Travelling with kids? Here’s how to avoid overpacking

Taking children on a trip, especially an international one when you are quite far from home, is definitely a challenge. However, since travelling has so many benefits for children, allowing for their views and perspectives about the world to broaden, as well as helping with brain development, it would be a pity not to bring them along. Travelling together strengthens family bonds too, while interacting with new places and sights will naturally stimulate curiosity and the desire to learn. Some research indicates that the children who travel more are also more likely to exhibit high academic performance, as it boosts personal development and increases the desire to learn more and pursue higher education.

Getting to see how other people live can also help children gain understanding and respect for cultural differences as well as shed the fear and apprehension that many people feel in the face of unfamiliar things. Navigating schedules, handling transit, and solving tiny challenges along the way improves resilience and self-confidence as well as family teamwork. Children get to see that problems can be solved if they arise and that they can rely on the people close to them for help. And of course, seeing so many incredible things and having adventures creates incredible memories that will be cherished for many years.

While all of that sounds great in theory it’s also true that the logistics of travelling with children are fairly complex. One of the main issues is overpacking, since it’s easy to panic and add more and more things to your bag.

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Get an eSIM

An eSIM is a card that is built directly into the hardware of your device, letting you connect to cellular networks without needing to use a physical, plastic card. It’s a very convenient option for travelling since you can install a local data plan before leaving home and everything will connect automatically upon your arrival. This means that you avoid the expensive roaming charges or having to find alternatives upon arrival to ensure that you remain connected.

If you travel with your children, getting an international plan with Holafly lets you have instant entertainment anywhere, so that kids can play games, stream videos, or use educational apps during long flights or car rides. Older children can use messaging apps to stay in touch if they become separated from the rest of your group, ensuring safety, and there’s no need to worry about losing contact because eSIMs cannot be lost.

You won’t have to rely on potentially unsafe public Wi-Fi networks that are used by large numbers of people at the same time or worry about someone’s device having to act as a constant hotspot for internet, which in turn will drain their battery much quicker.

Get the clothing ready

Clothes and shoes are what take up most space and the area where most people tend to overpack. You’ll start thinking about all the possible activities you could partake in and all the ways in which the weather could change and end up packing way more than you could ever need. If possible, start packing about two days in advance to give yourself plenty of time to add and remove things. Check weather forecasts so that you don’t end up overpreparing for no reason.

For the kids, try grouping full day outfits together into packing cubes. If you have more children, you can assign a certain packing cube colour to each child so that everyone can find their clothes without needing to remove everything from the suitcase beforehand. When it comes to extra shoes you should only bring additional pairs if you know they’ll be used. For example, if the forecasts indicate heavy rains or you’d like to take walks in nature and expect to get muddy, then definitely pack extra shoes and make sure that the bulkiest pair is worn during transit. Otherwise, there’s no reason to bother.

Immediate essentials such as pyjamas, toothbrushes, and basic meds should be easily available since you don’t want to spend too much time rummaging through the contents of your suitcase, especially during the first night, when you’re tired from the flight. If you need to bring extra shoes you can save space by rolling socks, underwear, and other small items and place them into the shoes themselves. Keep dirty, sandy, or muddy clothes and shoes into separate bags and pouches so that clean clothes don’t end up being soiled themselves.

Toiletries and first-aid

Combine everyday items such as toothpaste, shampoo, and lotion into a single kit for toiletries. Don’t pack duplicates and only bring extra products if one of the children really needs them. Medicine first-aid bags should always be brought along when you have children, just to be safe. If a child has allergies, you must pack medications so that you’re prepared in the event of a severe reaction. Prescribed medications should be brought along too since there’s no telling whether you’ll be able to get them at the destination and you don’t want to risk running out.

Some of the other items you should consider are fever and pain relievers as well as band-aids and saline sprays. If you want to travel extra light you can also pack a small tube of laundry detergent or even some soap sheets and a sink stopper so that you can wash clothes on the go and pack less. This is also a good idea if your trip is longer (more than two weeks) and you don’t want to haul very large suitcases with many changes of clothes.

In conclusion

Packing light is great for saving money, giving you more freedom of movement and flexibility, not having to worry about leaving something behind, and cutting the physical strain of having to carry or lift very heavy suitcases. When you travel with your children you obviously won’t be able to pack as lightly as if you were on your own but there are still many ways to reduce the number of items you take with you. Just plan ahead and give yourself time to arrange the luggage. Leaving everything to the evening before your flight will cause you to be in a rush and either forget things or pack some you don’t need.