As parents we are taught to not diverge from our routine, we have this innate need for structure. But sometime mixing things up isn't the worst. Being flexible is an important part of being a travel family. You always need to have a plan B in the back of your mind. Maybe you have to cut the museum short and find a playground, and that's ok! Maybe your train got cancelled and now you're on a long bus ride- enter tablets!
I have found that my kids are actually best behaved while we are on a trip together. Since we work full time and the kids are in school, our family trips are truly the only time it is just the four of us together all the time. Sure this gets exhausting, btu its also really great bonding time. And for some reason the kids have an easy time adjusting to time change, new places, and no routine. This is never the case at home!
Screen time- we do bring our kids coloring books and drawing pads of course, but we also bring the tablets on all our trips. We let them use them during transport- planes, cars, trains, etc. We also let them use them at restaurants. At the end of the day, we all want to enjoy our meals. We do make them put them away when the food comes and while we are actually eating, but having them for the “boring” times of the meal smooths things over. Meals in Europe in general take a while, they will not rush you! We even have a joke “never turn away an Italian waiter”! If they come and ask what you want, and you don’t know yet- good luck getting them back! Haha, I’m half joking.
Bed time- at home we have a pretty strict bed-time, some flexibility on weekends. But when we are away, the kids just roll with it. We do late dinners, we do after dinner walks, we close the parks when we are at Disney. And with blackout shades, they normally sleep in a bit the next day!
Stroller- this sort of goes with bedtime- we use a stroller while we are away for way longer than we do at home. My son was in a stroller until he was 7. If we are out late, the kids can just pass out, also having the stroller allows them to do more since they can take breaks from walking.
There are pros and cons to this. A major pro, in addition to what I previously mentioned, is the ease of navigating the airport with a stroller. This allows me to wheel the stroller and make sure I have both kids with me, and while my husband is wheeling the luggage. Also we can store things in the basket below, or hang things like backpacks and sweaters on it. In addition Europe is very accommodating to families and children- having a stroller will often get you in a special security section, shorter passport lines, and priority boarding.
A con is that many places in Europe are not very accessible. Think high curbs, without ramps, narrow doorways, and tiny elevators in which a stroller may not even fit. We have certainly had to half fold our stroller to get it into an elevator or through a door. That being said, we have brought a double stroller and it was not impossible. I would say stick to an easy fold umbrella stroller. One difference with European flights as opposed to domestic- your stroller will go to the luggage carousel it won’t be waiting for you when you get off the plane. Sometimes it will come out with your luggage, other times it will be on a separate bulk belt.
Meals- we usually try to find places to eat that have options for our kids, but they tend to be picky and that is not always possible. In general you should be able to find plain pasta, pizza, or worst case French fries and bread. We buy food for our apartment and we do breakfast at home, and we have snacks to take with us when we’re out and about. We try to get our kids to try new foods, and sometimes they are adventurous. But I would be lying if I didn’t admit that French fries have been dinner on more than one occasion.
