When your child reaches seven years to nine, that’s the golden age for vacationing for most parents and traveling with kids. Once they reach that age, they are less fussy and willing to do most activities on vacation. By then, your child is toilet trained, and you don’t have to carry diapers or a potty everywhere you go.
It’s also an awesome age where you can go with the kids for sightseeing excursions. You don’t have to schedule these activities around their naptime. They will be excited to go with you for any vacationing activities like swimming, hiking, or even camping. At this age, so long as you enjoy doing something, your kid will go without being fussy, nagging, or getting tired too quickly.
Of course, traveling with kids aged seven to nine isn’t all happy rainbows and sunshine. There are always some hurdles that you may face. However, with these tips, you can use them to ensure a smooth traveling experience.
Before you go…
Let the kids pack their own luggage.
Your seven-year-old may need some help with packing their luggage. Ensure you’re there to tell them where to put what. But a nine-year-old is old enough to pack the luggage on their own. Make a list with your kids of what needs packing, maybe some casual wear like t-shirts, shorts, jeans, or some beachwear if you are going to the beach, such as swimming gear and comfortable clothing from kaftko.
After they’ve finished packing, you can go over everything to ensure they have packed all the necessary clothes they will need for the trip and a few extra ones. That way, you won’t be accused of missing to pack a favorite outfit or costume. They will be responsible for that. It also lessens your last-minute rush of packing for everyone for the trip. If you get some help from the kids, you are sure to pack everything needed.
Introduce your kids to vacation destinations through videos online or even books.
Remember when you were a kid, and you would experience great places through books? Well, now you can also do the same with your kids. Once you have settled on a destination of where you are going, you can search for videos online that show the places you are likely to visit.
By doing this, the kids get an immersive experience of your destination, plus they are now even more psyched to travel and partake in all the awesome activities you have planned for them.
Carry a small notebook or blank book
These will come in handy when you are at the airport, train station, or restaurant waiting for something. It helps keep your kids busy drawing or writing stuff down that they like.
You don’t want them to get cranky waiting, and by the time they are on the plane or car, they are nagging you with “are we there yet?”
Pack snacks for the return trip
You may have packed snacks for the trip, but seven to nine-year-olds will quickly burn through all the snacks you carried when you were going for the trip. Before you get back, you should also do the same with the return trip and pack enough snacks they can eat.
Don’t forget to pack enough water, too. It is easy to get dehydrated on a trip, especially if the weather is hot outside.
In the air/road trip/train …
Let them keep track of their backpacks and carry on bags
When in school, they usually take care of their school bags so they can also take care of their bags while on vacation. Tell them early enough that whatever they carry on the plane, they will be responsible for it, whether toys, drawing books, notebooks, or video games.
Tell them they will carry the bag through layovers and to the restaurants, too. Doing this will make the kids evaluate what’s convenient to bring along the plane ride. Moreover, it decreases the chances of them losing toys or stuff on the plane.
Have rules on electronic use
We are sure your kids aged seven to nine either have a phone, video game, or music player of some sort. Make it clear from the get-go that they will not be glued to their gadgets the whole time you are traveling. They can have an hour of video games, and if it’s a road trip, the rest of the time may be used to play games or have a conversation with family.
Whatever rules you have of them using their gadgets, make it clear before you start the trip so that you don’t have to deal with any backtalk once you are on the trip and need them to get off their phone or video games.
On the ground..
Let everyone have a say in the vacation activities you have planned
You can have the kids also say what activities you can partake on vacation, of course within reasonable limits, and you have veto power to accept or refuse.
They will have more fun doing your stuff if they know they get to do something they choose in the afternoon. For example, they will suffer through your museum tour for an awesome day at the beach later in the afternoon.
You can have the kids keep a journal about your entire vacation
You can buy your kids a journal where they can write about their vacation. For kids who are not enthusiastic writers, you can buy them a scrapbook and let them take pictures of all the spots you will visit, and they can make a picture book with the memories you had as a family.
Alternatively, if your kid is not too keen on writing and taking pictures, you can also have them take videos about all the places you will visit. They can make it into some vlog of some sort. Of course, you don’t have to post it online, but you can save it into a hard drive somewhere where you can watch it as a family later when you are back home and get to experience your trip all over again through your kid’s eyes.
sponsored post
Founder & Editor-in-Chief of Pinstripe Magazine. Creative thinker and menswear designer who has been writing articles dedicated to men’s fashion, lifestyle, luxury items, home design, gear, grooming and gadgets since 1998. For info on PinstripeMag, any editorial needs or to contact me please email at marv@pinstripemag.com.
