Traveling as a family can be a real blessing, and it is one of the most exciting and important aspects of bonding as a family. Being able to go abroad and experience new cultures and customs is an important learning experience for kids. There are lots of epic travel opportunities available for your family — making the right choices plays a big part as well as helping to keep your kids safe.
Nothing ruins a family trip more than worrying about your children’s safety. Keep these tips in mind, and you will be able to enjoy a safe and wonderful family travel experience.
Choose the Right Destination
Choosing the right destination can make all the difference when your objective is to keep your kids safe. Be sure to choose a destination that is safe and family friendly. A destination with similar cultural understandings will also help. Make sure you do your research before you go. Read reviews from other family travellers who can guide you to experiences that are the most family-friendly and safe. Great resources to check include TripAdvisor and Rick Steves’ guidebooks or videos.
Don’t Smother Them But Stay in Touch
Don’t smother your kids and be overly protective, as this will likely result in them rebelling and doing exactly what you don’t want them to do. The best approach is to let them have a bit of freedom, within reason, but to make sure you keep in touch regularly. Regular contact ensures peace of mind and responsibility, as well as allowing the kids to have a bit more freedom, which allows them to improve and grow.
As a family, sit down and create some ground rules for safety that can include things like having a buddy system and always sticking to your known itinerary unless you confirm changes with a parent. And perhaps you will decide it is easier and more comfortable to always stay together as a family.
Track Their Movements
Tracking the movements of your kids when you are separated can be really important. A mobile phone is an important tool for helping your kids improve their independence and social skills, but also a great way to know where they are at all times, so you can keep them as safe as possible. Using the right phone monitoring app for parents will provide you with a fast and effective way of improving your child’s safety.
Pack the Right Things
Packing the right stuff when you travel can actually play a role in the safety of your family. You will have essentials like medication you need to have with you as well as the right clothing for various weather conditions. To have a better organized and safer vacation experience, make a comprehensive packing list before you begin packing. You might also want to include items like emergency phone numbers, contact info for foreign enbassies, copies of each of your passports, prescriptions for medication, and cash or alternative currency for emergencies. Copies of your travel itinerary and your contact info should be given to each of your children, in case you get separated. These are ways to help keep your kids safe and confident that all will be well.
Keep Your Kids Safe by Being Vigilant
Being vigilant while traveling is so important. This is something you need to get right when you travel with your kids. Keep your eyes open and pay attention to where you are and the kind of people near you. Avoid public transportation during late hours when there aren’t many others around. Also take note of the kinds of businesses operating in the neighborhoods you are travelling through — that will give you a clue as well.
Again, it is very helpful to use guidebooks and travel bloggers’ tips to avoid areas that could be dangerous. They will share what to watch out for and what to avoid. You can ensure that you and your kids enjoy fun and fulfilling travel by following these tips.
Select Family-Friendly Activities
Selecting family-friendly activities you can all enjoy together is very meaningful; it will help your family bond and create new memories. Seek to include activities that will appeal to your kids — be sure to ask for their input. Whether you decide on theme parks, beach outings, hiking, souvenir shopping, or exploring museums, for example, isn’t as important as knowing how to keep your kids safe in the activities you select. The best family activities will lend themselves to stress-free family travel.
Communicate ahead of time with those providing the activities you are interested in, to learn which precautions you will need to take. Know if the activities are age-appropriate for your children. And if you are allowing your children to participate without you, find out if they will be monitored or supervised by adults.
Use Reputable Sources
Use services and resources that come well-recommended and that are trustworthy and dependable. Read lots of reviews and look at the ratings for attractions. This is an important part of the process when you are trying to make the experience safer for your kids. It is also helpful when looking for lodging, transportation options, and restaurants to visit. Other travelling families will let you know which are best for safety, as well as value, convenience, and family-friendliness.
Your best resources are probably friends and family members who have already “been there, done that.” So don’t be afraid to ask around for recommendations and others’ opinions based on their own experiences. When it comes to keeping your kids safe while travelling, no effort is too much.
Some excellent ideas here, and absolutely correct that everything needs to be researched before you go. But I’d add one little twist. Ask child to write down 3 things they’d like to do/see on the trip and WHY. This allows them to be part of the planning process, gets them to do a little research of their own, and gives them something to look forward to when they’re at the destination. Of course this wouldn’t work that well for really young children, but those 7 and up might really surprise you.
This such an important topic that isn’t talked about often. I agree that preplanning activities and creating a schedule helps create an atmosphere everyone is happy with and alleviates boredom that could lead to a teen wanting to explore on their own. I love the ideas of using a buddy system and having a phone app to track them for reassurance.
The one thing that I totally advocate is going a little expensive but picking the reputable and safe tours when with the kids. It is better not to penny pinch on that. And yes, definitely don’t smother them. Let them be but keep an eye on them. Loved all your tips but the last one in particular struck a chord.
I’m not yet blessed with a family but it is my dream to travel with my future children. It’s really easy to overlook things like ensuring the right documents and contacts are packed. I definitely agree that getting the children’s input is one quick and easy way to ensure that they’re included and engaged in the trip.
I hear you! Traveling with kids has definitely changed how we do things because the safety comes first. At the same time though, I think it teaches them independence and tolerance, and opens them up to understanding other cultures. Great tips on this post!
It sure is a bit of time since we had to travel with kids and worry about keeping them safe. Certainly as our kids got older we gave them some freedom but had definite rules about staying in contact and touch points in person. It was always great when we found activities we all liked to do and created those special memories! One day I might have to refresh my practices when grandkids arrive.
Great tips for families traveling with kids. A lot of helpful information to avoid risk in travel and have a beautiful but safe vacation. I agree that choosing the right destination for a family vacation is crucial to safe travel. It is worth using proven sources before making a decision.
Selecting family-friendly activities definitely helps. As selecting an appropriate location. Depending on the age of the kids, there are definitely places that are more ideal than others for taking the little ones along!
Great tips for family travel. I strongly agree about choosing the right destination for your kids and yourselves’ safety. And I would like to add about sharing all the information needed about the area with the kids before you leave.
Wonderful tips for parents. This is a topic that you don’t read much about and therefore found it interesting as we don’t travel with kids now. Choosing the right destination and keeping vigil of one’s children is certainly a priority which cannot be overlooked.