03 Sep Tales of a Travel Loving Mum
Remember what travelling was like before kids? Tanning, drinking, eating, sightseeing, and flying were all relatively easy… and then BANG one day you have kids and boy-o-boy, do they change the whole “vibe” of a holiday. So unfortunately, many families choose not to travel due to the stress and hard work involved lugging their little critters around. I have always loved to travel, and I was determined to not let having kids deter me from continuing my wanderlust. And, lo and behold, I soon fell in love with an entirely different type of travel – family travel.
While travelling with kids to a foreign country can be daunting, I believe that the benefits it provides the whole family are extremely valuable. So with the right preparation, tools, and attitude you can have a relaxing holiday with children… yes, I did just put “relaxing” and “holiday with children” in the same sentence!
I personally like to focus on the positives and regularly remind myself why I travel with my kids. This is particularly useful when things are going wrong; think delayed flights, cranky kids, or lost luggage. So why travel with them?
Travelling with kids can have an immensely positive impact on them. The knowledge they will acquire, the skills they will develop, and the memories they will gain from travel makes it totally worth it!
I believe that not all classrooms have four walls, and the experience of travelling provides a great educational opportunity for kids. Immersing them in different cultures is an incredibly enriching and rewarding experience. It’s not just about educating kids on the destination’s history, customs, and way of life, it’s also about learning how to travel, what is required to undertake travel, the different currencies, the language, and the new customs that need to be observed. By travelling with your kids, you can help them to gain one of the best educations that life can provide.
Travel gives children the time and space away from their normal life in exchange for self-discovery. Children will relish the adventures that travel provides and they will discover new interests, skills, and concepts that they had never even thought of before. Perhaps some steady encouragement to venture outside of their comfort zone will be required, but the personal growth that they can achieve from their travel experiences is immense.
When you travel with your kids, you get to spend real quality time together as a family. Travel can provide an opportunity to forge deeper connections with your children and create everlasting memories. Travelling together on a family holiday provides new and unique experiences, all while creating fantastic memories.
Also, it’s easy to take Australian life for granted; showing children how others live and another way of life can make them appreciate their home life more.
It pays to be prepared, and you need to be extra organised when travelling with kids. As they say, “If you fail to plan you plan to fail.”
Research your destination and find out what activities there are to do with kids, which restaurants and hotels are family-friendly, and what items you can order in advance to help you out. Think about pram, cot or car seat hire at the destination. Food is an important factor, kids can get cranky when they are hungry and they may not like the food available. It is also definitely a good idea to pack some snacks with you for the plane journey. Snacks are a good way to pass some time and keep kids quiet when travelling on long haul flights.
Being prepared with the right travel gear for a flight can make all the difference in the world for a stress-free journey, and it’s also a passion of mine. Keeping kids comfortable is key, especially on long-haul flights, which can be a nightmare if you don’t have a way of letting your child stretch out for some sleep. After numerous flights with my kids sprawled out uncomfortably across me for hours on end, and a particularly horrible flight when we were turned around after being four hours into a five-hour flight to Bali due to a Volcano eruption (8 hours in the air to end up back home was the worst!), I was delighted to find a solution for more comfortable travel. And so, I developed the Kooshy Kids Kooshion. This product really is a lifesaver when flying with kids. After inflating between two plane seats, it creates a flat, flexible space for kids to put their legs up and even lay down to sleep. And if the kids can get some rest, then so can you!
Another tip for traveling with kids is to keep them entertained. I’ll admit that letting the kids watch their favourite shows and play games on the iPad is a really great way to keep them occupied, but there are also some great products out there that I love that encourage independent play and engage their creative minds, while also giving them a nice break from technology. Compact, lightweight, and portable games are the most travel friendly option. I’ve found some good books and activity sets for drawing and colouring (just don’t forget the pencils!), and magnetic play scenes and design boards are fantastic for imaginative play. And as a bonus, they help develop kids’ fine motor skills. Other fun things I find suitable for travel include sticker books, puzzle books, water colouring books, journals, packs of cards, and small toys that are portable and easy to pack (hanging toys that you can click onto their backpacks are also good!).
My favourite family destination, like many Australians, is Bali. Bali is the perfect holiday getaway for families, with endless things to see and do. The Balinese love children and most of the accommodations and restaurants are family friendly. During the past few years there has been a huge increase in the number of Australian families visiting Bali, and there are now loads of services offered for touring families such as baby equipment hires, nanny agencies, homemade children’s food, kids’ clubs, children’s boutiques, and convenience stores… not to mention the endless options for a fun day out with the kids.
Soon after embracing travel with my kids, and never wanting a repeat of that hellish flight to Bali, I decided that I really wanted to help more parents come to love travelling with their kids. I wanted to provide families with the confidence to travel again with kids of any age. I wanted to provide a one-stop-shop for families with innovative travel products that are designed to take the stress out of family travel… thus, Kooshy Kids was born.
About the Author
Hi I am Louisa… travel enthusiast, massage connoisseur and mumma to Mila and Jack!
I wanted to provide families with the confidence to travel again after having kids and also provide a one-stop-shop for families with innovative travel products designed to take the stress out of family travel…and so Kooshy Kids was born.
Website:https://kooshykids.com.au/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kooshykids/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kooshykid