You go on a day out with the kids and your significant other, you end up in a park and the kids are having a great time. Next minute one of them has ended up in a puddle of mud and you forgot to bring a spare change of clothes, a fun family day out has turned into a disaster and you now have a muddy child that is not getting anywhere near the fabric/leather seats in your car. Despite the difficulty of organising a time for the family day out and actually going through with it, the last thing you want is it becoming a regret. Therefore it is essential to thoroughly plan and pack for your day out to avoid the inevitable downfall of an unplanned trip. You have to assess the necessities (preventing) and then the worst case scenarios (dealing with it).
Let’s start with the necessities, the children. Typically, children tend to make a mess. Everywhere they go they can somehow find ways to make a mess. Whether that’s jumping in a muddy puddle, all the way to having a nose bleed and suddenly that nice white top is covered in red. Therefore as mess is usually an inevitable case, we have to prepare to prevent it and then deal with it.
Preventing it can be done easily, for example packing a spare pair of shoes. You pack their nice trainers, but if you are visiting a location with a possibility of mud then the wellies are now in the boot. What about eating? A day out will undoubtedly follow with a meal time, and a common item that’s forgotten are bibs. So to keep everyone nice and clean, packing weaning bibs is essential. Unfortunately, kids also tend to be extremely accident prone. An accident is bound to happen, whether it’s a small knee graze or a full blown nose bleed. Any type of incident is also likely to follow with a mess if not packed properly. A first aid kid is not only an essential for safety, it’s just as essential to prevent your kids ruining their new pair of jeans. Plasters, bandages and possibly nasal plugs all need to be packed into your car before you even think to leave the driveway.
Dealing with it is usually an easier task, as preventing a mess in most cases is often quite difficult and will most likely sacrifice fun for the child too. To prepare for dealing with it we think of the worst case scenarios; you took them to the farm and they managed to find the muck heap and next minute they were in it. Now it’s dealing with it, they are covered in cow faeces. A spare change of clothes for each child and a plastic bag for the previous clothes will usually do the trick, followed by some wipes for anything that managed to get to their skin for a light clean before they get home leaving them semi-ready to get in your precious car. Then, of course, remember that they can have a nice hot bath when they get home, using nice bubble baths and calming natural skincare products, so everything will be back to normal when you get home! Try to enjoy the day without concerns of mess disrupting it.
These two factors alone will have you set for your trip, best and worst case scenario. The key tip though, think of the worst case scenario and pretend it’s going to happen.