The summer holidays are just weeks away now and parents all over are planning fun packed days for their little cherubs. One recurring subject that always seems to pop up in discussion, though, is the journey that parents and children simultaneously endure when out on their travels. A ‘bad’ journey can be a real mood killer and scupper the excitement that leaves our kids squealing with delight before we’ve even arrived at our holiday or family day out! Whether it’s travelling by car, plane, train you name it and I bet that most parents have packed everything (and the kitchen sink!) in order to keep their kids entertained. This is all well and good until you open the bag and find that the ne most important item is still left of the kitchen side (story of my life.) So, here it is, my top ten tips that I always use when travelling to try and make the journey easier for my LO.
1. Snacks! You can NEVER have enough snacks packed when travelling with children. Why is it that every summer holiday our children suddenly turn into mass eating machines!?! I, personally, like to pack our lunch for the day in a backpack but then have a separate box packed with healthy snacks for LO to dip into whenever he needs to. I’m always sure to pack long lasting foods…oaty bars and bananas are a firm favourite! Keep sugary treats to a minimum to avoid sugar highs and try to pack foods that can aid travel sickness if your LO suffers. Fresh ginger or ginger biscuits can help or sugar free mints can help avoid travel sickness.
2. Paper Rather than pack your bags to the brim with colouring books games and stuff that will weigh you down just take a booklet of plain paper. There are so any different games and activities you can use it for whether a simple noughts and crosses or a family game of guess the drawing. The list is endless! Be sure to take pencils as opposed to pens to ensure that ink cannot run out and take a sharpener! (you can never be TOO prepared!)
3. Wipes and sanitiser It’s certain that travelling with kids will end up in mess and sticky hands so always be sure to carry a fresh pack with you for those emergency moments. You never know what will be around when you need to stop for a loo break so sanitiser will become your best friend when you find the toilet on the service stop has no soap in the dispenser (is this just me this always happens too?)
4. Small outside play toys. You may think I’ve gone potty when mentioning this but between toilet stops and refreshments stops you may find yourself frequently stopping on your car journey. Being stuck in a car for long periods of time can be frustrating for any child let alone a child with SEN. For that reason we always take a small ball for if we see a park on our way and a skipping rope that helps to allow our LO to exert some energy no matter where we stop. You could even try and pre-plan what is around you before travelling to find park stops!
5. Sensory items These are an absolute MUST for my LO. A lot of children find sensory strategies calming or feel relaxed just knowing that their favourite sensory items are available. If you wanted to really engage your LO you could even wrap up new or existing toys/items so it’s more exciting! Try to find items that stimulate your childs’ needs, for example if you have a child that is sensitive to noise take their ear defenders, if you have a child that is visually sensory seeking take a torch or a cause and effect light up toy (the noisy ones are always a hit! Lol). Giving your child the sensory input they need will really relax them on your journey.
6. Treats It’s a given that, as parents, we promise ourselves that we won’t fill our kids with sugary treats but in moderation it’s ok. I find that using treats as ‘prizes’ will help engage a child in new games that they may resist ordinarily… like I-Spy, Never have I ever, Fizz-buzz, spotting cars and What am I? to name a few.
7. Maps and routes If your kids are anything like my LO then they are full of curiosity about the world around them and being informed of where we are going can really help. I like to use Google Maps to aid their questions as to our journey and our route. You could then use it as an educational game, who can spot the….(station etc), how many miles to… and what road are we now on. If anything it’ll stop the “Are we there yet” question!
8. Electronics I begrudge giving my LO his favourite console for the entirety of our journey or it’d be near impossible to get him off it! So I like to pack it without him knowing as a special treat for doing his best whilst travelling. Even as adults journeys can be long and gruelling and meltdowns are can happen (it’s not the end of the world if they do!)
So, there we are just 8 of the things that I like to do when travelling. Relax and have fun, it’s never like you imagine it to be!
AutisMum 