It can be fun to travel with your entire family for a holiday or any other purpose. However, traveling with children can be very difficult and stressful. A lot of things are involved such as getting their items ready, taking care of them and providing for their needs during the flight to the holiday city, protecting them during the holiday and many more.

Besides, the younger your kid is, the more difficult it is to travel with him or her. Here are some tips to apply when traveling with kids.

• Inform your children about the travel

When you have made up your mind to travel abroad with your children for any reasons, it is advisable that you first let them know about the proposed travel and when you should leave for the travel. Your children will definitely be very happy to hear about the travel and they will become expectant with regard to the travel.

If you are going for a holiday with your children, it will be good to plan for the activities and places to visit with your children. Since, it is a family travel, it will be nice if everybody participates in the planning of the itinerary and activities to mark the holiday.

Research the places of interest to visit with them on the internet. Alternatively, you should buy destination related books and read with them. In this way, they will take part in the planning of the travel.

• Getting the travel documents ready

For oversea travel, everybody will need to have their travel documents and visas ready before the schedule day of departure. So, it is good to start on time to make arrangement for relevant travel document of every member of the family so that nobody will be left out. When the travel documents are ready, you can now purchase the flight tickets for everybody and reserve accommodation for the entire family members.

• Packing for the travel

You will have to do the packing for your kids and make certain decisions regarding the items to include in the luggage for them. If you leave them, they will like to travel with all their toys and playing items. But this is not possible as there is always a limit to what you can travel with.

So, first make a list of all the necessary items the family will require in their travel. Pack light. There are different ways of reducing the number of item that you travel with. You may share certain items such as toiletries, beddings and the likes. It is also advisable that you buy some of the items you use during your stay abroad in the country that you travel to.

• Book flights and make reservation

Book flights for each member of the family. Ask if discounts are given to families with children. If yes, then you have to request for discount so that you will save some money on the flights. Let the person that make the reservation for you know that you are traveling with kids so that she will put you in the same roll of seats. This will help you to look after your children during the travel and take care of their needs.

• Take them to your family doctor

Meet with your doctor to examine your children, have them vaccinated and then provide you with the necessary medications and those that you will require in your first aid box. Your doctor should also give you some health tips to help you keep your family healthy.

• Preparing for the flights

Flying with children is also very tiresome. Some passengers do not want to sit next to children because of their childish behavior.

So, you need to be very active directing them on what to do. You need also to prepare to lug heavy luggage through the airport and provide some edibles for your children even inside the plan. So, buy them backpack carry-on. Prepare some edibles like chips, chewing candies and the likes that they can eat during flight. But do not buy foods that are crumby, messy, oily or sticky.

The person sitting next to your family will not be happy with such types of edibles. You should also include few of their favorite toys in their carry-on. If you are traveling with a baby or a toddler, then you should not forget to bring some formulas with you.

If you are traveling with baby find out from the airline whether you will require a car seat or you will be provided with bassinet. You should also find out from the airline if you and your children will be required to remove your shoes during security checks in the airport. If yes, then you have to buy shoes that are easy to put on and remove.

• Boarding the plane

First, ask a friend or a family member to drive you and the kids to the airport. Before checking in, it will be good if you explain the process to your children so that they will not be scared. If the airport has a family lane, make use of the lane.

While in the waiting room, allow your kids some freedom to stretch themselves and work around. Before you board the plane, make sure that all your children use the restroom so that you will reduce the number of times, you will take them to the restroom during flight.

When you finally board the plane, help your children to fasten their seatbelts. If you have a baby in the car seat, ensure that it is well secured on the plane seat before it takes off.

• During flight

Before the flight takes off, talk to your children and let them know of the expected behavior in the flight. Tell them that the airplane is not a place of play. It is also advisable that you acknowledge the fact that sitting at one place for a long time can be difficult and painful and encourage them to have patient that the flight will soon land. Also promise to buy them their favorite edibles when the plane lands if they behave well in the plane.

• Landing

When the plane lands at the final destination, wait for other passengers to leave before you can move out gradually with your children. Be active and careful at this point. Children are mischievous and inquisitive. A child may want to stay back to pick one thing or the other.

But you have to make sure that they leave at the same time with you. Hold your children’s hand tightly as you are going out of a busy airport so that you will not miss any of them.

Once you are out of the airport, board a taxi and move straight to your accommodation for your children to rest after a long journey.