Do you remember a time in life, the years BC (before children), where you could go on a holiday and just sit at the beach for hours on end? You could sleep in and have brunch, because, well, it has to be called that when you’re eating your breakfast at 11am. You had all of the time in the world to relax and actually read what the signs said at the museums or tourist attractions.
Now a lot of a holiday is like working in crowd control and then trying to keep everyone safe from sunburn. That being said, they are still lots of reasons why it is fun to travel with your kids. From relaxing holidays to Playa Blanca to a busy Disneyland Paris break, making memories with your mini-me can be lots of fun as you’re away from the daily grind. Not convinced? Here are some of the phrases you might find yourself saying when abroad. Forget learning a foreign language; this is the lingo that you need to have down.
On the airplane: ‘Don’t touch the door handle.’ Or that. Or that. Along with ‘stop kicking the chair in front of you.’ Good times.
At the airport: ‘The rope is to help people in line. Not for you to play with.’ When going through security, you might have to somehow explain ‘bad guys’ to your kids. And why your things have to have a special photo taken by going through a machine. Awkward.
Hurry up and stay by me.
Slow down and make sure you’re close to me.
‘Do you need the toilet?’ on repeat. You never quite know when you’ll get to another bathroom, so asking this whenever there is one in sight is a must. The struggle is real.
‘Do you really need to go again?’ See previous point.
‘If I let you have a drink without a lid, will you be super careful?’ Because no-one wants to have to clear up spills on an airplane, at the airport, or generally, at all.
‘Where are the baby wipes?’ ‘Nuff said.
‘The food isn’t yucky. It just looks different in this country’. Fussy eaters and travel can be a ‘fun’ combination. Always having a backup of snacks in your luggage arsenal can be a good idea.
‘Don’t eat the sand!’
‘Time for sunscreen!’ Literally every couple of hours. And ‘where’s your hat’ or ‘where are your sunglasses’ (please delete as appropriate). You know how unpleasant it is for you to have sunburn, so imagine how awful it will be for the little mites?
‘Yes, you can have an ice cream’ for the tenth time today.
If you decide on a road trip instead, then you may reach the seventh circle of parenting hell; the ‘she’s bothering/touching/pinching me.’ Take deep breaths.
‘What was your favourite thing to do today?’ A valid question to see what they have been enjoying. As long as it wasn’t met with ‘nothing,’ then you’re onto a winner.
‘I love you.’ Well, because, kids.
