4. Lost items
Small children are experts at tossing important items out of the stroller while you’re on the move through a busy crowd. You can do a few things to help prevent lost items. Secure toys, cups, and pacifiers to the child or the stroller with a piece of ribbon, or an adjustable strap designed for just this purpose. Carry extras of the items you really need, like bottles or sippy cups.
Leave really important items at home or in the hotel room. If your child has a blanket or stuffed animal that he’s used to carrying along, begin weaning him of the habit a few months before your vacation. Begin with short walks where the special items stays at home “taking a nap” or “guarding the house.” Progress to longer and longer trips until you can manage a day out without the irreplaceable friend.
5. Exhaustion and tantrums
Long hours, overexcitement, heat, and sun can all contribute to cranky children and major temper tantrums. The easiest way to prevent this is to include an afternoon break in your day. Head back to the hotel during the hottest hours for a rest. Older children can take a dip in the pool while younger ones get a good long nap.
Don’t expect children to skip a restful nap and stay up late in the same day without losing it. If a midday break doesn’t fit in your schedule, plan to leave the park at a reasonable hour. As tempting as it is to push the kids to fit as much fun in the day as possible, this just isn’t an option for many small children.
6. Upset tummies
Dasani Bottled Water
While an increasing number of theme parks are offering healthy meal options, particularly for children, not all kids actually take advantage of these choices. Typical park food is heavy, greasy, sweet, and fattening. Eating too many of these treats in one long, hot day can result in some seriously upset tummies.
Minimize the potential for this kind of problem by including as much fresh healthy food as possible in your child’s diet. Consider the types of foods your kids usually eat in a typical day and don’t veer too far from the norm.
Always push lots of water to avoid dehydration, which will only aggravate tummy issues. If your kids aren’t used to drinking much water, start including it in their diet in the weeks leading up to the vacation so it won’t be brand new to them. Choose a fun water bottle to make the experience more exciting, and feel free to make a big deal out of how you’re practicing for your exciting upcoming vacation.
Comments
we did a lot of these things when we took our 4 yr old granddaughter the first time. We made a habit of making a game of trying to find a bathroom after every ride or attraction we were at. We bought a cute water bottle for her to carry, and at the resorts the ladies that clean the rooms like to decorate the rooms with the toys so she loved to leave them to see how they played all day. ( we told her it was like toy story and when we wernt there they liked to play) She just loved to find the toys in different spots when she went back to the room. Never had an accident or a problem with her the whole time , she just had a ball. On the other hand we took a 9 yr old grandson with us, and he hated it from the moment we got to the entrance to each park we went too. He gave us so many problems acting up that to this day we haven't taken him anywhere with us at all. So it all depends on the kids U take.