Posts

Showing posts from September, 2018

Top 10 toddler 'tainment on a plane

Image
By the time our son was just over 1 year old he'd already taken more flights than his age in months. Crazy but true! He's now about to turn 4 and our daughter is 2, and while the maths of course had to slow down, our love of travel has not: we're British; our kids were both born in Australia; and we've just completed a family gap year in which we flew to Canada and the USA on two separate occasions for long-stay road trips. So my husband and I are very familiar with the trials and tribulations parents face when taking toddlers on aeroplanes! So whether you interpret this post title as "enter"-tainment or "con"-tainment (or both 😁), here are my top tips to help you stay sane on a plane with a little person (or two). Please note: the links below will take you to view the products on Amazon. If you click through there is no extra cost to you, but Amazon will pay me a small amount on any purchases made.  As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualify

Nursery rhymes, with a slight Scottish accent

I like to sing to my kids at bedtime sometimes. It can be helpful when travelling to new places, or when one of them isn't settling for some reason, or heck, sometimes I just enjoy doing it. But there are times that I have a sore throat, or just don't have the energy, so last night I recorded myself singing a few tunes to my little two-year-old daughter as she was snuggling down into her bed ready to go to sleep. So if you're tired and need something to soothe your wee one, or if you don't like singing, or if you just think the novelty of hearing some familiar refrains sung by a Scottish mum - I do sing in that pseudo-American accent we all adopt when we sing but sometimes you can catch a sense of a Celtic lilt, I like to think - then here are three familiar favourites for you to play. There's no video to distract anyone (and it saved me having to find some cheesy pictures to display!), and each one only runs for less than a minute. Twinkle, Twinkle, Little S

Travel accommodation with toddlers: watchouts and workarounds

Image
"Um, where's the washing machine?" No way. My pulse started racing. I stopped unpacking the kids' clothes and grabbed my phone, hastily thumbing through the listing for this, our new home for ten days. And there it was: a blank white space where, no matter how much I willed it, the word "washer" didn't appear. Now, I've no problem with using a launderette. But we'd arrived in Toronto just as an ice storm had hit the city, and the thought of skating up and down a few blocks every two or three days laden with washing (we'd packed on the light-ish side as I planned to do a load of laundry every other day on average) suddenly seemed like a thoroughly tedious (not to mention treacherous!) way to spend our time. And then there was the prospect of suddenly having to turn round bed linen in a day if our 3-year-old had an accident overnight (I'd already ascertained there were no spare sheets in the apartment). Aargh! So, after quickly verify

Travelling with two toddlers: single or double stroller?

Image
When we had our first child we bought a Baby Jogger City Mini GT stroller. And we loved it. Then when our second child came along just 18 months later we invested in almost the double version, the Baby Jogger City Mini double stroller (no GT - some small differences but basically the non-GT suited us fine and was both a) more available and b) less expensive). And we loved it even more - me especially, as it was when I was on my own with my two little darlings that I most appreciated being able to contain them both in one space! Seriously though, it meant I could take them both out for long walks (longer than I could comfortably manage with the baby permanently in the carrier); if my older one did want to walk for a bit I could always quickly strap him into the buggy around busy roads; and if they ever both fell asleep at the same time it meant I could park them up and enjoy a bit of hands-free time (and take some cute photos!). We chose a side-by-side stroller after talkin