Mum shares 'simple but amazing' trick to make travelling with kids less stressful
For millions of parents around the world, the idea of taking a holiday with babies, toddlers and young children is something to dread.
The extra packing, arguing on flights, screaming infants, little ones wandering off - and that doesn't even include the extra accommodation costs for your tiny travellers.
One mother believes, however, that fellow parents shouldn't fret when it comes to travelling with your brood, as it doesn't have to be as complicated as you first might think.
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According to Canadian photographer, creator and mum of two Nichola Knox, there's only one thing that parents must sure they have on hand when it comes to taking a trip with your tots.
You may not have guessed but the item in question is painter's tape (known in the UK as Scotch tape).
"I swear to you. It’s great on the plane but also on vacation," Nichola told her 1,600 Instagram followers this week.
But why? What use would Scotch tape have on a family trip abroad?
"Label the kid’s cups, a bandaid for when your toddler ‘really needs one,’ taping over locks and drawers you don’t want them getting into," she explains.
"The list goes on. It’s forever the ‘weird’ thing I bring on trips."
Though it might sound like a rather random piece of advice, hundreds of Nichola's fellow parents agreed with the multi-uses for tape.
Whilst one suggested covering automatic flush sensors in public toilets to assure their kids' safety, another advised using it to make a hopscotch grid if your little ones ever need a distraction.
@ourtravelingtots suggested taping the tray table shut to give toddlers more space.
Taping over light switches so children can't be tempted to mess around with the electrics was another suggestion met with huge praise.
After Nichola's revelation spread to other social media apps, one TikToking parent dubbed Scotch tape 'such an underrated item'.
"I boarded the flight a little bit before my husband and son, and I put some painter’s tape on the latch to the tray table," they explained.
"And we did not spend our entire flight trying to keep him from opening the tray table.
"It was amazing."
Travel experts @twistedtravelmag revealed they use the handy hack to create stickers for her kids to play with, as well as a play mat on the tray table of the aeroplanes.
Nichola disclosed that she also loved using tape to make mazes and 'roads' along the floor in their kids' hotel rooms to create a fun new game for them.
"This is your babyproofing workhorse," another said as she held up a thick roll of blue painter’s tape.
The nifty Scotch tape trick has now been dubbed 'expert level parenting' by millions of social media users worldwide, with one adding, "So simple but so amazing."
Another gushed: "This is incredible. Huge brain energy. It potentiates their creativity, is ecological, mess free, and useful too"
Rhianna Benson