Traveling With Children: 5 Ways to Reduce Stress

Traveling with children can be stressful – there is no doubt about it. They’ll be whining, crying, throwing temper tantrums everywhere you go. So if you are planning a trip out of town this summer or are arranging a family vacation, it is important to find some ways to reduce the stress. One of the best ways to do this is to find preventative measures so that the vacation can be as relaxing as possible. Preventing your children from throwing fits and having temper tantrums will also save you time and money. Every year 43 million people will travel with their family and it is anyone’s guess how many of those family’s trips were ruined by unnecessary levels of stress. Here are 5 ways to reduce stress when you are traveling with children.

1. Prepare your children in advance for what to expect on their journey. If they have never been on an airplane before make sure that they know that their ears might pop or experience discomfort when the plane takes off and lands. It is also important to teach them why their ears do this. Giving your children informed and engaging lessons about the vacation you are going to take will prepare them for the unexpected. This might be with food, people accommodations and more. When you are younger the world seems much smaller than it is.
2. It is also recommended that you plan ahead. Every detail should be mapped out and you should have an itinerary for every day. It is also or just as important to have a back up plan in case anything goes wrong, like a closed road or a missed flight. Things will go wrong, you can expect it, but if you are prepared you can reduce a lot of stress.
3. Find the best vacation for your kids. All to often parents choose a destination that isn’t really kid friendly. When you are planning your vacation and you know you are bringing the kids, it is important to consult with them as to their ideal location for a vacation. If you plan far enough ahead you can usually find a vacation spot that works for the whole family. You can also consult with the best travel agents in your area for some quality family vacations.
4. Have discipline. Don’t let you kids get out of line. Whether they are hungry, thirsty or tired, they might begin to show signs of extreme irritability and anger. It is crucial that you don’t give into their demands. Lets them scream and cry. After a while it will quiet down, but if you give into what they want the problem will only get worse.
5. Lastly, bring snack food. In order to keep your children appeased it is important that you keep a few bags of dried fruit, healthy cookies and crackers, nuts and more just to stem your children’s appetite so that their low blood sugar and low energy doesn’t push them over the edge. One of the biggest contributing factors to temper tantrums is either hunger or exhaustion, so naps wouldn’t hurt either.