There are thousands of articles, blogs, books, videos, posts, and memes about how to reduce your own tension and stress levels as a parent when youโre traveling with young kids, but what about the kids?
Has someone ever taken a moment to think about how travel impacts a childโs emotions?
This impacts all kids, but especially the ones with Special Needs or disabilities.
Why do they behave differently while traveling, what causes this challenging behavior? Travel causes tension, and sometimes even stress, in some kids.
They donโt always know how to handle the mixed emotions which come with an adventurous trip or family holiday. They feel a combination of excitement, fear, curiosity, and uncertainty. They experience all these emotions which they might not be used to, and theyโre not sure how to process or deal with them.
Iโm not telling you to stop traveling, Iโm telling you to do it in a considerate way that makes your child feel safe and included so that you and your children can have a more joyous adventure.
I love to travel, and my husband too. We traveled to 3 foreign countries in a campervan when our daughter was only 5 months old. Sheโs now 10 years old and has already been to 15 countries – and sheโs a wheelchair user.
These are some things which made it easier for us.
๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ก๐ฒ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ – ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ง ๐๐จ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ข๐ญ!
๐ญ. ๐ช๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฒโ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐.
– Take something personal with you on every trip (soft toys, blanket, pillowcase, book, music, scented candle, something from home)
– Try to stick to their daily routine to some extent. Itโs not always possible, but try to catch that evening flight so that they can sleep on the plane and pack something to eat if you wonโt be able to buy lunch at their usual lunchtime.
๐ฎ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐น ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐น. ๐ฆ๐๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐น๐, ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒโ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐๐น๐ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐, ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฑ๐ผ, ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฝ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ ๐ถ๐ป, ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐, ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐โ๐๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ, ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐โ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐โ๐๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ปโ๐ ๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ.
– Let them choose some of the activities, meals, destinations, or things to do and see.
– Explain to them why they need to do what you expect of them (safety, rules, cultures) Instead of just strapping them into their seat, explain to them why they need to be strapped in.
– Instead of just rushing them into the train, explain why they need to get on quickly without wasting time.
๐ฏ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ถ๐บ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฒ๐, ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ, ๐ฏ๐๐๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐๐, ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐๐บ๐ฒ๐น๐น๐, ๐ณ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ถ๐บ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ, ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ธ๐ถ๐ฑ๐.
– Try to go easy on their senses โ go to a market or city center during quiet times of the day.
– Get them some good quality earphones with relaxing music or their favorite movie on the plane or noisy train.
๐ฐ. ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ป. ๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐โ๐น๐น ๐ด๐ผ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐โ๐น๐น ๐ฑ๐ผ. ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐น๐ผ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ธ๐ถ๐ฑ๐.
– Go through the itinerary with them.
– Mark the trip on a calendar, indicate where youโll be when, and what youโll do.
– Count off the days before and during the trip.
– Do some research, get some pictures, look at some videos, and make a vision board of your destination with the kids before you go.
– If you wonโt book accommodation ahead, reassure them that there are a lot of accommodation options available in the area youโll visit so that they donโt worry about it.
๐ฑ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ. ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ปโ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ ๐๐ฝ. ๐ข๐๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ด๐ต๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ โ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒโ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ด๐ผ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ! ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฐ๐น๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐ ๐บ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐น๐๐ด๐ด๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ, ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ ๐ด๐ผ๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ธ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐โ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐ณ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ!
– Make sure you allow enough time for every part of your trip.
– Remember to allow extra time for possible delays.
– Donโt rush, take enough breaks and allow for playtime.
– Set aside some special one-on-one time with your kids so that they feel secure, loved, and included.
– Remember to still read that bedtime story and give those hugs!
๐ฒ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ฝ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐โ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐น ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐. ๐ง๐ฟ๐๐๐ ๐บ๐ฒ, ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐โ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐, ๐๐ฎ๐ฑ, ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ผ๐๐, ๐ธ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ฝ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐โ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐.
– Make sure that youโre calm and collected before and during the trip!
– Prepare properly and be in and enjoy the moment. If youโre anxious, your child will pick it up, so the less you stress, the more they will enjoy the trip!
๐ณ. ๐ฆ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ธ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ผ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฝ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ต๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ.
– If itโs a long trip, take some photos of your family and close friends at home with you. We have a set of family photo fridge magnets that we take with us, so the kids can see their grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins daily.
– Do some video calls with loved ones at home
– Buy some gifts for your loved ones to take home.
๐ด. ๐ฆ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ปโ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ปโ๐ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฝ. ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐โ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ปโ๐ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐โ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ, ๐๐ต๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐โ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ด๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ ๐ฎ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฟ, ๐๐ป๐ณ๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ.
– Tell them before the trip what the purpose of the trip is.
Why are you going away on vacation? Is it to see a new place, to go and have fun at the beach, to visit family?
– Tell them how long the trip will be.
๐ต. ๐๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ปโ๐ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ.
– If youโll visit a country where people speak a language they wonโt understand, or dress in a way theyโre not used to, or do things theyโre not familiar with, talk it through with your kids before you leave.
– Explain the culture and beliefs to them on a level they will understand and teach them a few basic words in the language spoken in that country or area. Even if itโs only how to greet someone and how to say โthank youโ or โpleaseโ.
– If theyโre a bit older you could also introduce them to โGoogle Translateโ or any other translation application.
๐ญ๐ฌ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐บ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐น๐ผ๐๐. ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ, ๐ฏ๐๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐, ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐๐, ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐.
– Make sure that they have a โcontact detail tagโ or a trackable and traceable device on them at all times and make sure that they know that if they get lost, youโll be able to find them.
I do realize that every child is different, every child has his or her own challenges, personality, and temperament, and they cope (or donโt cope) with situations in different ways.
I trust that youโll find a way to make travel less tense and more enjoyable for your kids by using one or more of these tips in the future!
