If you are traveling with children for the first time, it can be scary! And yet it is a must-have experience…
The longer the journey, the more you have to be clever and find activities to keep them busy, and today we're here to help!
When to go?
For car journeys, if you want to avoid traffic jams; leave at different times. We can recommend that you leave at night or very early in the morning. But be careful, sleep and breaks every two hours are essential, for your safety and that of your children. We advise you to favor journeys where you can alternate driving with another adult. Do not hesitate to drink a coffee before getting behind the wheel. Fatigue can be dangerous at the wheel and you must be careful not to doze off while driving. Do not drive at night if you are taking medication that promotes sleep.
And we give you some tips for enjoying this trip with your children:
Keeping busy by singing
Singing in the car is a good way to entertain your children while keeping them entertained. In fact, it is advisable to regularly have them listen to happy and catchy nursery rhymes to arouse their interest. This will also allow them to learn essential songs from their childhood and the journey will be much easier to manage for both parents and children. Many songs are available on the internet or on CD in stores, if you have a record player in your car.
So improvise yourself as king and/or queen of karaoke by singing nursery rhymes with them to have as much fun as they do! They will be delighted by this wave of good humor and the minutes will go by so quickly that they will almost no longer realize that they are in the car for a long journey!
And reading?
You can also bring books with pictures to tell them stories, their favorite ones, if possible. Children can also read alone in the back, when they are old enough to hold the book and can be captivated by their favorite stories. Time will pass very quickly.
Learning in the car
If your child is older, you can take advantage of this opportunity to learn some general knowledge while having fun. Look at the cars passing by the window, and pay attention to their license plates: the one who associates the most departments with their correct numbers wins! It's up to you to determine the winner's prize (when I was a child, candy motivated me so much that I won for sure).
A little rest before arriving on site…
Finally, provide blankets and pillows so your children can sleep, especially if you leave early in the morning or late in the evening. Indeed, long car journeys are very tiring. We recommend our Hugo nursing pillow , large and comfortable, on which your children can doze off for a few hours.
Take breaks
If you have a baby under 18 months who is travelling in a baby car seat, it is particularly recommended to remember to stop every two hours at the most. Indeed, as their backs are fragile, it is important to take them out of the shell as often as possible.
You can also take breaks every two hours, both for your safety and so that your children can stretch their legs and go to the toilet regularly: these little ones sometimes have trouble holding on and it's nicer to have been able to go to the toilet before getting back on the road.
Small tip for impeccable hygiene, remember to take your disinfectant wipes to motorway service areas to disinfect the toilets.
What about air travel?
Air travel can still be just as stressful as driving.
There are so many factors that come into play and many are out of your control such as children's reaction to pressurization, fear of flying, excitement generated by crowds, etc etc…
We give you some tips to help you have a smoother flight.
As a reminder, a child under 2 years old travels free of charge on a plane and is entitled to one piece of cabin baggage. He must travel on you because, in this case, he will not have an assigned seat.
The day before your departure, remember to prepare a bag that will be within your reach for the entire duration of the trip and to put in it all the toys that your child loves as well as your equipment for bottles if you are not breastfeeding.
You can also involve them in preparing the current trip: prepare the program for the next few days, show them what you are going to visit, the hotel or rental where you will stay during the trip. The goal is to prepare them for the trip so that they do not feel too destabilized and lost but so that they enjoy it; if they have a good vacation, you will too!
If your child seems to be suffering during take-off or landing, particularly due to depressurization, you can give him or her a lollipop or candy to ease these sometimes painful effects.
Do you have any secret tips?
You now have all our tips to make the journey a pleasant and quick step! And if you have other tips to share with us, do not hesitate to send them to us via this email address: contact.neuviemeciel@gmail.com