After the cavalcade of barriers to a good old-fashioned family holiday in 2020 and 2021, households across the country are gearing up to make up for lost time.
Bookings for holidays in 2022 have already been high, with trends suggesting a longer stay on average.
But with many not having been on a prolonged trip for more than two years, ensuring you’re prepared for the journey ahead is a must.
This is especially true for families with children, where long trips are a recipe for boredom or upset.
Here are some ways you can prepare to keep them occupied, depending on the travel option you take.
By Car
In some ways, keeping your children entertained and occupied on a car ride can be easier than on other modes of transport – this is because you are in complete control of the environment, and by extension their comfort.
However, some difficulty can arise if you’re the driver with no adult passenger, as keeping concentration on the road can make it difficult to give attention to the little ones in the back.
With an adult passenger – or if you are the adult passenger – more active games can be played to keep the children engaged.
Verbal games like 20 Questions or I Spy can be played safely by everyone in the car, while simple card games can be played carefully.
If it’s just you and the children in the car, though, you might lean more on ways for children to entertain themselves.
Investing in a small portable TV/DVD player that straps to the back of your seat can make all the difference, as you can simply bring along some children’s TV DVDs to occupy them for longer stretches.
This way, you won’t have to entrust your smartphone to them without being on watch for misuse or potential damage!
By Train
Of course, your tactics may have to change if you’re planning a train journey with the little ones.
For starters, playing music or media out loud is poor etiquette for shared carriages, making watching things difficult if you have multiple children or do not have enough pairs of headphones to go round!
Nonetheless, some supervised play on a tablet or smartphone can help while away the worst of the journey – and all the better if it’s a stimulating, somewhat educational title in the vein of brain training.
By Plane
Planes, though, are by far the most taxing on children when it comes to energy and attention span.
Depending on the flight, passengers can spend up to 18 hours in the air, to say nothing of the extended wait times in the airport terminal ahead of departure.
In-flight entertainment may well be available for you and for your children, but you shouldn’t rely on it to keep them occupied the whole way.
Bring a travel edition of an easy-to-play board game, such as Scrabble or Ludo, in case they want to do something a little more interactive; colouring books can also save the day here, giving them a creative outlet until the plane lands.
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