Long trip with kids preparing + (pre-)reading tips

Last week I started an article in the Far Travel with Kids series. There you could read my tips for choosing a destination. Last Sunday you could already read in my weekly review that the flights for our next long trip are already booked. It will be a while yet but we have already told little man that we are going on a trip to Costa Rica.

As the trip approaches, I like to prepare him a little for what is to come. This week I give you some tips on how you can prepare your children for what is to come.

Traveling far with kids

Preparation

When you go on your first far away trip with children, your children may find it exciting. They may have flown before but never this long and far. Where are they going to sleep? What happens? What are we going to do?

These were some questions that kept our little man busy when he went on his first faraway trip. He was only 2.5 years old at the time but don’t be mistaken what a little one gets from the preparations. I did some things to prepare him for the trip.

Travel overview

When you go on a planned trip it is nice to make an overview of the destinations within the country for your child. I made a laminated booklet with a picture on each page of the accommodation where we were staying and some images of the surroundings. This way he could get to know the country before the trip and during the trip itself he knew every day where we would be going. He also enjoyed looking back at what we had already seen.

Towards the end of the trip, he sometimes asked about the animals at home. A toddler has little sense of time and through the book I could help him a little with that. He watched this book for a long time and relived the trip over and over again.

Reading

There are several booklets on the market about children going on a trip. I don't have them myself but it can be a good preparation and especially fun beforehand. Think of a book about flying or about the country you are going to visit. I sought out some examples for you;

• A picture book about airplanes, safety measures, what you have to do when you fly and what you can do on the plane itself. This book is suitable for ages 4 and up.
  Who does not know it, the books of Miffy. For younger children this is a very sweet book about Miffy who goes on a trip by plane.
  In this series of books Ikke goes on a trip and tells you everything about the country you are going to. Very suitable for toddlers. In this series several countries are available.

Distant journey with children

In the run up to our trip to Costa Rica I will post every now and then about traveling with children. It is so much fun to do with children. If you can do it, don't hesitate to do it.

Do you do something special to prepare your children for the holiday/travel?

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