Top 10 tips for travelling with children

Photo: Kids don't need much to be able to have fun on holidays / Courtesy Tharik Hussain

Muslims love a large family, and increasingly, they also love travelling. But the thought of dragging fidgety Ahmed, sulky Abdullah and moody Mouina half way across the globe for two weeks just makes parents want to curl up in a ball and go back to bed. But is it really always the children’s fault? After all, kids will be kids, and maybe it’s the grown-ups who need to change the way they do things. Here are ten simple tips to making a trip easier for the kids as well as the adults.

1. PLAN FOR CHILDREN

Really plan for the kids. Their needs shouldn’t be an afterthought. They will be kids throughout this holiday. That means refusing to sit still for eight hours on a plane, not eating weird foreign food, and moaning that it’s too hot. That’s what kids do. So as the grown-up, stop whining and plan for these things! Too many parents go away with their kids expecting them to just behave without realising that a holiday abroad effectively turns the child’s normality upside down—so be ready for that!

2. MAKE THE MOST OF FLIGHT STOPOVERS

Stopovers are great for saving money and giving the kids a proper break on a long flight. Carriers will often charge less for flights with stopovers, so parents should embrace the money-saving opportunity and also use it to relax and let everyone stretch their legs between two shorter journeys rather than sitting through a single long one. Recently, we stepped out in Vienna for seven hours to take in a museum, ride a tram, wander through a flea market, eat ice cream, drink coffee (the adults) and generally chill before the second leg of our flight. It was bliss.

3. LOOK FOR BUFFET DINNERS

Photo: Foreign food anyone? / Courtesy Tharik Hussain

Kids hate weird-looking ‘foreign’ food, and one of the best ways to deal with this is to give them lots of choice. But this can be expensive. So, where possible, book accommodation with half-board meals at larger hotels. These places will often serve buffet dinners, where fussy little Ahmed can have nuggets and spaghetti if he really wants. For lunch, let him experiment!

4. PACK AN ACTIVITIES BAG

Packs of cards, travel Connect Four, activity books and Jacqueline Wilson epics—pack a light rucksack for each munchkin to carry filled with things to do, read or play, and you are guaranteed to be left alone even when there is no Wi-Fi or charge point for tablets.

5. BOOK NIGHT FLIGHTS

Some of our most relaxing flights have started with our kids boarding in their pyjamas, hugging their teddies. If a flight is long, always book a night one. Eventually their body clock will knock them out, so dress them for bed en route.

6. DON’T BE AFRAID OF KIDS’ CLUBS

Most decent resorts will offer a good kids’ club. Yes, it may be a foreign country and you’re not sure if Salma will get on with the other kids, but then that’s how you felt on her first day at nursery, and look how that turned out. You certainly won’t have any regrets when you sit in that cafe later, sipping lattes and not arguing about how many scoops of strawberry ice cream she’s allowed.

7. FIND EXCITING MODES OF TRANSPORT

Photo: Interesting transport / Courtesy Tharik Hussain

Nothing gives a child more joy than to board a ski lift, ride a tram, row a boat or step onto a real steam train. Research where you are going and find exciting modes of travel in the area. It’s a sure way to keep any little brat grinning from ear to ear … at least for the duration of the journey, anyway!

Photo: Boating on a lake / Courtesy Tharik Hussain

8. HELP THEM MAKE FRIENDS

This works particularly well at resorts where you will see the same families for most of the week, especially if you befriend the parents. Before you know it, lonely Ahmed is happily building sandcastles with Mario and no longer expecting you to do it with him.

Photo: Should I roll? / Courtesy Tharik Hussain

9. LET THEM TAKE PART IN THE PLANNING

Make them feel involved in the important decisions and let them tell you what they really like. Taking ownership of the itinerary will stop them feeling like they’re always being dragged around. For all you know, that film festival in town might actually appeal to moody Mouina. Have you even asked her?

10. PACK AUDIO BOOKS

When our kids were young, our most important travel item was a yellow Winnie the Pooh CD holder. Inside were their favourites: The Twits, Fantastic Mr Fox, The Mousehole Cat … all read by someone else! It works a treat on long drives and those bedtimes when you simply don’t have the energy to read to them. Audiobooks rock!

(This article is written by Tharik Hussain. Tharik is a freelance British Muslim travel writer, journalist, broadcaster and photographer specialising in the Muslim stories of Europe. Hussain’s first ever radio documentary, America’s Mosques; A Story of Integration, has been declared one of the world’s best radio documentaries for 2016. All his work can be viewed at www.tharikhussain.co.uk)  

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