Outings with Kids: Don’t leave home without it!

ByChristie Burnett

Outings with Kids Checklist via Childhood 101

Mmmm. A fondue plate to share between the three of us at the Margaret River Chocolate Factory in the beautiful Swan Valley, just a 30 minute drive from home was morning tea on day 2 of our staycation! Milk chocolate with strawberries, banana, marshmellows, nougat, peanut brittle, licorice, crystallised ginger, prunes and honeycomb for dipping. Needless to say, we polished it all off.

Outings with Kids Checklist _ Childhood 101

It was then off to the nearby petting farm where Immy had a marvellous time patting lambs, calves, goats, rabbits and chickens. I say ‘pat’ in the literal sense of the word. As she would give the first lamb one pat and then run over to the next lamb for its pat and then onto the next lamb for its pat. It was very sweet.

Yesterday I shared Ten Tips for Outings with Children and today it is time to join the Scouts and be prepared! If you are heading out and about for the day with the kids in tow, you might want to be sure that you don’t leave home without…

  • Baby wipes: a must have for wiping sticky mouths, grubby fingers, dirty bottoms, and communal high chairs.
  • Tissues: those little travel packs are perfectly compact.
  • Water.
  • Snacks, and more snacks: plan what you think you will need and then double it, kids get hungry when they are running around. Don’t forget to plan for the car ride as well!
  • Sunscreen: a great habit to get into, even when it is overcast.
  • Hats: summer sun hat or winter beanie, I find that Immy is good at keeping them on as I always make her wear one or the other whenever we are outside.
  • A change of clothes: toileting accidents, falling in muddy puddles, jumping in a fishpond, you never know what kids will do and the one time you don’t pack a change of clothes will be the one time you need it.
  • Think about how you will get around once there: pram, sling, harness, wagon, scooter. At the moment I take all of the first three as I never know if she will run ahead or crash and ride!
  • Picnic backpack: I mentioned this in yesterday’s post, it has one section with plates, cups and cutlery and the other section is a coldpack. Plus being a backpack it is easy to carry around or sling over the pram handles. In my case, it was a great gift from a thoughtful, experienced Mum.
  • A beach towel: is very handy as it can serve multiple purposes – think make-do change mat through to picnic blanket.

Share your suggestions for other Mums – what do you ALWAYS pack in your outing bag?

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Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.

2 Comments

  1. The no hat no play philosophy is one that Immy knows well. The other afternoon when she was visiting she wanted to go outside, but it was late afternoon and quite cold so we told her it wasn't a good time to go outside. She thought about this for awhile, then found her Grumpy's cap, tried to put it on her head and then went and stood by the back door. Obviously she thought she couldn't go outside because she didn't have a hat – I love this little girl's reasoning, she astounds me all the time. Consequently I couldn't resist and took her out for a quick swing.

  2. WhisperingWriter says:

    Er..what's an outing bag?

    I'm a really unprepared Mom and rarely bring one out. Thank goodness I haven't had any disaters. Of course after I post this I imagine my daughter will have a total diaper blow out the next time we go out. So I think I might start bringing an outing bag…

    I want some chocolate fondue!

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