Travelling with young children isn’t for everyone. I know quite a few families who have weighed up the pros and cons and concluded that the hassle and stress just isn’t worth it. They are waiting until their children are older. Pre children this made complete sense and it’s seemed frivolous to spend much on holidays they wouldn’t even remember. However, now they are here, it’s a different story.
I realised that even though they won’t remember the experiences, they are still benefiting from them and the memories we create as a family are ones that I will treasure forever. While they are little and we can take advantage of the cheap term time flights, I’ll cram in as much travel as I can.
If like me, you can’t resist exploring the world, here are some great products that I’ve found make the experience that little easier. We took every one on our recent trip to Morocco and really rate these Family Travel Must Haves.
Headphones
Whether it’s a long car journey or hours on a flight, if you are travelling with a young child, screen time is likely to feature heavily. Of course no one wants to hear the annoying noises their favourite app makes or listen to the Frozen soundtrack for the 18th time. Enter Wireless Sound limiting Child Headphones.
These ones from Puro Sounds Labs are fantastic and come in four bright colours. They fold into their own slim case which is perfect to fit in your hand luggage. Best of all, they can connect together so two can watch and listen together if they can only agree what to watch.
USB Hub
We don’t take loads of tech but in most hotel rooms you’ll struggle for sockets and most devices need a usb connection to charge. We recently got a hub that can change up to 3 devices at once which is perfect.
Ponchos
I’ve searched high and low for swim ponchos for the girls. We used their old ones loads after swimming or to cover up on the beach. But most brands just don’t make them big enough for 4 yr olds. Then I discovered Soncho Poncho. Isn’t the dragon design amazing?
In Morocco, the girls lived in these. The towelling fabric quickly dried them and the fun design was definitely eye catching. They have been made with such attention to detail from the adjustable neck to the contrasting padded horns. No doubt we’ll be using these a lot over the next few years.
Travel Tins
As the girls’ birthday falls straight after our holiday we took a few early travel gifts from Present Mill with us. The first was a Travel Bear in a Tin that you make and take on all your family adventures. He even has his own Instagram account (@travelbear_ontour). We chose to give ours in the hotel on the night before our flight. This added a little extra excitement to our evening.
Our second tin was a Zoo in a Tin. I wrapped this for the flight and brought it out when they were getting restless. The lovely wooden pieces and play mat kept them entertained for a good while and then it all packed back into the tin. There are so many fantastic tins to choose from, I think we will soon be gathering a collection.
Travel Dress
With suitcase space being a premium and every kilo needing accounting for, Mummy’s travel wardrobe isn’t what it used to be. Long gone are the days of shoes for every occasion or masses of toiletries when you’ve got to get everything in for the whole family. However, the Kameleon Travel Dress is one piece I know I’ll be packing again and again.
It’s clever design means you can switch it from dress to skirt to top to culottes just by rotating and buttoning in different ways. It’s lovely material is also crease free and so unpacks perfectly. Personally I love it as a dress with a handy concealed pocket which is great for some change or your hotel key. It comes in a range of colours and if you use the code M2T10 you’ll get 10% off your order.
Concentrated Squash
Obviously squash is by no means an essential but in hot climates it’s great to help children take in more fluids. The super concentrated ones are perfect for travel and are even under the 100ml allowance so we took ours in hand luggage. In our room we made up large bottles of squash and then topped up the girls water bottles.
First Aid Kit
One of cons of travelling with young children is taking them to unfamiliar places and not quite knowing what’s could happen. As a parent we want to be as prepared as possible and so a family first aid kit is an essential. We picked up our one from Ikea and it came with a few basic such as plasters and bandages.
Here’s what we pack in our first aid kit:
- Paracetamol
- Children’s paracetamol such as Calpol and syringe
- Imodium Tablets
- Rehydration sachets such as Dioralyte
- Antihistermines
- Antihistermines for children such as Piroten
- After Bite Pen
- A pair of rubber gloves
- Plasters of various sizes
- Small pair of scissors
- Alcohol hand gel
Multi Tool
Because you don’t know what you’re going to face when you’re away, a good multi tool can help out in a multitude of ways. In the past we’ve fixed a sliding door in our villa, used scissors for sewing, opened tins of food and removed splinters. They are compact and quick to pack but can be invaluable when you least expect it.
UPDATE:
We were recently sent these Pure Sense Cases to test out and we love them. I had to add them to this collect of family travel must haves. Before I had a case on my ipad but it wasn’t going to be long before one of them dropped it. This is even more likely when travelling. Not only are the Buddy Cases super durable and drop proof but they also have a patented world first SteriTouch antibacterial coating.
The Buddy case come in a range of colours and is boxed with a cleaning spray and micro fibre cloth. There is also an adjustable shoulder strap which can ingeniously be used over the back of a car seat for in car viewing or a stand that can be stood two ways which would be great on an aeroplane lap tray.
What else do you pack to make travelling as a family easier or more convenient? Let me know what your family travel must haves are.
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