Whether it’s a fun-filled family magical day out on ice skates with beloved cartoon characters or watching a light-hearted musical, a day out with the kids is a great way to strengthen family bonds and provide incredible memories in the years to come.
However, kids, being what they are, can make a day out seem more work than it should if you do not plan appropriately for your outing.
If this happens, you can say goodbye to the fun day you had planned and hello to a tedious or even frustrating experience for everyone.
To help you out, we’ve created this resource on how to manage your kids at an outing or live event. This way, you can ensure that you’re creating the best experience for your entire family on a day out.
In This Article
How to Prepare for Attending Live Events with Your Children
When it comes to live events and outings, the game plan is to get the most enjoyment out of each hour while getting the most bang for your buck.
The five suggestions below will help you make the most of your family outing, whether you have toddlers, infants, school-age children, or teens and teenagers in your crew.
Because we live in an ever-changing world, there are also a few tips to help you navigate going out with kids during a pandemic. Use those as a reminder or a checklist as you plan your outing.
1. Prepare and Schedule Your Day
Time is one of life’s most precious resources. More so on a day out, preparing your schedule for the day ahead will help you maximise your outing. Take an honest look at both your and your children’s needs. Focus on ensuring a balance for both rest and activity for your family throughout the day.
It is beneficial to conduct preliminary research on the live event and venue. Look up COVID-19 protocols, venue amenities, parking options, exits and entrances, and more. Decide whether the entire family will be together the whole time or if the kids will do some solo activities without the adults.
It might be helpful to print a rough itinerary with notes on what each family should be doing at different times of the day. Look for problem times and consider how the schedule you create can be structured to eliminate stress, behavior, hunger, fatigue, and disorganization.
Pro Tip: Buy Dubai events tickets ahead of time to avoid queues at the gate.
2. Pack Your Day Bag Early
Going out with children will undoubtedly necessitate the packing of a day bag. Unfortunately, packing your bag for a family day out is a time-consuming task that you may be tempted to put off until the last minute.
Packing your bags last minute usually leads to problems because you are more likely to forget things when you hurry. Instead, pack ahead of time to ensure that you have all of the medications, cameras, sunscreen, tickets, credit cards, and other items that you and your children will require for the day.
3. Plan for Drinks, Snacks, and Meals for the Day
Making sure your kids are nourished throughout the day is crucial to ensuring they have the energy to have fun, so make sure your little ones don’t get thirsty or go hungry.
Plan for snack times; this will be helped by whatever prior research you do beforehand.
Find out what foods and snacks will be available at the event venue so you are familiar with the fare ahead of time.
Depending on what activities you have planned, it might be best to get your snacks beforehand. For example, if you’ll be watching a Disney on Ice performance, you can focus on the show when you don’t have to worry about snacks anymore. Alternatively, after the event, if the whole family engages in sporting activities like karting, you might want to have a proper meal afterward.
Pro Tip: Always carry plenty of water with you wherever you go. More than anything else, this can help reduce exhaustion.
4. Arrange in Advance for Transportation and Parking
Planning ahead of time reduces last-minute stress when you’re scrambling to find the best mode of transportation. Figure out if the whole family will be taking public transit, a taxi, or rideshare.
If you’ll be driving, find out what the parking situation will be like at the venue — making transport and parking arrangements before you get to the venue will save you a significant amount of time and energy looking for a vacant spot when you get there.
Pro Tip: getting to the event venue early is also vital for getting the best parking spot and settling the whole family before the crowds arrive.
For a younger child or one with limited verbal skills, a simple ID tag with your phone number and child’s name will be extremely useful in the event that your child becomes separated from you while you are out. Don’t know where to get one? To make these tags, you can repurpose do-it-yourself (DIY) pet tags found in most pet stores.
If you have time, you could also make metallic tags with this information and attach them to your children’s shoes. The metal is resistant to water and weather and will not peel off like a label. Your child can also wear it with whatever outfit they have on. You can also use runners’ shoe tags for the same purpose.
One Final Note: Take Lots of Pictures
Family days out provide the best opportunities for photographing the entire family while embarking on a fun adventure.
Make sure you have a good camera (or at the very least your phone) with you and remember to take pictures throughout your family date. These will undoubtedly become part of your fond memories, especially as kids grow up so fast.
When the chicks have left the coop, these pictures can also help you relive some of your best moments with your kids.
