First time in a caravan or motorhome with kids? Our top tips

Here at Wandahome we have a huge variety of family caravans for sale, so you can enjoy taking your kids on holiday! Becoming a parent is one of life’s natural pleasures, and massively awe-inspiring – in fact it’s profound. It’s the most fundamentally human thing that each of us can do. But, oh crikey, it comes with its difficulties! Emotional issues aside, tiredness issues aside, financial issues aside, parenting is also a minefield of logistical issues. 

From the simple act of correctly navigating the routine of bath time and putting the child to bed right to making sure their school bag is packed correctly with everything they need, right through to the challenges of taking them on holiday, it can be a challenge to organise and manage. In this edition of our blog we’re going to look at things you can do to make travelling in a motorhome or caravan with a child a bit easier – and the ways that choosing the right vehicle for your family life can help too.

Things You Can Do

Route plan your holiday - If you are going to be touring around and staying overnight (or for a few days at a time) on campsites along the way, it will really pay off for you if you work out the ones on your route which have all of the amenities you need and the right facilities to keep the kids happy. You’ll be looking for things like an onsite laundrette, as well as an array of leisure stuff like a games room, play park or pool. You’ll be able to catch up on the family washing while the kids have fun. 

Take stuff - Your kids enjoy being mentally stimulated, and so it’s a good idea to pack a couple of things that will keep them entertained and amused. If they’re very small, a ‘busy board’ is a good move. It’s a multi-function ‘board’ on which several small-scale activities are positioned – a wheel to spin, laces to tie, a rattle to shake etc. You could also pack a book or two for the kids to read. Bear in mind not everyone is comfortable with reading in a moving vehicle. You could also try a portable DVD/media player, this might keep them quiet for a while, particularly if it’s screening something as engaging as the Shaun The Sheep TV series or the Paddington films! Prepare for your trip in advance by downloading programmes/uploading them to the device (if that is required). You should also take things like a first aid kit and camper chairs if you’ll be sitting outside for a bit along the way. Make sure you take along the correct amounts of all the bits and pieces you need if you have a baby (nappies, nappy rash cream, steriliser tablets etc) – although you could buy these along your route if you wanted to. It’s a simple fact that most kids get bored on long journeys. Taking along those toys or having entertainment devices (mini DVD or hard disk players) is all very well, but they’ll get bored of those too at some point. Our tip is not to travel for too long at a time. Chop things up into segments of an hour and a half to two hours at a time, and take a stop whenever you can, even if it’s just a wee-wee stop and a leg stretch at a service station or a roadside café for a couple of minutes. It will break up the monotony. Certainly don’t travel for more than three to four hours a day. More than that and you may be wasting precious leisure time.

Activities - If you’re able to plan your route carefully – in terms of the places you will park up and stay overnight etc – you can also work out some interesting or fun places to stop off and get out of the caravan for a bit of entertainment and family fun. This could be a farm shop with kids activities, an interesting landmark, a beach, a town with something fun to do, a wildlife park, a boating lake…and so on. If you are travelling from campsite A to campsite B and it’s quite a lengthy trip but there are possible fun stops along the way, then you should take the chance to add value to your holiday. Making this sort of stop will keep your kids’ spirits up – as well as your own!

The Right Vehicle

In addition to taking your own personal steps to make things easier when travelling with kids, it’s a fact that the vehicle you travel in can be important, too. Making the right choice when buying the motorhome is not exactly essential – but it is certainly highly advisable. Your trip will go much better, as day to day living will be so much easier and so much more convenient. These are the factors you should think about:

1. Size: You should definitely consider getting a motorhome or caravan which is slightly bigger than you might think you need. That extra bit of room will serve you and your family well. We’ve got an extensive selection of both new and used stock available on our website to help you choose. 
2. Sleeping Arrangements: A motorhome with an over-cab or a dropdown (or fixed bunks) bed is a great idea as it almost certainly means beds will remain ‘made up’ and there’ll be no need to go through the nightly hassle of converting seating and sorting out the bedding.
3. Features: Things like ambient adjustable lighting can make a difference to the quality of your experience. You might want to bathe one end of the vehicle in very dim ‘bedtime’ light, while keeping the adult end brighter as it’s not quite your own bedtime yet! Also make sure there are USB ports (etc) so that your kids can charge their devices. If there are not, there will doubtlessly be traditional plug sockets and you can bring along adapters.

Here at Wandahome, our family caravans and motorhomes for sale offer everything you could need to get the most out of your holidays. If you haven’t already, start picking yours by browsing our website or coming down to see us! Alternatively, if you’d like to speak to someone for more information, feel free to get in touch.We’re always happy to help and we look forward to hearing from you!