everything on holidays
and travel with kids
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Keeping Your Children Happy
Types of Holiday Independent Keeping Your Children Happy Children will get unnecessarily nervous if they think you are. Sticking to destinations where you feel confident about travelling on your own is a key to success. And if you do ask for help when with children you will probably get it.
If anything does go wrong a positive approach is best, keeping a sense of humour, charming/insisting on whatever it is you require (room, seats etc) and enjoying any associated benefits - free overnights, the chance to stay longer somewhere, or to explore a new destination you hadn't originally planned to visit.
You will know best what works with your children though [Wanted on Voyage] is worth checking out for fresh idea.
Other ideas in a crisis include:
- Singing, if you can bear to be heard, can be good for soothing a troubled baby or toddler, as can a short massage.
- Serious hugs in whatever style your child likes best - short and sweet or long and encompassing.
- Time out is good for calming down and getting a child in a hissy fit out of the way of others.
- A warm bath at the end of it all can soothe much of the stress away.
- Breastfeeding of course releases all kinds of relaxing chemicals into the mother as well as the child so can be particularly helpful.
- Mustering all the relaxation skills and techniques you know.
The age appropriate way for a baby or young child to deal with that stress is to complain and cry, even though adults are expected to tolerate discomfort in silence.
While your child's objections may be irritating for those around you, it's worth remembering that that is what the child needs to do so as not to feel even worse.
It is also worth bearing in mind that while you will be with your child for the foreseeable future, you would have to be unlucky to encounter again any of the surrounding adults who don't already form part of your party.
© FamilyTravel 2006