Traveling can be difficult in general. Although filled with joys and new discoveries, traveling for any period of time can feel like a pain. Here are some thoughts and recommendations for traveling. This might sound cliche, but when traveling with children it is always important to give yourself and the rest of the family grace. Note that people are often sleep deprived, out of the usual daily routines, and eating habits can be out of whack. Let’s address these difficulties down below so there is less room for irritability from children or parents.
SETTING ROUTINES:
Having a routine seems like the least plausible thing when traveling, but intentionality can go a long way. Write down the activities or travel schedule for that day and schedule in times for eating meals, resting, bedtimes, and wake-up times. If you are traveling in the car, set certain times where children should be resting ( even if they are not sleeping). Whenever possible try to incorporate reasonable hours for bedtime, or get back to a reasonable schedule as soon as possible. If you are doing school on the road take into account that less may be done, and give yourself grace. At the same time, continue to give your children responsibility and help them maintain regular tasks while traveling. Routines and familiarity are often grounding and comforting to children. It can often reduce behavior problems that can arise just from a lack of structure while traveling.
FLEXIBILITY AND RULES:
Flexibility is a skill in itself. Although we have amassed a lifetime of trying to be more flexible than reactive to unplanned traveling situations, we can often find children overreacting in these times. Up front, try to think of things that might deregulate your child and plan for ways to prepare your child. Some children may have difficulty with transitions. On trips we often have to go to a variety of places and transition countless times. Give your children 5 minute warnings before they need to transition to a different activity or location. Also give rules up front and explain why ( when appropriate to the situation) and explain consequences. For example, if you are going to the beach with the children, explain the time limitations and rules for staying safe by or in the water.
SLEEP AND JET LAG:
If you are driving or flying, look for ways to disrupt the sleep cycle the least. If you can find a plane ticket or a hotel that makes sense financially and coincides with regular awake and sleep hours then try to make that work. Staying up really late or waking up incredibly early can cause tiredness over an entire week or more. Consider time differences across states and consider if you want to help your child adjust to the current new time zone at the place you are staying or keep them in your time zone at home. Consider adding short naps (avoid naps that interfere with nighttime sleep) to help children maintain composure. Never underestimate how a lack of sleep or tiredness can cause nearly anyone to be more cranky, irritable, and more prone to arguing. Bring these facts to the attention of the family so that they can be more attentive to their own reactions and those of the family. Maybe set up a hand signal or verbal reminder that the children feel would be helpful to remind each other to calm down or rest if they are getting irritated.
DANGEROUS FOODS, BRAIN HEALTH, AND EMOTIONAL REGULATION:
The last thing we might want to do or think is possible is cooking a good meal while traveling. When traveling, assume you may not be able to get all the same foods you generally get, but still be intentional about the foods you eat. Surprisingly many fast foods or snack foods contain seed oils which can cause a lot of havoc on the brain and other systems in the body. Look to avoid canola oil, sunflower oil, soy oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, rapeseed oil, safflower oil, and margarine, to name a few. Opt for naturally derived oils that are pure and unrefined like olive oil and avocado oil. If you see strange ingredients in packaged foods, remember, they may be causing your immune system and your childrens’ immune systems to become sick and lead to them not feeling well or thinking well. If your child’s body is sick, it’s no wonder they will be crabby and irritable. Other things to watch out for include high fructose corn syrup and sugary things in general. Also, watch out for things labeled “no sugar” or “diet” as these often include fake sugars. Also, avoid at all costs red food dyes as these can kill brain cells. It may be a fight at first to tell your child no to foot-longs and many potato chips, but remember that in the long run they will be less argumentative and have a better handle on their brain and emotions when they are feeling and eating healthy. It really is worth it in the long run. Unfortunately, restaurants are not immune to using unhealthy oils and other substances to keep the cost of food down and make it more addictive (not even including fast food restaurants which we all know are not good for us). So now that you feel like there is nothing to eat when traveling, let’s discuss some great alternatives.
SOLUTIONS TO TRAVELING AND GETTING GOOD FOOD:
Unless you are traveling to the remote jungles of somewhere exotic, you are likely to encounter some kind of grocery store nearby. Whenever possible, try to find ways to be able to buy food from grocery stores when traveling. Always, opt to buy natural whole foods that are not processed in a factory whenever possible. For snacks, try packing all kinds of fruit and raw vegetables (carrots, apple slices, figs, cherries, berries, broccoli, etc.). Avoid pre-made salads whenever possible as the pre-made salad dressings will contain seed oils and unhealthy preservatives generally. Make sandwiches at least for lunches with whole grain bread (as whole as you possibly can – preferably sprouted) and cheeses and lunch meat (look for cheese that is made from real milk and lunch meat without nitrates). For snacks or dessert, consider yogurt (A2 grass fed) with frozen or fresh berries inside. All of this can be achieved with a cooler or the fridge in a hotel room. Fortunately, there are some hotels with full kitchens. In that case, try to have the whole family pitch in to help with cooking and/or cleaning up. Some hotels even have room service that will clean your kitchen area. If you are not a fan of cooking, and would like to take a break from cooking during a trip, consider buying whole foods that can be eaten raw. Otherwise, consider the duration of your trip, and if eating unhealthy is worth it. Often enough, eating out sounds so nice, but after the fact, the body and the children are complaining about it or irritable afterwards.
MANAGING SCHOOLWORK OR FREE LEARNING:
Whether or not to do school on the road is often an area of question. Sometimes, homeschool families will opt for going on trips in the middle of the school year. Other parents will homeschool year round to accommodate trips, or they find that taking a break from school does not work well for their children. Some parents would prefer not to think about schooling of any kind on a trip. Either way, learning can still be achieved even if it is not planned. It is a nice idea to do something educational on trips, regardless of whether it is included in the actual curriculum you typically use. I would not recommend bringing all your school material on a trip unless you have a really good plan to make sure it does not get damaged by water, snacks, drinks, or crushed by heavy luggage (unless you plan to travel for months). The last thing you want is to have to go home after a trip and get all your children new books because theirs are completely undecodable. Instead, opt for a list of books the children should read silently or to each other. Find audio books or informational audio and audio dramas to listen to in the car when the children are tired of reading or getting car sick. If you are able to visit fun places during your trip, opt to incorporate whatever you are going to see with lessons. If you are going to visit a national park, consider learning about geology or if you are going to a museum on planes, consider learning about the history or manufacturing of planes and the people during that time period. Assume that you will not be able to get everything you would like to get done on the trip, and give yourself grace. The children will learn a lot on a trip even if you just take advantage of reading the signs in the museums or talking to park rangers.
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