Traveling with children: what to pack?

Whether you travel by train, on the plane or by car, when you move with the children you need to do your suitcase in a careful way, so as not to forget anything. Here are some tips not to leave anything important at home and live trips and travels at their best

When yes Travel with children The fear of forgetting something indispensable for our children can make preparations stressful or, sometimes, ruining the much -coveted holiday if, having reached their destination, you realize that you have forgotten something essential at home.

Traveling with small childrenin fact, it can sometimes be tiring or, vice versa, turn into one of the most fun and surprising experiences of life. And it doesn’t matter if you are more similar to the royals of England than to Indiana Jones: each family can find its own holiday sizeas long as I have everything you need with them and not to ask children too much.

When choosing the destination, the needs of the little onesespecially if within the year of age, when they have greater needs of adults, which must be respected and supported. Therefore, the watchword should be “We simplify the holiday“By renouncing, for a few more years, to extreme itineraries or too distant places.

Here is a small guide, divided by Type of travelwhich helps us choose the essentials to bring to travel with children and to offer some advice for Best manage trips and nights away from home.

Traveling in the car with children: a cheerful car

If the children are very small, the machine It is often the ideal means of reaching the place chosen for the holiday. According to Istat data (relating to 2021), 71.8% of Italian families reach holiday resorts, both in Italy and abroad, with the car.

The four wheels, in fact, allow you to load “everything and more than everything”. But be careful: let’s not be taken from enthusiasm or anxiety, bringing many objects risks extend the preparations and hinder the journey.

The first point to keep in mind, when traveling by car with children, is the Safety of small And the first step starts from choice of the seat more suitable. Let’s ensure that the air conditioner works, but do not regain it on polar temperatures, to avoid the temperature change with the outside.

Do not forget: the Darking tenders for the windows, preferably if certified against ultraviolet rays (such as those you find at this link), which contribute to creating aquiet atmosphereA also under the sun on the highway.

For the little ones let’s have spare parts to keep in the passenger compartmentin addition to those that we will have put in the suitcase: soft or rigid bibs, diapers and a jet must not be missing, especially if the journey is long.

Very comfortable for travel with children is the portablewhich can be useful not only because not all the premises make one available, but also to allow us to change the baby or the little girl even in the car. There are several models, they find themselves with pockets – like this, to have a sort of multifunctional change bag – or simpler, like this model.

In the snack basket We will bring a Thermos and a meal suitable for the age of the baby; Better to avoid sweet and sugary drinks, which do not quench their thirst and add unnecessary calories to the day.

For path accidents it is also good that those who do not drive, keep a bag for hand for the Vomiting emergencies: children often do not warn their malaise and get rid of suddenly, taking everyone by surprise.

But How to entertain children by car? How to make the hours spend in the car without getting bored? The little ones can entertain themselves with puppets or small games to manipulate, such as this. For the older ones it is The use of the tablet or mobile phone is not recommended Of one of the parents, given that he can favor car sickness and without a unique opportunity: that of being able to interact with our child without worrying about time.

During the trip, in fact, we can sing together, tell him fairy tales Or invent simple family games, how to compete with those who see more birds in the sky or more cows in the meadows.

Traveling by train with children: what is essential?

Traveling by train with children It allows everyone, especially to the little ones, to stretch your legs, move from one wagon to another and discover the panorama from a privileged position: from large windows and in a raised position with respect to the landscape. Therefore it is an option to consider, especially if the child he cannot give up the movementor if the chosen destination can be reached comfortably with a trip without changes.

In this case the luggage will be smaller of the one prepared for the travel by car, so you will have to make a more accurate selection of the things to bring with you. For the little ones, who could be cleared during the journey, let’s remember an anti -air conditioning cover: on trains it is not always possible to adjust the temperature and therefore we must not find ourselves unprepared. You can bring one simple cover Or a proposal like this that will also adapt to the needs of the baby in a stroller or in the band.

A baby door It can help us to move easily on vacation and in the train wagon, but even if we want to give greater tranquility to the baby by keeping it in contact with our body. An ergonomic baby carrier (here is an example), it could be an excellent solution to move and travel comfortable.

For the older ones, we do not forget a Drawing or coloring notebook (here you can find many), or a book to read and comment together with mom and dad.

Always for the older ones, “busy bags” can be prepared with Colored canvas bags In which we will insert the favorite book or one still to read, some game of clubs, the puppets and a deck of cards. While if we want one Busy Bag for the little oneswe can opt for a solution like this, which will allow you to carry out many activities, but keeping all the material firm and orderly.

To spend the hours of the train journey, the board gamesof which there are many travel editions that allow you to have a proposal for Fun entertainmentbut without taking up too much space. To give you some inspiration, here are some timeless proposals and suitable for young and old:

• A;
• Guess who;
• a set of magnetic constructions;
• Rubamazzo designed precisely for the little ones;
• force four;
• Memory cards.

The entertainment ideas They are many and especially on the train journey it will be possible to play all together, without mom or dad being busy driving. We talked about entertainment to be made on the road in the article travel games for children: which and how to choose them.

Ready for take -off? Travel by plane with the little ones

THE’the experience of the plane Children are always exciting, but for parents it can prove to be an extra effort, in particular if there is a newborn in the family which, therefore, needs particular attention.

For those who feed the child with the bottle it is not necessary to have to 100ml containerssince the legislation does not provide for limitations for infants liquids. It will therefore be possible to use a larger bottle, to be filled on board with hot water requested from the staff. Given the small size of the hand luggage it will be good to choose a compact changing table (Like this we talked about before) where to store some diapers, wipes and the need for gearbox, without removing too much room for the rest.

Up to 2 years, to the baby It is not allowed to occupy a seat alone: The mother will be able to keep it in her arms or in front of her in the first rows, adequately insured. The older children, on the other hand, will be able to sit alone and will be care of the parents to entertain them for the duration of the trip. An excellent solution are i Anti-cadent magnetic games (like this) who hold all the pieces of the game firmly, even in the event of turbulencethus avoiding having to patrol the plane’s floor in search of the missing parts.

What cannot be missing?

Arrived at their destination? Whether you opt for a little relaxation on the beach or for short daily walks, it will be important protect children from sun’s rays. So it will be good to remember to always bring one or more high protection sunscreen to the stock market, so as to avoid burning.

The little ones must be kept away from the hottest hours, regularly hydrated with water and covered with light clothes. For children up to 6-8 months The exposure to the sun, even indirect (reverberation of the beach), should be completely avoided between 11:00 and 17:00. We remind you that for more precise indications you can consult the guidelines of the Ministry of Health.

If instead of the sea the goal will be the mountainit will be good to equip yourself a little more, in view of sections in which we may not find equipped structures, but only woods and a lot of nature.

In the backpack it will always be good to have with you Hoods, sunglasses and patchesand, if possible, even a pair of spare shoes, if it starts to rain or if there was any accident accident. During the stops, an inflatable ball, a memory game or a deck of children’s cards (like this, for example) will transform the trip into an experience to be repeated.

To always carry

Whatever the destination for the holiday and the means with which it will reach it, a small one should never be missing First aid kit. You can buy an already ready kit (here is one) or create it with a soft beauty, To be inserted in the suitcase or hold by hand, which should contain:

• Products against car sickness. We are talking about a disorder that affects about 30% of children between 3 and 12 years old and which arises for greater sensitivity to passive movement. If the child suffers from it, you can choose the Antinausea bracelets (you can buy them here), which compress a point on the wrist called P6 and known in Chinese medicine, or patches that must be applied behind the ears.
• Thermometer. Better a digital product and water resistant if the child is already Granicello, or infrared front if he is a newborn.
• Patch and disinfectantsthe. They cannot be missing in your first aid kit and will be used for small injuries. You can also find a place for an instant ice envelope, useful in case of barrels or falls.
• Insect products. It will be good to bring with you not only a repellent against insects, a spray product like this, which must be applied every 2 hours to have an effective repellent action. However, we remind you that the best protection will be clothes and mosquito nets.

For more serious problems, however, such as viral infections or allergies, it will be appropriate consult your pediatrician by phone, avoiding self -controls. Paracetamol for fever should never be missing, as well as a drug for dissent, if the child is bigger; But for the final ok it always goes Consult the family doctor.

Finally remember to look for the number of a medical contact person At the holiday destination where you will go, in order not to find you unprepared in case more serious emergencies occur.