Travelling with children

Journeys, especially new or unfamiliar journeys, can be tiring, confusing and frightening for young children. This may make them clingy, anxious and demanding. However, there are several things that you can try to reduce the stress of travelling for both you and your children.

• Try to give your children some control over their journey by allowing choice when you can. For example, give them a choice of what to eat and drink, or a choice of game or toy.
• Try to keep your child occupied and break up the journey as much as possible.
• Where possible, try to keep children occupied with simple games, like counting all the red cars they see, or playing I-spy. There are other ideas for car games online.

For more information, read our advice on encouraging better behaviour or our advice for fathers.

More help

NSPCC: Advice and support for adults concerned about a child.

Family Lives: Help and support in all aspects of family life.

National Childminding Association: Support for childminders and nannies.

Parenting NI: Support for parents in Northern Ireland.

ParentLine Scotland: Support for parents in Scotland.

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