Travelling for the first time with your child is a challenge for the whole family. But “Travel 4 kids” is here to help you prepare for your first trip with a child or baby without the hassle and stress. Our aim is to make your travels comfortable, enjoyable, fun and stress-free. And most importantly, to leave you with only positive emotions and the most beautiful memories.
Your first trip with your child – where to start
Your first trip with a child, no matter how old he/she is, cannot take place without his/her identity document. So when you start thinking about travelling with your baby, hurry up and get your baby’s first identity document.
Many parents think that their child’s birth certificate is the right document for travelling. This is a misconception. A child’s birth certificate is not suitable for travelling abroad! A baby’s first trip outside Lithuania can only take place when the child has his/her first identity document.
The child’s only personal documents suitable for travelling abroad are a passport and a personal identity card. If you are travelling within the European Union, an identity card is sufficient for children and a passport is not necessary. The baby’s identity documents can be booked urgently within one or five working days, or normally within a month.
A parent can go to order an identity document for a child. This requires the child’s birth certificate and the parent’s identity document.
For information on how to produce a document for your baby and how to make the process easier, see the article – Your First trip with your baby. This article is based on our personal experience.
Tips for preparing a trip with a child
Tips for preparing a trip with a child
Your first trip with a child – take out insurance
One of the most important tips before travelling is to take out travel insurance. Even if it’s your first trip with a child, it’s a must. We recommend having a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) for both your children and yourself. This is a document confirming the right of a person covered by compulsory health insurance (CHI) to have essential medical care paid for by the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund (CHIF) during a temporary stay in the countries of the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
IMPORTANT – if you left Lithuania without taking your EHIC or lost it during your trip and you urgently need to go to a medical facility in an EU country for emergency medical care, you can log in to the information system of the VLK and independently, safely and quickly create certificates for yourself and your children, which will temporarily replace the EHIC.
We also have a gold credit card with insurance that is valid for all family members. If you are travelling to more distant countries, please print out an e-banking certificate from your bank to ensure that the whole family is covered.
If you don’t have insurance with your card, make sure you get it. Never risk going on a trip, even a short one, without travel insurance.
Tips for preparing a trip with a child
Your first trip with a child – preparation
We highly recommend that you start preparing your child for the trip from the age of two. Start talking to your child about the trip long before the flight. Tell them about the trip, show them pictures of the plane.
Tell them where you are going, show pictures of the hotel or the country – your child will look forward to the trip. Tell them what you will do on the flight and how you will spend your time. If you live in Vilnius, take your child to the airport’s observation deck so you can show them the planes taking off and landing live.
Tips for preparing a trip with a child
Arrive at the airport early with your child and take your time to get to know your surroundings. If you are preparing for your first trip with your baby, you will find our article “Your first trip with baby” really helpful.
Your first trip with a baby
Preparing for a plane journey
Preparing for your first trip with your little traveller is a difficult task. Especially when flying on a plane with a limited amount of stuff. Over a long period of time, we have made a list that we consider optimal for the child’s needs. Of course, it should be based on your child’s needs, age, hobbies and the length of the trip.
Safety when travelling with children
IMPORTANT – Different airlines have different child baggage policies, so it is very important to check these before you fly. Even low-cost airlines allow children up to two years old to take a free piece of luggage, but always check the dimensions and weight allowance.
In most cases, children under two are allowed to take two items (pushchair, car seat, folding cot) for free. However, always check with the airline.
Our biggest tip is to take as few things as possible and really think about what you need and what you don’t need, because it’s not comfortable to carry a lot of stuff.
Safety when travelling with children
What can I do to make my children feel comfortable during the flight?
What to do to make sure your child’s first plane journey with you leaves them with only good memories. Make sure your child is comfortable and occupied during the flight. To prevent your baby or child’s ears from getting airplane ear during the flight, you should breastfeed during take-off and landing. If the child is not being breastfed, give the child a bottle to drink from or a pacifier (if using).
For older children, offer water in small sips, or give sucking sweets. The game “blow your mouth” is very helpful.
As with adults, we recommend that children avoid sugary and fatty foods before a flight as they can cause nausea during the flight.
The most important task for parents is to try not to stress and to relax. Especially if this is your first trip with your child. The most important thing is to have a good attitude. How you feel is how your children will feel. Prepare and travel with a good mood and attitude – it will make your children feel calmer too. Children feel and take on their parents’ emotions.
Safety when travelling with children
What you might need during your trip and what to take on board:
Diapers
A simple rule of thumb is: one nappy per three hours of travel. Airport waiting times and transfers should also count. If your little one is getting used to being without nappies, we would recommend disposable TRON potties.
Drinks
We always take several bottles of our own water. You can always ask your attendant for warm water for formula or tea. Feel free to take juice, milk, whatever the child likes and drinks. Airport security is often sympathetic to parents travelling with young children, so liquids are allowed in larger containers and do not need to be put in bags. Just be clear that you need to make a logical assessment of the length of your journey and take drinks accordingly. There is no way you can convince security that a child needs three litres of water, a litre of juice and several bottles of ready-made milk for a three-hour flight.
Snacks and food
We believe you can’t have too many snacks on a trip. Although many airlines provide meals, our children always have an appetite, whether on the plane, while waiting for the plane or during connections. Snacking is a great way to pass the time.
A pillow and a blanket
Check before you fly whether you need to take these items with you, as many airlines give them out the year you fly, so think about whether they are worth taking as they take up a lot of space.
Wet and dry napkins, disinfectant
You can never have too many of these when travelling with children. While your child is young, don’t be lazy to use a wet wipe to wipe the seats in front of you and next to you as soon as you board the plane.
Medicines and creams for sprains
For flights of more than three hours, always take suppositories for fever and any other medicines you need.
When a child or baby spends a lot of time in one position (in this case, sitting, whether on the plane or in the car), there is a risk of a sore bottom, especially if the child has allergies or very sensitive skin. This is especially true if you are travelling in the summer, when the baby is sweating extra and the bottom of the seat is constantly hot.
For us, Weleda’s natural anti-rash cream has been the most effective in this case.
Children’s anti-rash cream
Teddy bear, pacifier
This is very individual and depends on your child.
Spare clothes
Our children are in the category of children who like to get dirty, so we take two sets of clothes. We always put the clothes in zip bags, which is very handy for putting dirty and wet clothes away later. If we’re flying to a warm country, we pack the thin clothes straight away and change the child while we wait for the luggage. This saves time and eliminates the need to search for and stack suitcases at the airport.
Favourite toys and other pastimes
We have a special cosmetic bag with handles in which we put everything. It’s handy, it doesn’t get lost, it’s all in one place. As when travelling by car, we recommend buying a new toy or book if you can afford it.
Your first trip with a child
First car journey with your child – how to prepare
Travelling by car with a baby or child is a great way to travel, but you need to prepare properly. These tips will help you plan a successful trip:
- You need to plan your route and the timing of your stops, which should be adapted to your child’s age. If your baby is breastfeeding, plan your stops around the feeding schedule. Children attending kindergarten are active in the mornings and afternoons and are put to bed for lunch around 12.00, so a similar pattern should be applied when travelling – the longest part of the route should be taken during lunchtime. School-age children are used to a routine of 45 minutes of lessons, with breaks in between. If a longer distance is to be travelled, the journey to the bus stop should take “two lessons”. In our experience, it is best to make short stops every two hours if the child is awake.
- Before travelling, take some time to analyse the route and what interesting things you can see along the way. It is recommended to find out where the playgrounds are and stop for at least ten minutes. The children will enjoy themselves, play and make the journey easier. Check out the Playground Buddy app to help you find playgrounds wherever you go.
- Make sure you have sun protection for your windows.
- Car seat. It is very important to choose the right one for your child according to weight, height and age. It ensures not only safety but also comfort during the journey.
- A back-up route. This is what we call the extra route we take if the main road gets congested. This is very important if you are travelling on long weekends or Fridays.
Travelling with your child or baby by car
What to do on your trip and how to keep smaller children occupied
Whether the car journey lasts only a few minutes or several hours, you need to make sure you know what you’re going to do with your child beforehand. You need to plan your activities according to your child’s age, temperament and hobbies. We recommend that for a longer trip, if possible, you take a new toy or game that is sure to keep your child interested for longer.
CONTRAST CARDS
These cards are perfect for keeping the youngest travellers occupied. We have, and since three weeks old, Paulė has been using “Aikiu” travel cards during her travels. They are very handy, small, stapled in a booklet and easy to wipe off with a wet napkin.
SECOND WALLET
In an unused wallet, preferably one with as many compartments as possible, put a variety of old cards, folded magazine cuttings. This used to be the most interesting activity for a child up to the age of two. It used to take an hour to go through everything.
GUESS WHAT’S IN THE BAG
Put different things in the opaque bag according to your child’s age (spoon, toy car, comb, cream jar, button, pencil sharpener). And let the child guess what it is just by feel.
THE CHILD’S FAVOURITE SONGS
Before the journey, record your child’s favourite songs on a suitable medium for use in the car.
BOOKS AND STICKER BOOKS
Very handy, space-saving and very engaging and fun activities. We really like the books from Flintas. Banana Panda also has very handy and interesting books for travel. You can read more about the different activities for travelling from Banana Panda in the article “How to keep your children occupied while travelling”.
With the discount code KELIONESSUVAIKAIS you will get a 20% discount on the entire Banana Panda range.
CONVENIENTLY ATTACHES TOYS
There is now a wide range of toys for children that can be conveniently attached to chairs and seat backs. They are very convenient because they will not fall off when the car is moving or driving.
TOY CHAIN
A complete invention that has proved very useful to us. Take a longer piece of string and use it to tie various toys (an unused arm, a soft toy, a plastic chew toy – anything that your children find interesting is suitable) into a chain. It has worked well for us, because the toys don’t get lost or fall to the ground.
Travelling by car with a baby or child. What to take
What to do on your trip and how to keep older children occupied
BINGO
Prepare a table or print out a sheet with pictures (if the child is younger) of objects you can see during the journey (traffic lights, green car, horse, two-storey house, etc.) through the window. A very engaging activity.
SENTENCE FROM CAR NUMBERS
More suitable for older children. Make up a word from the letters of the number plate of the car you have passed.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF…?
More suitable for older children. Think of more interesting questions before the trip and all family members take turns to answer. What would you do if you won a million, what would you do if you found yourself on an uninhabited island, what would you buy if you could choose anything from a toy shop, what would you do if you became invisible, etc. It is really a very imaginative game.
I KNOW
Each family member names an animal, a dish, an edible item, an inedible item that they know.
I AM GOING TO…
Think about where you are going to go and name one thing that is essential for this trip. There are many different types of journeys. Some of the things we use (skiing, mountains, beach, forest for mushrooms, picnic)
ONE WORD STORY
All family members say one word to create a story. It seems boring – give it a try, it’s a really fun story with lots of laughter.
ACTIVITY CARDS
“Banana Panda” Activity cards are very travel-friendly cards that don’t take up a lot of space because they are bound in a small book. Each card comes with a specific activity. The fun part is that the cards are reusable, because once the task is done, you wipe it clean and the child can do it again. The tasks are varied and non-monotonous – tracing lines, connecting dots, drawing missing elements, recreating shapes.
With the discount code KELIONESSUVAIKAIS you will get a 20% discount on the entire Banana Panda range.
Banana Panda travel activity book
