Lifestyle, food and drink, and our family life and travel adventures.
Travelling with children is an amazing experience for both the kids and the adults, allowing you to make memories with the whole family and teaching children about different cultures and places from a young age. We love to travel as much as possible as a family, whether that’s here in the UK or abroad when we get the chance!
However, travelling with children is not the easiest thing in the world, so it’s important that you do what you can to make it as easy as possible and as enjoyable as possible for everyone, and so here are some brilliant tech, gadgets and accessories that will make your lives easier when you travel and allow everyone to have a great holiday!
Whether you are travelling by air, sea, or land, taking an iPad or tablet is a must-have when you have kids. You can load it up with some tv programmes or films (you can even download some films and tv programmes on Netflix now for when you don’t have internet), as well as some games they like to play and then you can always reach for it when they need distracting or when tiredness strikes and they need to chill for a bit.
You may prefer not to rely on a tablet too much whilst you’re on holiday, but kids get exhausted and bored easily on long journeys so they’re always good to have. Plus a lot of games that Ava plays on hers are educational anyway so I’m happy for her to spend some time on them when it’s needed.
A pair of kids’ headphones are another absolute must when you’re travelling. It’s not fair on everyone else around you if they have to listen to the dulcet tones of Peppa Pig for an hour on a flight, for example (although they may prefer that to hearing children having huge meltdowns!!) and I don’t want to listen to most of the rubbish my daughter watches either!
We got these BuddyPhones Play+ Wireless Headphones last year and they are brilliant. They are wireless making them much easier for kids to use as you don’t have to worry about them getting tangled up in the wire! They can be used with the wire too though, so you don’t have to worry about them running out of battery when you can’t charge them, but they also last for around 20 hours when fully charged which is so handy for trips.
They are volume-limiting which is so important for kids’ headphones, and you can even tailor them to their needs or the environment they are in, with a travel mode, kids mode and toddler mode and they come with a really handy little travel bag.
A headphone splitter is also very handy to have if you have more than one child and they will sometimes be sharing a device.
Where to buy: Amazon £44.99
For younger children, these headband headphones are a brilliant idea. The kids’ Cozyphones Headphones (they make them for adults too!) sit over the head like a headband so they are nice and comfy and they come in a range of designs to suit their tastes. They are also volume-limiting so you don’t need to worry they’ll hurt their little ears.
Where to buy: Amazon, currently £12.97
The Xplora XGO2 is a brilliant piece of tech for older kids and a great way to allow them to be contactable without them having a phone, so it’s great if they are starting to walk home from school on their own but also good for travel too.
The watch is suitable for children around 5-12 (although I think it would be a bit big for 5-year-olds) and is easy for them to use and responsive with its capacitive touch colour LCD screen. You do need a sim card to use the watch but then children can make and receive voice calls and send and receive texts (plus images, emojis and voice messages) on the watch from pre-saved numbers only, which are managed in the parent’s app.
Once I had registered and set up the sim, it just took a few minutes to put it into the watch with the screwdriver provided, download the app on my phone, and get it all set up. The app is nice and clear for me to use and it was really easy to add the phone numbers onto the watch that I want my daughter to have access to. It’s then really easy to send a message from the smartwatch which I then receive within the Xplora app, and it’s easy for me to send a message or call her too.
Whilst wearing the watch, they can choose to send one of the pre-written messages such as ‘Arrive soon’, ‘call me’, ‘Love you’ and others, or they can take and send a photo of where they are, or send a voice message. It’s great because it’s quick and easy for them to use and they don’t have to bother typing out a long message.
With the XGO2 they can take pictures with the front-facing camera and then they can share them with their contacts so it’s great if you’re not with them and they can show you what they’re up to! Pictures are stored in the gallery with 4GB of storage so they can have a lovely collection of their own photos from their travels too, and also choose to set one as a background. Ava loves using it to have fun with and take selfies or photos of our dog!
The thing I love most about it is the location function of the XGO2. It uses multiple services (GPS, Wi-Fi + LBS) so that you can view the location of the smartwatch and you can also set up security zones in key locations such as for home and school. When School Mode is activated there are no distractions in class with just the watch clock displaying but all calls and messages disabled. But parents are still able to track the watch location and the SOS function is still active too.
If the child is feeling worried or anxious then they can press the SOS button to inform the saved emergency contacts about their location. It’s really reassuring to have it as my daughter is getting older and will be starting to be out a little without us.
With the step counter (via the in-built G Sensors) built into the watch, children are encouraged to move more by combining physical activity with entertainment in the world’s first activity platform – Xplora Goplay. In return for moving more, kids get virtual rewards which can be redeemed online via a gaming platform and the brand has partnerships with Sony PlayStation, Paramount Pictures’ “Dora and the Lost City of Gold” movie and Fox Movies’ “Spies in Disguise” to encourage children to spend more time engaging in physical activities offline.
The Xplora XGO2 Children’s Smartwatch has a 700mAh battery providing 72 hours of standby battery and it works with Wi-Fi as well as 4G, 3G and 2G connectivity for reliable connectivity and you get a free sim card with it which you then have to pay for monthly if you want to keep the watch connected. It is also IP67 water-resistant so you don’t need to worry if it’s raining or being worn at the beach!
Ava has very small wrists and it does look quite large on her (she’s ten) but there are plenty of holes to do it up with so it does actually fit her wrist and she says it is comfortable to wear.
It’s been great for us to have so far; it’s easy and fun to use and gives Ava a little more independence without causing me too much worry! I love being able to contact her even if she’s just walking part of the way home to me sat in our car after school, and she loves being able to easily check where I am too and she feels really grown up using it.
I think it would be brilliant for older kids when you are on holiday in this country at, say, a campsite and they want to play with other children for a bit; it would really provide reassurance that you can message or call each other as well as track where they are.
Where to buy: Amazon or Xplora £99.99
I’ve written about the Trunki ride-on suitcase lots of times before and, although my daughter is a bit old for them now, I still think they’re great and I have passed ours on to my niece. They’re so good for packing kids’ things in when you go away and you can fit quite a lot in them, but the best feature is that the Trunki keeps children entertained as they can ride on them or be pulled around. They’re particularly great to have at airports for them to play on during long waits.
When we flew with Ava when she was a toddler I packed a Trunki (which is the right size for hand luggage with most airlines) containing lots of things for her to do. It kept her entertained in the airport and then once she started to get bored on the plane we could get some things out of it to occupy her. I bought things such as little colouring books, a new book, and those toys in little bags (blind bags) so that it was all new and exciting for her, and kept her entertained and reasonably quiet. It’s a good place to keep some of their snacks for the journey for easy access as well.
These Scooter Suitcases also look great for slightly older kids who can control a scooter and it’s a very handy way to get them to (hopefully!) take care of their own luggage in an airport.
Then there’s the very clever JetKids by Stokke BedBox which is also hand luggage that can be ridden on or pulled, but then once you are on the plane you can convert it so that it becomes a little bed on the plane seat so that children can sleep much more comfortably!
Where to buy: Amazon, from £39.99
Using packing cubes in suitcases and bags when you go away makes life so much easier, especially with kids. My packing is so much more organised since I started using packing cubes a few years ago, especially if I’m taking a suitcase. They’re so helpful to keep things together or to have different coloured ones for each person’s clothes if you’re sharing a case. I also keep all of our chargers and any other wires in one to make them easy to find and keep them safe.
Where to buy: Amazon
Obviously, it’s a terrifying thought, but kids can get lost in crowds or little ones can run off if you take your eyes off them for a second, especially in strange new places, so getting them to wear an identity bracelet is a great idea so that they can quickly be returned to you if the worst should happen. Littlelife make these cute safety wristbands that most children are happy to wear. We used them when Ava was younger and they provided a little reassurance on days out and when we were at festivals or on holidays.
Where to buy: Amazon £4.99
I bought Ava her first Kindle last year when they were on offer and it was a brilliant purchase. She absolutely loves to read and so it has been used so much since we got it. We both love to read actual books but a Kindle is brilliant for taking out and about with you and particularly when you are going away and space is limited. Books generally cost much less for the Kindle version too so she can get new ones more often. They’re absolutely brilliant for holidays and the charge lasts such a long time so you don’t need to worry about them running out.
Where to buy: Amazon, currently £99.99
Battery Packs are brilliant for travel when you are out and about more and when your battery may be drained more quickly whilst trying to get a signal! I think most of us use our phones even abroad nowadays but even in this country I try to always remember a battery pack in my bag. That way we always have charge so that we can contact each other if separated and we can find our way around an unfamiliar place or find out any info we might need.
Not only that but you don’t want your kids’ tablets to be running out in the middle of a particularly long journey on your travels!
Where to buy: Amazon
The Mifold Booster Seat is such a brilliant invention. This portable booster seat folds up really small so you can always have a safe seat for your children without taking a big, bulky one with you. It is just as safe as a traditional booster seat, complying with the European regulation ECCE R44/04, group 2-3 from 4 years and up to 36 kg, but it is 10 times more compact.
It’s great for travelling with kids as well as for at home as a spare or in their bag if being picked up by someone else.
Where to buy: Amazon
A portable white noise machine is such a useful thing to take with you on your travels. Hotels can be noisy places and tired and grumpy kids are no fun whilst you’re exploring a new place! Having a small white noise machine with you can help kids get to sleep more easily and help them stay asleep if necessary too so you can all have a good night’s rest. They’re also brill for younger kids who still have naps, when there may be more noise around.
Where to buy: Amazon
Are there any other accessories or gadgets that you would highly recommend for travelling with kids? Let us know in the comments!
We were sent the Xplora XGO2 Smartwatch but all words and opinions are my own. See my full disclosure policy here.
Welcome to Birds and Lilies! I'm Lou: mother, blogger and freelance writer. This is my lifestyle blog, where I talk about motherhood, infertility and IVF, beauty, my love for food and wine, as well as my thoughts about stuff, and our real-life and travel adventures.
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