Taking toddlers or teens on family holidays and breaks
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We've thought of a few things for you to think about when choosing a family holiday, based on your children's ages:
taking infants and toddlers
In some ways, once you’ve got over the initial thought of taking your young child abroad, the infant and toddler years can be the ideal time for a family holiday with kids.
It’s certainly when there’s most help on offer – under two’s fly for free, there are bassinets, nappies and baby food onboard planes, helpful cooing air stewardesses (if you-re lucky). Gulf Air are even introducing sky nannies on some flights who are specially trained to provide in-flight childcare services. Indeed if you can get them asleep, you can kick back and enjoy the meal and the movie (unlikely but you never know!)
And when you arrive, you generally find most countries more child-friendly than the somewhat starchy and traditional UK. In fact walk through any Italian small town with a baby in a pram and the local mamas flock round it like bees round honey to pinch, prod and hug your little one as if it was their own.
OK, babies are going to cry and it’s worth checking certain things before you go abroad – especially to hot countries. Does your accommodation have aircon? Lie awake with a screaming baby at three in the morning in a sweltering hotel room and all you want to do is get the next flight home.
Downsides include the effects of jet-lag after all those months of careful controlled crying to get him or her into a good routine. And remembering to respect local attitudes to breast-feeding and even changing nappies in public.
A great solution to reduce the excessive luggage, often required when travelling with babies, is provided by tinytotsaway. Place an order at least 14 days before your departure at their online shop, and they will ship all your familiar and favourite baby products and supplies direct to your holiday destination to coincide with your arrival.
If it all seems too much and you can’t face that long-haul flight to South Africa, there’s always Devon and watching them eat sand on the beach
taking teenagers
These can be the most difficult years for them, you and family holidays.
Too young for total freedom.
Too old for the kiddies club.
And too miserable to get excited even by the pyramids.
The teenage travel years are tricky.
While you thrill at the wonders of the world, all they thrill at are the wonders of the snog and the in-house pay-per-view movie channels.
But pick the right holiday and parents and teenagers can get by in relative peace and harmony.
You probably don’t want to be too far from a town or at least a disco where they can spend some cool time away from you. You most definitely need other teenagers around for them to share their angst with.
And compromise.
A day seeing the cultural sights for you means a day at the very latest water park or rollercoaster-packed theme park for them.
They’re more likely to wander round the Louvre if they know they’re headed to Walt Disney Studios Paris the next day.
In fact pick something amazing like a driving tour of the USA before they finally fly the nest and it could be the one holiday you all remember forever. Or take the family on an unforgettable adventure holiday to somewhere like Morocco or Thailand...guaranteed to cure misery.
And remember you were once that brace-wearing, spot-worrying youth who had been forced to come on holiday (again!) with Mum and Dad when everyone else at school had been allowed to go Eurorailing and smoke weed man!
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