How to holiday with small children
A recent trip to a family friendly beach resort proved that a relaxing holiday is not beyond reach for parents with young kids
I am mid-conversation with a member of Manchester Airport’s security staff, explaining why my toddler still needs baby formula on a four-hour flight (he has a rare eating disorder). My husband charges ahead, carrying our son through the body scanner. Suddenly, I hear the piercing shrill of an alarm and Ammar screaming.
We had forgotten to put his battery-powered dancing Iggle Piggle toy through the security scanner.
Chaos ensues as security staff give our two-year-old a full pat-down and what looks like a drug swab while my husband tries to hold him still. He is too young to understand why he is being touched by a stranger or why his favourite toy has been taken from him. By this point he is having a full meltdown. It feels like a bad omen for our very first holiday with a child.
We spent the following seven days in Istanbul, the city I had fallen in love with before I had become a parent. But its opulent palaces, magnificent mosques, romantic waterside restaurants and sprawling bazaars were suddenly much more difficult and stressful to navigate with a buggy and lack of toilet changing facilities at restaurants. “This was a change of scenery, not a holiday,” I told my husband on the flight back to England.
Reflecting on that trip, we came to two conclusions: first, let’s leave the city breaks for when Ammar is older, and second, accept that when you holiday with a small child your responsibilities as a parent increase twofold.
So, when it came to choosing this year’s summer holiday, we opted for something entirely different. Many halal resorts are family friendly, so I downloaded the Halalbooking app and we decided on a beach holiday, making sure we did thorough research for a resort that had sufficient entertainment and facilities, and served food that would cater to our child who has eating issues.
We settled on Adenya in Alanya, Turkey, with its family and ladies-only beaches, playgrounds and family-friendly entertainment, including a Mongolian circus and kids’ disco. The resort even had a children’s arcade and carousel ride. Ammar was spoilt for choice and had more to do on this holiday than us adults.
It also helped that we had relatives with us on this trip — something I highly recommend if you have small children — as it meant that we had trusted individuals who could take Ammar while my husband and I could spend some time reading or swimming.
I found other travelling hacks really useful, such as downloading several episodes of Ammar’s favourite cartoons on a tablet to watch on journeys where there is no wifi. Having his favourite toy on hand at all times and packing snacks that can’t be found outside of the UK (Pom-Bear, anyone?) are non-negotiables. And reusable sticker books and mess-free colouring books for when he got bored with his cartoons also proved to be a lifeline.
I found it was crucial to have two of everything, including sun hats, sunglasses, sandals and his favourite sippy cup — as young kids tend to lose everything. Having to spend £55 on a bottle of anti-sickness medicine abroad also taught me that packing Calpol for Ammar was not enough. I needed to bring anti-diarrhoea medicine, anti-sickness medicine and liquid antihistamines too. Investing in a travel buggy was a wise choice, as we could store it in the overhead cabin on the plane rather than risk it getting battered or even lost in cargo. For those who have children still in their toilet-training phase, a travel potty is an absolute must.
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We also discovered that there is help for families with young children in airports. All we had to do was ask a member of airport staff and we were pointed in the direction of family fast track lanes at the security checks and passport control, sunflower lanyards for children with additional needs and even priority boarding at the departure gate.
Making the switch from city trips to a resort holiday proved to be an excellent decision with a small child. Holidaying in an all-inclusive resort takes out a lot of the thinking for parents — a coveted perk when all you want to do is not have to think for seven days. Knowing beforehand that there was a wealth of activities to keep Ammar entertained all day meant that I did not have to pack extra books and toys. I also felt safe in the knowledge that there was a doctor and security guards on site.
But the biggest learning curve for me this summer was forcing myself to enjoy my time. If you are holidaying with a child, you can spend those days worrying so much about what could go wrong, or feeling disgruntled that you can’t spend more time exploring a historical site because your kid is restless, bored or having a tantrum.
I had the opportunity to do a lot of exploring pre-motherhood, and now I understand it is about holidaying in a way that caters to the needs of my child. More importantly, it is about having fun with them and creating new memories. A relaxing holiday as a first-time parent is not beyond reach.
