Taking vacations with kids can be a great experience and a bonding time for families. However, it can also be a hard thing to do without a lot of problems popping up. If you think about where you are going, what you are going to be doing, and how you are going to get there and back, you can come up with some idea to help you make things go much more smoothly. If you keep the fact that children are very excitable as well as prone to boredom, you can come up with ways to keep things on an even keel when you are experiencing downtime.
The downtime on vacations with kids is often during travel to and from the vacation spot, and also at night when everyone else is trying to sleep. This means finding ways to keep them happy. Normally this might be time that they are sleeping at home, but when away on vacation, they are likely filled with energy and excitement, leaving it hard for you to get the sleep that you need. If you are traveling a long way, it can be hard to keep them calm in the car or even on the plane. Have some plans in place before you go.
Some parents like to have kits ready for vacations with kids. This type of kit can be compiled with things that are going to keep them happy and busy. What you want to put into these kits depends on your children, what they like to do, and how old they are. Babies, for example, won't need much as long as they can sleep and eat, but you may want to make sure you take some of their favorite toys with you to keep them occupied if they start to get restless.
Kits for taking vacations with kids that are under age ten can be a lot of fun for them, but you want to think about mess. Modeling dough can be a fun idea, but you can not allow them to have that on a plane, and you don't want it in the backseat of your car. Think about books, paper activities like Mad Libs, and perhaps some electronic games and movies that they can play and watch. Take some of their favorite toys as long as they are small and portable. These can work for older kids, but get them things that are age appropriate. Teens are notoriously easily bored, so allow them to bring a music player with them. This often keeps them happy.
No matter what you do, you are always going to have moments during vacations with kids that are going to be boring for them. However, there are also going to be times when they are having so much fun and seem so content you won't know what to do. If you can find parts of a vacation that do not seem like much fun for you, but that are going to be a blast for them, make sure you incorporate those things into your time schedule. This helps them appreciate what you want to do because you choose things just for them as well.