Baby’s Day Out [Illustration by Shiju George]
If you are taking a day trip or just going out with the children for a few hours, take a few minutes to make sure you have everything you need. Here are some pointers to make your outings as stress-free as possible.
- Transportation: You may have decided on a specific outing, now try to look into how you can get there. Should you take your car, a bus or the train? How long will the ride be? Is there parking available? If yes, what is the duration of the parking time?
- Cost: Think ahead about the expenditure you may incur. Does the resort have family or group rates? Do they have special rates for children? If yes, for which age groups? Are there different off-season prices?
- Food: Can you bring in your own lunch or must you buy everything from their restaurant? Can you bring soft drinks along? What type of facilities do they offer, a microwave for baby bottles or to reheat baby’s lunch? What if one of your children has a food allergy?
- Equipment: Would you require equipment, would you need to bring your own? Does the resort offer a rental service? How much is the rental likely to cost you?
- Guided Tours: Do they have guided tours? Are they included in your entrance fee or there is an additional charge? How long do the tours last?
- Length of Stay: Outings can range from one hour to the whole day. You may want to be in tune with your children’s moods. For certain activities you might want to make it a half a day instead of a full day? Some outings, for example bowling or go-karting- can be exhausting and maybe an hour or two are more than enough.
- Safety: Do they have medical staff like a doctor or a nurse on site? On their excursion map do they list where the first-aid boxes can be found? It’s always a good idea to bring along a pocket-size first aid kit comprising of an antiseptic solution or cream, a medicated strip, some cotton wool and a gauze.
- Making the most out of your experience: On reaching home, your child may want to make a drawing of the place he or she went to. Enrich their experience with a song, a poem or story within the same context.
- Re-evaluation: What’s the feedback from the children? Did they seem to enjoy themselves? Was the price worth the activity? If you were to plan this activity again what would you do differently?
- Extra Considerations: When you are leaving home with young children, maybe you could carry along sun hats, sunscreen, extra hats or gloves. It would be wise to dress yourself and your children in weather appropriate clothing. Also try to carry a backpack with little activities to keep your child occupied. Crayons, paper, action figures, a few books are some ideas.
More Ideas
You don’t have any ideas about where you may want to go with your children? Use your yellow pages, as they’re resourceful. Bowling, sport activities, skating, train rides, museum, farm visits, music recitals and plays (if the shows have no age limit mentioned) would also be fun. The important aspect is that your family is involved in an activity and it could turn out to be a memorable day for all of you.
