Are you finally doing that trip you’ve been waiting for? Yay! Where are you going? Spain? Or maybe, Colombia? Or is it Costa Rica? Well, wherever you go, don’t let traveling with your kids stop you from having a great adventure!
In fact, traveling with your kids can add fun to it all. We know there are some struggles, and you might be a bit stressed about that. It’s understandable, because kids have a lot of energy and are constantly exploring the world and discovering their likes and dislikes. They want to touch everything, jump around, go to the places that draw their attention, and so on… It can be a lot!
But it can also be magical! Don’t worry. Here are our top 10 secrets for international travel with kids to help you achieve a special trip.
Immerse Your Kids in Language and Culture Before the Trip
You can start preparing your kids for the trip days and even weeks before the trip actually happens. To do this, immerse them in the culture of the country you’re going to. How? Easy, by teaching them and showing them some iconic and traditional things from there.
For example: If you’re going to Mexico in October, tell them about the Day of the Dead and play the movie “Coco” for them. Or if you’re visiting Peru, prepare some “ceviche Peruano” for the meal, so they taste a traditional delicious dish.
Tell them about all the incredible places you’ll visit and all the cool things you’ll do.
This way you’ll start hyping them up, and when it’s time to travel they’ll be excited. Of course, they can still get impatient to get there, especially during the flight. But the excitement will make them remember that something amazing will come after the boredom of sitting down for hours in a plane.
Get Some Baby Headphones
Have you seen those big headphones some adults use? Those that have great audio quality and some are even noise-cancelling. Well, out there in the market, there are also some headphones like that but for babies. They also look huge and are noise-cancelling, which will help your baby’s ears.
The ears of babies are more sensitive, which means they might struggle more with the changes of the pressure in the airplane. Their ears can even hurt! Headphones with noise-cancelling mode will help avoid this and lessen the discomfort.
This way your kids won’t be in pain, won’t complain much about it, and won’t cry a lot because of it. Plus, they’ll have fun listening to whatever they want in their headphones.
Prepare Some Delicious Snacks
Snacks will be your best ally on the plane! Every kid has a favorite snack and we’re sure you already know your kids’ favorite ones. So make sure to pack a small plastic bag or a small lunch container with these delicious treats.
Hunger is one of the things that annoy kids the most. It’s not easy for them to just say “I’ll eat later”. Especially if it’s a long flight; they have to eat.
Then there’s the likes and dislikes aspect of food. What if they don’t love the snacks and food from the plane? The eating experience will be the worst for them. So it’ll be easier for them if you carry some goodies. They’ll actually enjoy the experience of eating their snack on the plane if it’s something they love.
The snacks don’t even have to be junk food. There are some healthy and delicious foods, like baby carrots with some salt and lemon.
Do you want a fun idea? Prepare snacks that are traditional from the country you’re going to! So your kids start immersing themselves in the culture and enjoying it even before arrival.
For example: If you’re going to Puerto Rico, you can prepare some small “tostones”. Of course, to make sure your kids love them, you’ll have to prepare some samples the days before and let them try them.
Play Word Search Puzzles
It’s time for a quiet game. Kids love playing a lot! But of course they can’t run, jump or scream on a plane. Don’t worry, though. There are some games that can be played in silence or without making much noise or moving around a lot. A word search puzzle is one of them.
Prepare some word search puzzles with words in the official language of the country you’re visiting. Those words can also be related to some vocabulary of traveling or even better, with the culture of the country you’re going to.
This way the level of difficulty will be higher, because it’ll be in a language that your kids are probably not fluent in. And they’ll be about a culture they don’t know very well, but they’re about to discover.
Most importantly, your kids will learn new words in a second language by playing. And what’s better than playing while having fun?
To make it extra fun, you can play with them and compete to see which one finds all the words first.
Watch Movies and Shows
We know you don’t want your kids to watch a lot of televisions or be on the internet for too long. We understand you want them to engage in other things besides screens and we think that’s great. Really.
But a flight can last many hours and kids can get desperate and tired of being on an airplane for that long. So using screens, like a tablet, to play a movie or a cartoon for them is not a bad idea. They’ll be entertained for a while, so you can rest and have a moment from being worried that they might kick and scream.
Do you want to know the best? Using electronics to watch a YouTube video, a movie or a kids’ show doesn’t have to be useless. It can be educational! What if they watch a movie about the country you’re traveling to? So they start learning about the culture and getting to know all the cool things they’ll soon see in person.
Or what if you play a children’s show in the language of the country you’re going to? So if you’re going to Argentina, look up shows from there and download them onto your tablet for the kids to see. This way, they’ll start training their ears for the new language.
Deal with the Jet Lag
If you’re traveling to a faraway country with a very different time zone, chances are you’re going to get jet lag. But adults aren’t the only ones to suffer from this; your kids can be jet lagged as well.
If where you are it’s nighttime while in your country it’s daytime, kids might be too energetic and won’t feel like sleeping. They’ll want to do everything. Do things you normally do at home before bedtime to help them get into a sleepy mood.
For example: Read them a short story, give them a bath, and try to eat the normal dinner you have at home, if that’s possible.
If where you are it’s daytime while in your country it’s the night, they’ll be too tired. Try to take the first day or first two days for relaxing activities. They can have a nap and then get the day started. Just don’t let them sleep throughout the whole day or they won’t adjust to the new time zone. But you can let them have some naps.
Add Some Activities for the Kids on the Itinerary
If you’re planning to spend a lot of the time at the hotel, you should take a look at the activities they offer for kids. Beyond going to the beach or swimming in the pool, hotels tend to have different options for kids. Such as a game room, or children’s pool parties.
Some activities are even just for children and no adults. That’s your choice if you want to leave them there or prefer to look for things that they love and that you can do together.
Doing children’s activities will make them feel seen and even more included in the trip.
Of course, there are trips where you don’t spend much time at the hotel and go visit the country instead. But even then, you might find some fun things to do for the kids. Maybe a cool museum? Or the town’s fair? Or maybe they’ll prefer a small hike if they’re into sports.
Don’t Force Food; Make It Fun
When we go to a new destination, we want to learn everything about it: History, traditions, fun words and phrases… That’s great because it’ll nurture us as people.
Part of these things is trying the traditional food. This can be a great experience; you might love some of the dishes. But when it comes to kids, it can be difficult. Children don’t always want to try food that they’re not used to and that looks too different from the one at home.
We know you want them to have that experience, because they might be surprised. But you shouldn’t force it. Instead, we recommend you try the food first and be sure they’re watching. At the same time, express your happy feelings not only with words, but with gestures as well. This way they’ll see it’s delicious and they’ll crave it.
Encourage Them to Speak the Language
If you’re going to a country with a different official language from yours, it’s recommended you learn some basic words. Like “hello”, “goodbye”, “bathroom”, “please”, and “thanks”. But during the trip and while talking to the locals, you may be motivated to learn a few more words. It’s fun!
You should motivate your kids to do the same. For example: If they want to go to a shop, tell them to say hi in the language of that country. Or if they’re talking to a native speaker and they say something nice to them, encourage them to say “thanks” in the country’s language.
In order for this to be a cool experience and not study time, it should come more naturally and don’t feel too forced. So don’t ask them to speak way too many words and phrases in the language.
Especially encourage them to say basic words or words for topics they’re interested in. Like if they go to a science museum, motivate them to learn how to say “science” in that language. Or you try to be the one to explain to them with excitement how it is said. So they get excited too.
A great experience for the most outgoing kids would be to speak with the locals.
Be Flexible
As much as you plan, during all trips unexpected things and changes can happen. Even more so when you have kids. For example: Maybe your kids will get too tired by the end of the trip, and you won’t be able to walk as much as you wanted to. Or maybe a place you were expecting to see closed earlier.
It can be disappointing. But then try to see which other things you could do to still have a good time.
For example: If your kids are too tired, you could go somewhere closer to the hotel. If your favorite museum is closed, ask a local for recommendations of cool places to see.
Prepare Your Children for The Trip of Their Dreams with TruFluency Kids!
An extra tip we can give you is to prepare them for the trip with some language classes. You might not move there to live, but one of the best parts of traveling is immersing yourself in the country. To do this, your kids will need at least some basic language knowledge.
So, if you’re going to a Hispanic country, let us help your children with their Spanish skills. Here at TruFluency Kids we offer online Spanish immersion classes with native teachers!
Plus, we teach through fun activities, like singing, dancing, speaking, doing crafts, reading, and even cooking! This way your kids won’t see Spanish as a boring language and will be excited to interact in it during your trip. Contact us today to learn more!
