Travelling with Not-Even-A-Year-Old Child
The thought of travelling with a child is the top-most source of stress for parents. It’s not difficult to picture a vacation with your child tagging along. More than half of your vacation time will be spend behind tending your child. From the start of your journey till the end, when you reach back home, you will have to constantly look after every need of him/her. How can you forget the strenuous task of carrying the baby in your arms, when she/he decides the stroller ride is no more a fun-loving activity?
One important point that every traveler keeps in mind is to take minimum baggage so as to easily carry the stroller and the baby bag wherever they go. No one can deny that babies need more clothes than mummy and daddy. The moment you step in the airport and go through check-in process, your effort increases double-fold. This is the time when baby decides she/he needs a cry break, and let her/his parents know how bored he/she has become with the long queues and delayed work. It’s not an easy task to manage a crying baby and a shouting desk representative.
Even if you succeed in handling the situation at your best of ability, it is no less than a nightmare when your baby shrieks in the flight. Well, like it is said “The journey has just started.”
Your trip cannot be a success based on the itinerary and trip schedules alone. Moreover, no one can guarantee your trip to be a success even when you have planned out everything. The following travel tips will at-least streamline your trip and give you an easy travel experience.
Make the baby sleep: Let your baby play as much as he/she wants at home before your journey to the airport starts. This will ensure the baby will sleep through the check-in procedure and if you are lucky, will sleep for longer hours. You can seize a peaceful boarding and flight experience. If you are not fortunate enough and he/she wakes up in the transit, don’t forget to feed your baby her/his favorite food. After a delightful meal, even an adult falls into a peaceful sleep. Thus, your remaining journey will go in peace.
Window-shop: The monopoly of window-shopping is not reserved with women. Babies love to roam and see around. Make sure upon reaching your destination airport, you take her/him around before approaching the immigration procedure. Even when you are on a connecting flight, do visit the airport play area or just roam around with the kid in tow. This will provide the baby some exercise and will calm him/her down while travelling in connecting flight or roadway car travelling.
Runway miles: A long-distance car journey can drive your kid nuts. Your child tends to become restless in the confined space of a car. Sometimes, even food doesn’t appeal to him/her. The toys or videos or audio play doesn’t come to your rescue. It is because the child has reached his/her exhaustion level and demands a change of scenery. In such a case, you can take multiple halts at fuel station, fast-food corners that offer games for kids, or a road-side stop for fresh season air.
Kid activities: When you plan your vacation, consider your child’s interests as well. When your list says beach visits, spa therapies, shopping, site seeing, and more; make sure the list also says kid zones, amusement parks, and sand play, among others.
Don’t forget it’s a vacation for your child too, and it is a delightful experience of enjoying the games and activities with your child. Let her/him enjoy the time to the fullest. A little consideration given to your child will ensure your vacation to be spent like a vacation. A pre-plan trip should be coupled with arrangements for your kid and speculations for the outcome if plans for your child are not in place.
Well, if you don’t want to stress on the above tips, just take a baby-sitter along. But don’t forget to instruct her clearly about her duties and make the child’s itinerary accordingly.
Either way, you make sure you enjoy your vacation, and so does your child.
Read more: Kids Diary 2—Professor at Guilt