Let Kids Pack!

Let Kids Pack!

The greatest stress for me when preparing for a vacation is the packing. As a parent, you want to make sure all that you need, especially in emergency situations, are right there on hand to aid you. You even pack your kids' clothes to make sure they're complete. The disadvantage of doing this is that when you arrive at your destination, your kids will be asking you where those things are everytime they need it. The solution for me is to let them pack their own things so they know where everything are when they need it. 

How do I help them pack?

• First, I hand them a list. 
• Then, they gather everything they need and bring it it one room. 
• We gather in the designated room with all our luggage/sportsbag. 
• As we actually put the things in the luggage, we tick off the things from the list. 

The purpose of doing the packing together, especially if you have more than one child, is so that you can see for yourself that they actually placed the things inside the luggage. If you have more than one child, you do it all at the same time and save a lot of time checking on their things. This way, both you and your child know where all the things are. It will save you the effort of having to hand them their things when you are on vacation.

More Tips:

1. Bring a laundry bag.

•  Teach your kids to put dirty clothes in the laundry bag after use so it doesn't get mixed up with the clean clothes when you pack everything for home. It will also save you the time and trouble of gathering each piece of dirty clothing before you leave.

2. Have a separate bag for each child.

• I do not mean that you must have a separate luggage for each child. What I mean is that each child's things must be separated from another child's things. To have it all mixed up would defeat the purpose of making it easier for everyone to find their things.
• For children who can carry their things or are able to drag a school-sized stroller bag, you can have a separate hand-carry size stroller bags for each of them to put keep their things. That way, they can also take charge of dragging them and helping you transport their things from the destination to destination.
• For children who cannot carry their own things yet, this means you will have to do so. I find it easier to put each child's things on a sports bag, and insert the sports bag in one larger luggage. That way, you transport more than one sports bag in one luggage, without mixing your children's things with each other. When you arrive at your hotel/resort, you just pull out the sports bag from the bigger luggage.