School - age children are better able to entertain themselves than toddlers and you should get them to participate actively in the decision-making process as to what to bring when you travel. Check that they are not bringing any prohibited items and explain to them that they are going to have to carry all of the items in their hand luggage and that there are limits on the amount they can fit in their suitcase. Novelty is great and if your kids have not played with a toy in quite some time it might be an idea to reintroduce that toy now.
Top tips for things to bring when travelling with your school age child
Crayons and colouring materials (avoid felt tip pens and wax crayons). Pencils are the best but you will need to keep a sharpener in your grasp.
Toys that stimulate imaginative play such as farm animals, diggers and dollies/action figures such as Barbie and action man.
Miniature toys such as Polly pocket, Pokémon and virtual pets are small and great friends to have when travelling.
Hand-held video games such as Nintendo or Game Boy
Building blocks (it does not matter if you lose a few)
Books
A pack of cards
A portable DVD player
Audio books and music
Travel sized board games
A notebook for making notes about the wonderful travel experiences
Puzzles, word games and quiz books
Books about the type of travel and destination
Balls and exercise items such as a small Bean bag or a frisbee
Pocket versions of Etch a sketch
Interactive learning games which are age appropriate
If you are flying with kids do not forget to look at our checklists for hand luggage when travelling with children and in particular babies and our checklists for tips on choosing an airline, flying, boarding a plane, on the plane, car journeys and entertaining kids generally.
The difference preparation will make when you are travelling in a car with your family is immense and proper timing, appropriate stocks and good in-car entertainment will make a huge difference to this experience. We have provided a long list of top tips for car journeys with kids and hope that you will find them useful. We also have a long list of top car games and travel games to play with the kids car games for babies and downloadable colouring links all of which are free.
We have prepared some advice and a checklist of what to bring on a car journey as well as several lists on how to entertain the children while you are travelling with the kids through the various ages and hope these are helpful.
You will find lots of family friendly travel tips and advice in our research and advice section to help you book the right family holiday. Check out also the experiences of other parents and travellers in our parents forum and add your own experiences as we are a great believer in real parent's experiences as the best measure of whether somewhere will suit you for your family holiday.
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