The United Kingdom is a popular tourist country for families. Because there is a lot to do, amazing adventures. Combine this with some very popular road trips around wales.Sightseeing in London including the trips to popular museums and parks of London. Overall, it’s child-friendly days out left, right and centre. Parents travelling here with their children will of course want to ensure that everyone is safe. And their trip is as stress-free as possible. That is why some forward planning is unavoidable. This guide has five safety tips for anyone heading to the UK for a family adventure.
Register Your Trip as you arrive in UK
The first thing to do is register your arrival date with the Embassy. So that you are officially logged as a visitor. That way, if something does happen, for instance, a child becomes lost, the embassy will be able to assist more easily. And have a clear record of your presence to help the investigation along. This is of course, a worst-case scenario. But parents have to plan for these things just in case. Applying is straightforward. Find an official resource like iVisa.com fill in your details and follow the steps.
Once this is done, you will surely have the peace of mind. That even come the worst scenario, your child is going to be safe. And you are going to have the top help at hand, as required. With this peace of mind, you can proceed further.
Take a Picture of Your Child Every Day when in UK
When a child slips out of sight, the dominating thought in your mind will be anxiety. This anxiety may take over any sense of rational reasoning, which leads to you forgetting key details like what they are wearing today or how their hair is styled. That is why taking a picture of your child every time you go out is a great idea because should something go amiss, you will have a fresh point of reference for everyone to search with. In fact, this is a super helpful tip, not just for traveling around in UK. But anywhere national or international. Sometimes, the kid is just lost around in the crowd at a sight seeing place or on a crowded street or a flea market. Showing around the present day’s picture can help locate him or her in no time.
Give them a Way to Contact You when traveling to UK with children
If your child is going off on their own, for instance, you have a teenager and they are yearning to do some solo exploring, make sure they have a way to contact you! It sounds so simple, but with all the excitement of being in a new place, the simple stuff can be easily forgotten. Don’t forget to program your number into the phone as well.
We remember doing it with our 3 years old kid on our trip to Europe. And again when we recently visited Bhutan, and she is 9 years old now. We give her a slip of paper on which we write our names, address and phone numbers. And that slip remains in her small bag with her. So even if the child can themselves not make a call. Or may not be able to use it first hand. The idea is for them to hand over the piece of paper to someone – at a shop or a restaurant by the side of the road – to let them know they are lost. And help them contact us. So, do remember this trick to keep your children safe on your next trip to UK with children.
Make Sure You Know the Location when traveling to UK with children
One of the best tips to travel safely to UK with children. It’s never a good idea to be out of your depths as a parent with children of any age. That is why you have to research an area before you get there to make sure it is not riddled with crime or somewhere that is just not safe. There are plenty of great locations that are well-suited to families in the UK, and they have plenty to keep everyone busy and entertained too. Even on our own trip to Europe, we always went to well known and safe locations. In fact, again, this is applicable no wonder where you go. National or International. We exerted similar caution even when visiting Kashmir with our kids and family.
Teach Them the Local Emergency Numbers and Phrases
If English is not your primary language, it is well worthwhile teaching your children (or writing it down for them to keep), how to contact essential emergency services in the UK. 999 is the number to dial. And it is never too late to teach them a few phrases to boost their vocabulary. Just in case they run into trouble too. Also, it gets helpful to ask for general directions or things. We remember when we were on our 2 weeks trip to Europe. We picked a few phrases apart from the local emergency numbers. Like good morning, thank you. etc. And with these phrases, we were able to extend the warm gesture or return to the gesture that the locals expressed. And believe me, these little things do make your trip memorable.
I still remember the warm greetings we exchanged when walking around the village of Grindelwald. Or, when sitting for a breakfast in front of our apartment in Florence. And almost everyone passing by would greet us with a “Bongiorno” (Good morning).
I will particularly like to quote one incidence related to it. When we were trying to locate the starting point of our half day tour from Florence to Pisa. But had difficulty locating the point. We went to a local store. And with the help of the phrases learnt, we explained to them about our difficulty. The store assistant actually walked around with us. And helped us locate the spot where our bus was waiting for us!! Also, when I landed in Rome on the first day of our trip, I was looking for “Banana” in a supermarket there. And can you believe me, no one understood “banana” !!!
Remember these tips for a safe travel to UK with children. And if you have any further tips, do leave a comment below for us. We will be happy to learn about your tips to travel to UK with children. And we will include them in this post.
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