After having 4 kids, I had to change the way we travel. I look for playgrounds wherever we go and allow fast food.

31.08.2024 - 15:48 / insider.com

I was an avid traveler long before I had children. Now, one of my greatest joys is sharing my love of exploration and adventure with my family. Yet, traveling with my four kids has been an adjustment.

I've learned that my family has a much better time when I balance my kids' needs with my own, even if it means we don't do everything on my itinerary.

These are some key lessons I've learned about how to make family travel more fun for everyone.

Children like to be active and have time just to be kids. That means that wherever we go, I look for a playground — which is often easy to find — where they can spend an hour or two running around.

At first, I hated taking time away from a trip for something as simple as the monkey bars, but I found that giving my kids the time and space to play outdoors refreshes them and allows them to focus on other activities as the trip progresses.

As a bonus, I often meet local moms at the playground who give me invaluable tips about kid-friend attractions and restaurants I wouldn't have found on my own. On the rare occasions we haven't found a playground, my kids have jumped into soccer games and played tag in fields. There is always a place for kids to play if you look around.

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While I could happily spend my days wandering through museums and going on long hikes, my kids often need more to hold their attention.

On a recent visit to Venice, I booked a family-friendly tour that included a scavenger hunt workbook that kept my kids engaged for hours. I also seek out interactive exhibits in every museum we visit and head straight for those exhibits whenever my kids start to get antsy.

Just in case none of this works, I usually make a bee-line for must-see exhibits when we first arrive to make sure I don't miss what I came to see.

Before kids, I always made it a point to try local specialties. Now, I often give in to my kids' desire to eat fast food.

Embarrassingly, we have eaten at more McDonalds while traveling than we have at home. However, when my children have full tummies and feel they have some control over what we do, they are much happier. I also relax rules around junk food and soda while traveling. It's a small way to make trips feel special, and it won't hurt them in the long run.

Although I never feel as though I have enough time anywhere, I sometimes forgo seeing bigger-name attractions to take my kids to somewhere I know they will love.

On a recent trip to Atlanta, my son happily spent an afternoon exploring all kinds of slime at the Sloomoo Institute. Although our afternoon making slime meant that I missed some great museums, giving my son a few hours to do something he truly loved put him in a great mood for the rest of the trip.

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