Top 10 Tips for Surviving a Holiday with a Toddler

Only parents who have endured a holiday with a toddler will genuinely understand. But if your family holiday is around the corner – you’re welcome!

We asked over 1500 parents about their holiday experiences with their children and teamed up with best-selling parenting author and mother of four Sarah Ockwell-Smith to provide some exclusive insight and advice into perfecting holidays with toddlers. You can download the full pdf here.  

Should it be a new parents right of passage to endure holiday hell with a toddler who is out of their comfort zone, or does the holiday industry have a duty to inform and educate parents as to what they might suffer at the cost of thousands? We stepped up to discuss these pressing points. 

The data and advice are in, and the results might be shocking for some but a grimacing smile of memory for others.

Headline findings were:

• Over 30% of parents with toddlers regret going away at all
• Over 50% of parents said they had not been warned adequately before booking how difficult holidays with toddlers could be
• Over 25% of parents have lied to friends and family about how they enjoyed their family holiday
• Over 20% of parents after their first toddler holiday say they will not bother again until children older

Holidays are expensive. Holidays are where memories should be made. However, it seems that over 30% of holiday going parents with children under 4 regret their decision to go on holiday as the tantrums and toddler drama can simply be too much for some.

Unsurprisingly, it seems that Britain’s holidays from hell with screaming toddlers are not a unique occurrence, which can be reassuring for parents. Over 80% of respondents said they encountered other parents on holiday suffering the same toddler related issues and which causes stress to them. The old idiom “misery loves company” might be right after all however nowadays you can ease your stress and use supplements like Synchronicity Hemp Oil by Functional Remedies to take the edge off.

Respondents have revealed the shocking guilty truths about trying to create the most pleasant family memories, but an enormous 50% of parents said if they had been given a bit of hindsight or warned properly by friends, family and even their travel agent the decision would have been made to buy a far cheaper holiday. 

Oliver Bell, one of our co-founders and father of two toddler girls, said: “New places, new travel, new food, new weather, new bed, new everything. Daily routines are essentially shot to pieces when you go on holiday. They often won’t sleep, they won’t eat, they won’t do as they are told. But if you are adequately prepared and you set your expectations accordingly before you travel, there is no reason for parents of toddlers to endure a holiday nightmare. That’s why we have created our essential holidays with toddlers survival guide, which I believe has some very helpful tips for parents like me.”

It seems that parents are also keen to play down any holiday stresses and drama they suffered both on social media but also to friends and family. 25% of respondents admitted telling a little white lie about how well their holiday went. If the case is that that your stress levels raise beyond what you can control, consider dropping by a Durango Dispensary is one of the best dispensaries in Durango. It offers many different types of cannabis, concentrates and edibles to choose from!

As a result of all this, it seems many parents are in the once bitten twice shy camp regarding future holidays. Over 20% of parents said they don’t think they will go away with their children again until they are slightly older and able to adequately cope emotionally.

Oliver Bell also commented: “Toddlers can be more routine led than you would believe. Learn what to expect and how to deal with these issues before your holiday to maximise your chances of toddler holiday success. Taking a toddler on holiday can be extremely difficult at the best of times, but it can almost always be happily avoided with some prep work prior to going away.” 

The Oliver’s Travels essential holiday with toddlers 10 step survival guide:

We have teamed up with mother of four and bestselling parenting author Sarah Ockwell-Smith to create this essential guide for all parents taking their first holiday with a toddler soon and also those parents who might have experienced one recently and perhaps did not have the best holiday ever. Sarah’s books include ‘ToddlerCalm’, ‘The Gentle Discipline Book’ and ‘The Gentle Sleep Book’. A handy PDF version can be downloaded HERE and sent to your friends and family, preferably before they travel with toddlers!

Life with a toddler, while wonderful, can be utterly draining. Holidays, therefore, provide a much needed and much welcome break for frazzled parents. A chance to put your feet up, soak up the sun, relax around the pool and finally pick up a book that isn’t a parenting manual or beginning with the words “That’s Not My……”. Visions of your toddler paddling happily in the sea, delighting at the passing fish and chowing down on the local delicacies fill your mind, fueled doubtlessly by the perfect, smiling, relaxed families that adorn all the holiday brochures and fill your TV screen each time a holiday advert comes on.

Sometimes, in fact, a lot of the time, however, this picture-perfect vision becomes anything but reality. It is not uncommon for the perfect holiday to quickly descend into tears, tantrums and sulks – and that’s just from the parents! This ten-step survival guide explains why holidays with a toddler can be stressful – and more importantly, what you can do to plan and enjoy the happiest, calmest holiday possible with your little ones.

1. Readjust Your Expectations

While you, as an adult, love to explore the world and all that it should offer, you should understand that your toddler needs routine and ritual to feel safe. Taking them away from their everyday rhythm, the comforts of home and the reassurance that this brings can leave toddlers feeling anxious and stressed. Toddlers are incapable of sharing these worries with us verbally and instead show us the only way they know how – with their behaviour. Their tantrums, sulks and meltdowns on holiday are often their way of saying “Help, I’m freaked out by all this change!”. Expecting this is key. Your toddler is going to tantrum just as much on holiday as they do at home and quite possibly more. Those perfect families in the adverts don’t exist, don’t aim to be one of them. You will only make yourself stressed and when you’re stressed, your toddler will pick up on your emotions and join in on your emotional chaos! Lower the bar a bit when it comes to your expectations of your toddler – and ultimately yourself too.

2. Choose Your Holiday with Your Toddler in Mind

While two weeks lazing on the beach may appeal to you, the chances are your toddler is going to get bored after ten minutes and a bored toddler is not a happy, or quiet, toddler. While pre-children, you may have sought out countries with the hottest, tropical climates in far-flung destinations in five start hotels, taking a toddler on those same long-haul plane flights and to the same destinations is not the wisest choice you could make. What should you look for? The shorter the flight the better, flight times that correspond with naps and not bedtimes, family-friendly areas (and family-friendly dining in particular), air-conditioned bedrooms, plenty of shade, lots of entertainment and countries with as small a time-zone difference as possible are key. And last but certainly not least, consider the right accommodation for your toddler. It might be worth booking a villa instead of opting for a hotel room – the extra space and privacy mean your kids can run wild without the stress of winding up other guests.

3. Packing the Practicalities

So, you’ve lowered your expectations and you’ve found the perfect place to stay. Now what? The more you can plan and pack at home the better. Midnight jaunts to find a special type of milk or infant paracetamol – with products in a different language – are not fun. Up your luggage allowance if you can and dedicate one large suitcase solely to your toddler. Along with their clothing (sun safe suits and rash vests are a must, along with a hat they will actually leave on their head and non-slip water shoes), take as much from home as you can to cover all eventualities. If your toddler only eats one brand of baby crisps for their snack every day, woe betide you if you don’t pack a stash of them! Take any medication you use at home, don’t rely on getting it locally, and more sun cream (and after sun and calamine lotion) than you could ever imagine using. Take favourite soft toys and comfort objects, blankets, even a pillow to help settle for naps, a few favourite books and toys and any music or light shows you use at bedtime.

4. At the Airport and On the Flight

Try to watch some video clips of airports and security procedures before you go, to prepare your toddler for what’s coming. Paying for a ‘skip the queue’ upgrade at security is an absolute must and if funds stretch, a family-friendly lounge pass can pay dividends in starting your holiday calmly. Hold onto your buggy until the very last moment, don’t check it into the hold at check-in! Pack a hand luggage bag for your toddler with new toys and books that are more likely to keep them occupied because of the novelty value. If all else fails though, don’t be afraid to use screens. While too much screen time is not great for toddlers, sometimes an iPad pre-loaded with favourite videos is worth its weight in gold. Finally, when you’re through security head for the obligatory Boots or WHSmith and stock up on snacks for your toddler to munch on during the flight, don’t rely on them wanting to eat the plane food! This was a crazy trip, and on the way back we are coming with a puppy so I need to prepare myself, already got the CBD oil for dogs anxiety for the plane thanks to information and products from Exhalewell.com. 

5. Jet-Lag and Other Sleep Problems

Toddlers dislike sleeping at the best of times, but on holiday – in a new environment and with jet-lag to boot – it’s usually the first thing to nose dive. Sometimes relaxing a little over bedtime and naptime is the answer. Often, allowing them to snooze in their buggy or a carrier at night while you enjoy the evening entertainment is far less fraught with stress than trying to use hotel babysitting services. Don’t worry too much about disrupting what happens at home, instead focus on enjoying your holiday and going with the flow as much as possible. When it comes to jet-lag, the best solution is to observe the local time-zone as much and as quickly as possible. Try to eat according to the local time, not UK time, and get as much natural light as possible as soon as you can in the morning. If you had a rough night and your toddler is finally having a lay in it may be far worse to leave them to sleep, instead – open the curtains, wake them up and welcome in the beautiful new day, however much you feel like going back to bed.

6. Eating Abroad

Toddlers and adventurous eating are not words that usually go together. All toddlers are naturally neophobic. That means they are genetically wired to refuse all new foods. In a clever quirk of nature, this reluctance to try anything novel protects the toddler by preventing them from accidentally consuming something that may be poisonous. While the delicious local Paella or Goulash is obviously not poisonous, your toddler’s genetics don’t know that. Don’t stress their eating on holiday. It’s OK that they only eat white, beige or yellow food (namely breadsticks, cheese, rice, chips, yoghurt and ice cream) for two weeks, it really won’t do them any lasting damage. When they’re older and the neophobia naturally wanes, there will be plenty of years for them to mature their palate with local delicacies.

7. Boundaries and Consistency

Holidays are usually a time to relax and let things go a little. Should the same apply to discipline? Should you say “yes” to things you normally say no to? Should you buy everything your toddler asks for? In one word – no. Yes, holidays are a great time to let your toddler explore, to have more autonomy and to bond with them. They are not, however, a time to become permissive. That doesn’t mean getting super-strict, that will totally back-fire too. Toddlers need boundaries and most of all they need consistency from you. The whole holiday has already produced so much inconsistency that they need you to be just who you are at home when it comes to your expectations of them. Simply, while you need boundaries to keep them safe, they need your boundaries to help them to feel safe. Just make sure that you discipline as gently and compassionately as possible.

 8. The Elusive ‘Me Time’ and Relaxation

Let’s be frank here. Me-time and toddlers just don’t mix well. It’s much better to aim for family time with a few snippets of time alone to top up your emotional wellbeing tank whenever you can snatch them. Couple time, however, is not a particularly realistic aim. While there are some wonderful creches and kids’ clubs around the world and certainly many toddlers who thrive in attending them, child psychology tells us that toddlers need their parents and will do anything they can to avoid separation from them. While you may dearly wish that your toddler wouldn’t scream, sob and reach out for you like you were abandoning them every time you try to drop them off at the hotel creche, your toddler is, however, being totally normal. From a child development perspective, it’s actually far more worrying if they don’t act like they’ll never see you again. Toddlers need time to build bonds with new caregivers and the standard one or two-week holiday really doesn’t afford that time. Instead, it’s more realistic to plan time alone for just one parent, while the other cares for the toddler and take shifts. One day one parent can go for a massage, while the other can enjoy a game of tennis the next day. The toddler happy that they are with at least one parent at any given time.

9. What to do When They Tantrum

Hopefully, by now you’ve accepted that your toddler will tantrum on holiday, it’s not a case of “if”, but “when”. So, what should you do when the inevitable happens? First off – stay calm, you’re not the first parent whose toddler has tantrums at the resort and you won’t be the last. Make sure your toddler is safe and not in any imminent danger and try to find a quiet spot to move to while you sit with them until they are calm enough to have a hug and talk through what happened. When the tantrum’s over move on. Don’t dwell on it – it won’t help anyone. Get back to enjoy

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