12 tips for making travelling with children less stressful

*This is a collaborative post

Remember those good old days when travelling was a laid back adventure without any dependents? Fast forward a few years, we’ve all got sprogs and quite frankly….travelling with children can be a bit of a nightmare on occasion. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

With the summer holidays now on the horizon, and many of us planning on travelling with the children, I’ve teamed up with Rescue Remedy – a combination of five individual flower essences for emotional wellbeing and care for everyday life available in sprays, droppers and pastilles – to share these power tips from fab fellow parenting bloggers – to make travelling with children less stressful this summer.

Be prepared

Take a small bag of surprises, from puzzle books to a notebook and pencil or even a yoyo or blind bag toy. Things that they don’t know about that you can bring out part way through a journey as a new treat without having to spend a fortune at stations or airports! – My Mummy’s Pennies  

Tell them what to expect

Show them YouTube videos of boarding planes and what it’s like on a plane and then it won’t be so overwhelming! Also snacks and lots of them! – Scrapbookblog.co.uk 

Work the tech

We always make sure we have games loaded on our phones and tablets. They can be useful to calm them down and occupy them. – You Baby Me Mummy 

And keep it charged

Invest in individual power packs so their iPads never run out of battery (which usually results in a meltdown). – North East Family Fun 

Audio books are your best friend

Play audio books in the car. We love listening to any Roald Dahl boxsets on long car journeys. – The Helpful Mum 

Board last

Families usually rush to board but it just means that children are restrained in limited space for longer. Make use of the airport soft play (if there is one) and stretch their legs. If you are worried about securing space in an overhead locker- then one parent can always board a bit earlier with all the gear. – Flying with baby

Have some back up

Travelling with children can be seriously stressful and it’s at times like these that a couple of spritzes of Rescue Remedy or popping a Rescue Remedy lozenge in my mouth can really help to get you through the crazy. Always keep a handy supply in your bag when travelling! –Motherhood: The Real Deal 

travelling with children less stressful
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Enforce the toilet rule!

Make sure they go to the toilet before they get on a plane in a hope they won’t want to go during take off. – A Strong Coffee To Go 

Curate a family play list

Get the kids involved in designing a family play list with everyone’s favourite songs. Nothing lifts everyone’s spirits (especially if you’re in a traffic jam/delayed) than a good sing song. – Big Stevie Cool 

Be mindful

Be mindful that it could be a strange and stressful experience for your child (new things, entering the unknown in terms of environment and even just the mode of transport) so give them time, don’t express your stress on them as it just makes things worse. – Living With a Jude 

Co-ordinate with sleeps

Try and time it around nap times or bed time as much as possible. I find if we time any long journey around bedtime and get dinner in first, you can almost guarantee a nice sleep filled journey – far less stressful for ALL involved! – Devon Mama

Navigators R Us

Teach older children to navigate. Learning to follow a map and work out where they are and where they’re going is a really good challenge and something they can enjoy solving themselves. Even better, don’t tell them where you are going and see how long it takes them to work it out! – The Parent Game 

The full Rescue Remedy range is available to buy in-store at Boots or online at Boots.com

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38 comments

  1. I never realised that airports had soft play until a couple of years ago. I remember travelling with my older ones years ago and there was nothing for them to do in the airport…….so much better these days

  2. Some great advice, I’ve never tried rescue remedy but my mum swears by it. Think it might have to join the essential travel kit as our son grows older! Thanks for including me x

  3. Some fab tips – I must make sure I remember my own! God they always need the toilet when it’s inconvient x

  4. Aww I can’t wait for the age when my daughter can make sense of how long it will take to get to our destination. At the moment long trips are pretty tough! Some great tips here to make travelling easier x

  5. These are great tips. Being prepared is always a good idea and having a charged tablet with their favourite programmes predownloaded has always worked well for us on longer road trips. The only difficulty with that is if they decide their favourite programmes have changed mid-trip – thank goodness for hotel wifi! We can’t fly because of Jessica’s heart condition so our travel is limited to trains, boats and cars but I’ve learned that as long as I can keep the children occupied with something, they cope well with longer journeys. #coolmumclub

  6. Some fabulous tips there, it will be really helpful to other parents of little children. Even with an 11 year old and 14 year old it can be a bit of a challenge at times, so keeping everything fully charged is a must #coolmumclub x

  7. Great tips thanks! Definitely agree that when timed with naps life is easier #coolmumclub

  8. I flipping love rescue remedy liquid form, takes the edge of my anxiety X #coolmumclub

  9. Hoping to go abroad again next year so will definitely look for the soft play area at the airport…to wear out Daddy!

    Also love the idea about teaching kids to map read…I could do with learning that myself 😉

    Sending all the #coolmumclub love x

  10. I swear by boarding last. I travelled with friends recently who wanted to be at the front of every queue and it just meant more standing and hanging around. The plane didn’t take off any earlier and the baggage carousel didn’t start quicker

  11. Okay, you have obviously done this before, and well I might add. Boarding the plane last is brilliant. We are always rushing to be first, then have to sit for what feels like days! <3 Thank you for these great tips. We have a 10 hour car ride coming up — we know it well, but I need to mentally prep for it and find a way to coordinate bladders! Hah! #coolmumclub

  12. Great travelling tips – like the idea of older ones navigating and we love audio books too! Have t tried rescue lozenges before, may just check them out!

  13. I’m all about rescue remedy – my mother use to give it to me more than 20yrs ago when we travelled and I use it for my children, certainly helps keep them a little bit more calm and free or anxiety

    Laura x

  14. Love these tips. I’ve been putting off taking the boys on holiday just because I know I will get super stressed about things. This is quite reassuring and I think we might just book a holiday next year! x

  15. Really handy tips! Taking my little one away towards the end of the year and loving the tips about boarding last and distraction techniques – think they’ll come in handy! #coolmumclub

  16. Great tips. Lots of snacks and new iPad games they don’t know about are our biggest successes, and make sure the snacks are held back until needed to avoid a meltdown, then ration them out, you don’t want to run out with half the journey still left to go!
    #Coolmumclub

  17. Great tips! I definitely think games on phones and tablets is a must! Or just good old fashioned sticker and colouring-in books for the little ones. Basically, just make sure you have a variety of activities/toys/games to hand so that you can keep them entertained, whatever mood they’re in! x #coolmumclub

  18. We’ve found that short breaks every hour and a half seem to work. It gets him to stretch his legs, a change of scenery and then we get to not listen to little mix for a few minutes! #coolmumclub

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