Today, w e're going to talkabout the secret to having smooth Happy  holidays with toddlers. Are you ready? Okay, there are several secrets.


The first  most important one is preparation. So the more prepared they are, the easier it will be.

And  how to get them prepared?

It's by preparing you. So here are some examples of things  you can do to prepare for holidays to makethem silky? silky smooth or just smooth ? So depending on your little one's age, you want to talk about what's going to happen.  What's coming up? Are you travelling? Where are you going? Who are they going to meet?  With smaller little ones, it's a good idea to use more visual things like reading books.  Maybe watching videos using visual schedules, which is basically like a fancy word for  pictures of what's going to happen. When you're preparing them make sure to cover when  you're leaving, which family members are coming, the key parts to travel and what to expect.


Are  they going on an aeroplane? Are you going i n a car? Are you going to somebody's house? Are you  going to a hotel?, and also parameters around what they can take with them on this trip? So for  example, how many toys can they take? How many books can they take their favorite, stuffy or  lovey.


For 2, 3,4 year olds, 5 year olds, make sure that you involve them in packing their  own things. So ideally packed together, but also that there is limits and parameters around this.  So it's not overwhelming. And they're not getting responsibilities that are too big for their age.  So things that are appropriate to ask of them is to choose. let's say two toys or two books that  they would like to take with you to have them put them physically in their bag.

And the older they  are, the more they should really be a part of the packing process. But you should be telling them  exactly how many things and which things need to go in there. Younger toddlers, like two year olds  stick to giving them two choices at most. So would you like to take the blue car or the red car.  Same with three year olds. With four year olds, you could offer them two to three choices, the  red, blue or green car. But don't go beyond two to three choices.

For any of the ages that we're  talking about, which is after five years. To help count down the days until it's travel time you  can use a calendar and have a daily ritual where you check off together down the calendar until the  date of travel.

The goal of all the preparation is for them to know exactly what's going to happen  leading up to the travel and during the travel. When things are predictable and they know exactly  what to expect. There's going to be less hiccups for you and less overwhelm for both of you  but especially for them, which will reduce the chances that there's going to be any meltdowns  but we will talk about those in a minute. 

When dealing with toddlers make sure to use  language they understand. So simple and concrete. Remember that how you feel about traveling  matters too. So if you are enthusiastic andexcited about the travel, make sure that you share  that with your toddler. If you aren't enthusiastic and excited about the travel. Make sure to work  this out first with your adult partner before presenting it to your little ones so that you can  present it to them in a positive, happy way. When preparing consider your toddler's personality.  Do they need more time to get out the door? In that case, make sure to plan extra time.

Generally speaking, when dealing with toddlers, you always want to do things in advance and  find extra time. But if your toddler is also one of the toddlers that needs more time,  then plan extra extra time for the day oftravel. Speaking of time, try your best to do  as many things in advance as possible that do not need to happen on the same day. The fewer  things that you need to do on the same day, the easier they will go because you'll be  more present and available for your toddler. And speaking of time again, make sure to  plan stops and breaks.

It is unrealisticto not need to stop or break for many reasons  when you're dealing with babies and toddlers, so just it's better to plan it in your schedule  and not use it than to make really ambitious goals that are not realistic and just feel  frustrated and rush the whole time. That's a really important tip that I hope you really  take right now. And there's gonna be a lot of what seems like downtime or time they stuck  together in a car or maybe a plane or somewhere else. So make sure that there's lots of things  to do.

Pack books, Audiobooks, maybe screens, games, art, toys, things for them to do. And  the next most important thing is lots and lots of snacks and food. Those are magical and can  really help the time go by with little ones. Okay and I mentioned before about potential  meltdowns or crying, you need to know that when getting out of routine, when doing something new,  there is going to be lots of new feelings that your toddler experiences and expresses.

While  they're traveling. You can expect extra crying, clinginess, and maybe meltdowns. And this can  happen for many reasons, but mostly not because you're doing something wrong. It has to do with  your daughter, toddlers brain development and the fact that it is the first time for them doing  those things. Even though they're positive, new experiences can be scary, which is why I talked  so long about preparation, because the preparation will definitely help reduce these feelings, but  they're still going to come up because they're still doing something new and potentially scary  for them.

You might want to use the mantra or reminder that when they're crying and having  a hard time, they're not giving you a hard time they're having a hard time and that their  feelings do not mean that you suck, or that they shouldn't travel. They just mean that that's how  they feel in that moment. 


Their feelings are not your feelings, but they do need your help to help  them regulate their feelings. I explained the all of these concepts more in detail inside my toddler  sleep course there's a huge section on parenting toddlers in general. So if this resonates with  you consider joining the course or getting started with our free toddler sleep webinar. It's called  realistic toddler sleep, I'll link it down below. 


Next, I just want to give you one final  tip that's hopefully going to help. Bigemotions can also mean that it's actually  time for a break or time to slow down. Thatmeans big emotions for your toddler or big  emotions for you. It can also mean that it's time for a body check. So are they or you  feeling hungry, tired or need the bathroom? Make sure you attend to each of those  things and see if the emotions pass inwhich case it was one of these.