10 things we discovered while holidaying with our children in the UK
We recently returned from a lovely holiday to the United Kingdom to visit family. Throughout our trip with two young kids, we made several discoveries that we hope might help other parents who are planning to take an overseas trip with their young children. While some of these discoveries are specific to the UK, others apply to other destinations, too.
1. Choose a night flight if you are travelling long haul with young children. Our total trip time including transit was more than 16 hours (with 14 hours of actual flying time). Thankfully, our two kids aged four and 18 months (nicknamed Barnacles and Kwazii, respectively) managed to sleep for several hours on both seven-hour flight legs. We were very thankful that we had invested in the JetKids Bed Box and the First Class Pillow. Although Mummy didn’t get much sleep with Kwazii plastered to her lap for nearly 14 hours, that was better than having two cranky children upon arrival.
2. Be prepared for the unexpected. When we arrived in Britain, our first discovery was that our luggage did not arrive with us. This was because our first flight was delayed and the luggage did not make it on the connecting flight. Thus, soon after we touched down we had to head out to the shops to buy diapers, toiletries, as well as extra clothes for the children and us. We were only reunited with our luggage some 36 hours later. What we would definitely do on our next flight would be to carry an extra set of pyjamas and outing clothes for the kids, as well as clothes for ourselves to last a night and a day.
3. Choose the right airline. Even though our luggage was delayed, we would still recommend what we flew – Qatar Airways. This was our first time flying with Qatar and we received good service. The cabin crew were alert, helpful and friendly, and our two kids liked the little airplane gifts they were given. Also, we found out that certain airlines do not allow the BedBox or inflatable pillows on board, but we had no problems using these on all our Qatar Airways flights. If they change this policy however, then we might have to think twice.
4. Travel light. Or as light as possible when travelling with kids. We found that it is easier to pack things in as few bags as possible, rather than carry separate bags. We had written in an earlier post about the preparation we had done, but were pleasantly surprised that we hardly had to use toys to entertain our two boys on the flight. Both kids slept for several hours on both flight legs, and when they were awake, Barnacles entertained himself with the in-flight entertainment which had all his favourite shows (we didn’t impose a screen time limit like we do at home), and Kwazii was very entertained with the remote control and buttons on the airline screen. He also enjoyed playing with the airplane cutlery, as well as the little containers of butter and jam.
In the UK:
5. Groceries, toys, clothes, and in fact most shopping is cheaper in the UK than Singapore. Sad, but true. It is currently a good time to travel to the UK due to the favourable currency exchange rate. We bought several sets of kids’ clothes from Mothercare and Primark at less than half the price we would have paid back home. So if you travel to the UK, do stock up on kids clothes and toy shopping! Daddy also managed to get several pieces of clothing and shoes from Sports Direct – a very reasonably priced UK retailer.
6. Relish outdoor playtime and bring the kids to as many parks as possible. Even though we often go to the malls in Singapore as playing outdoors can sometimes get a bit warm, the kids absolutely loved playing in the parks in the British summer. For most of the trip, we were lucky to have warm sunshine and cool breezes, and our kids both had a ball in the parks we visited. We have also resolved to bring them for more outdoor play back home in Singapore.
7. Go camping if you can. While we’ve never camped in Singapore – partly due to the heat and partly because our four-year-old is a mosquito magnet – the weather in England was ideal for camping (of course, be prepared to deal with the possibility of rain) and Barnacles got to spend two nights in a tent. Needless to say, he was thrilled to sleep snuggled up in a sleeping bag to keep warm as the temperature went down to 9 degrees at night.
8. Go on a road trip. The only two road trips we had ever previously been on were on a drive to Legoland Malaysia, and to Malacca. In the UK, we rented a car from Birmingham airport to drive down to Southampton to visit the huge Paulton’s Theme Park where the kids enjoyed Peppa Pig Land, as well as to London. The road trip was a good experience and we felt it was easier than taking the train in-between places with two kids and luggage bags.
9. If you’re in London, visit the London Transport Museum. For our two vehicle-loving children – especially Kwazii, who loves buses – they had a blast. The kids can have the experience of being bus drivers behind the wheel, and there is also a fun stamp card that kids can go around the museum collecting stamps for. For these and most other London attractions, do buy tickets online in advance to get a discount and avoid queuing too long at the entrance.
10. Visit London’s huge Hamleys toy store. Our children, especially Barnacles, loved that toys from his favourite shows Octonauts and Fireman Sam were readily available on the toy shelves even though they are difficult to find back home. Amusingly, when asked upon our return to Singapore, he said London was his favourite place “because of the big toy store”. Such is the mind of a four year old!
For us as parents, we’d have to say we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves on this trip, and it was a wonderful family vacation. Our topmost advice would be to leave the first couple of days free-and-easy to get over any jetlag, and not plan to squeeze too many attractions in one day. More on UK attractions in a future post!
Mummy and Daddy Daycare are the pseudonyms of a Singaporean husband and wife who are raising two young boys aged four and one, nicknamed Barnacles and Kwazii from the children’s Octonauts series. Get into the minds of this couple who describe parenthood as a lifetime adventure – you are always learning something new! Whoever said parenting was a walk in the park?
Other articles by Mummy and Daddy Daycare:
