A crane in Melbourne
At the risk of sounding a little silly I am going to share this tip – simply because it works with my boys and may help other parents out there. One of the difficulties we face when traveling with small children is their early wake time – frequently 5 am. The options for entertaining boisterous kids at 5 am in a hotel room are limited so we tend to hit the streets early, well before shops, attractions and most cafes are open. On early morning strolls through cities we have found all kinds of city workers, doing jobs, and using machines that are interesting for young kids. We now make a habit with my little boys of hitting the streets “to see what workers are out there.” We seek them out, spend time looking at their machines and protective equipment, and often the workers will chat with my boys. It ends up being a real life “Bob the Builder” type adventure for them. I also make a point of telling the boys how we should be thankful for these people doing these jobs, as they contribute to keeping the city beautiful. Although it is not the way I ever thought I would experience new cities, it keeps the kids entertained and happy until things are open and we can get on with more traditional sight-seeing.
Light cleaning in Melbourne
This post is linked to Travel Tips Tuesday over at Walking on Travels and Suitcases and Sippycups.
Wow! 5 pm is very early! It does sound like a simple tip, but so helpful for parents with little ones. Thanks for sharing.
Yes, I do get a bit desperate with the early mornings but having a plan to see the workers seems to enthuse the kids better than just going for a wander at the crack of dawn.