Taking your child to your hotel room without causing any more scenes will be sufficient enough for the time being.

Does it sound familiar? It’s not all about the first aid kit and clothes when it comes to packing your child. It’s also about gadgets which will make the trip easier.

• If you’re planning on staying on the beach a lot → take the following with you: toys to play with in the sand, a large blanket or a towel and a beach tent or an umbrella (also one for the stroller). Don’t forget about appropriate shoes (especially for rocky beaches).
• If you’re planning on doing a lot of sightseeing → take something thanks to which your child will be able to travel for a long time. It can be a bike, a scooter or a shawl as it all depends on how much space you’ve got in your luggage (and what your child likes).
• No matter what your plans are → always have a solid supply of: wet and dry tissues, muslin squares (which are incredibly universal as they can be used to cover their head, wash them or to cover a window) and trash bags.

Of course don’t forget to pack the camera among all the packing fever. Family holidays are really special – they are one of the most important memories from childhood. Remember that a time will come when your children won’t want to go on holidays with you. All you’ll have left at that point is photos. What can you do with them? You can find five ideas here.

And what are your absolute must-haves during holidays with children? How much earlier do you create a list of required items? What are your ways to fit even more items in your luggage? Let us know in the comments!