Travelling With Small Children

Travelling with kids can be somewhat like shooting a herd of wild goats on holiday. Whether they're your own or somebody else's, factoring a child's needs into your travels involves far more than adhering on a CD full of pop songs and making toilet stops. Here two Rough Guides writers share their hard-won wisdom. To start, mum of two Hayley Spurway offers guidance on traveling with toddlers, subsequently Ross McGovern shows the way he manages to traveling with older children. Hayley Spurway's hints for traveling with toddlers, Montessori Thornhill Childcare centre.

Use public transportation

Many toddlers love the novelty of travelling by train, boat and bus, so ditch the hire car and use public transport where possible. Back in Switzerland, my two-year-old would repeat the names of the subway stops as they were announced - provoking ripples of laughter and making him much more enthused about boarding the train each day.

Engage and involve older children

The best way to avoid a soul-destroying sulk out of the adolescent is to involve them in the preparation of this holiday and ask them to get input on what they'd love to perform. You might be surprised to hear it isn't spending all day online.

Be app-y

Thanks to toddler-friendly apps, there's no need to cram a toy box into your hand luggage when travelling by airplane. By all means have a book and a magic scribbler (crayons only get lost down the side of seats), however, the most compact form of entertainment is a device packed with apps and games.

Book ahead

Whether you're camping or staying in hotels, it pays to book ahead. Trying to keep the spontaneity of travel BC (Before Children) doesn't repay in the event that you arrive at your destination to discover you can't bag a bed or pitch and have to hit the street again with exhausted, hungry toddlers melting down at the backseat.

Pack Pull-Ups for potty training

Planes and public transport during the potty training times can be a nightmare. As in the event that you didn't have enough in your hand luggage, today you're predicted to add a potty, three changes of clothes and bags of wet, stinky pants. Potty-training gurus may disagree, however when toddlers are still having lots of little mishaps then I'm all for placing them back in to Pull-Ups on the airplane.