As the holiday season begins, families will be hovering around travel websites and deciding everything from the destination to the choice of commute to the food. But holiday planning with kids is a whole different ballgame.

Kids being kids don’t just travel from A to B but take time to get accustomed to B. The weather, food, people- anything & everything can make them happy or tick them off. Parents need to be extra careful while planning a trip with their little ones,  else they can jeopardize the possibilities of a good holiday season.

Things to keep in mind:

1. Make them a part of your planning: Show them the brochures, tell them about the place you wish to take them, tell them how it will be. This storytelling will get them interested and excited about the holiday.
2. Make sure you have chosen to visit the place during the right season. Children are vulnerable to sudden & extreme climate change. Avoid places with exactly opposite (as compared to the weather in your hometown) & extreme weather conditions.
3. Getting them adapted to the food in the place can get tricky, but is absolutely necessary. Prior to your departure make sure you spend some time doing research about the food found and made in your holiday destination. If universal foods like rice, pasta etc are tough to find, figure out what the place has and try and make a similar model of it at home or share that information with your children. If they are better prepared, you will have peace while you eat..
4. Blend your holiday with history & adventure: Museums, historic monuments or places can get children to lose patience. Make sure your holiday itinerary includes family or children related fun. Be it amusement parks or a wildlife safari/ trek, make your sure children have their share of fun too!
5. Avoid hectic travel itineraries. Tour packages are generally designed based on the ‘see more in less time’ concept-good for adults but not advisable for children. These packages involve tedious travelling with halts in each town for not more than a night or maximum two nights. This up & go commute can be stressful for small children who then get cranky & are difficult to control throughout the journey.

Holidays should be fun for all and though age is just a number, there are quite a few things which tend to become obstacles to the fun when young children are travelling. Of course, every child is different, with a different temperament or different upbringing, but a child is a child. It is always better to keep the child’s interests in mind too while planning a trip. After all, it is a family trip!