Originally Posted by
alamedaguy
We are travelling with our four year old and 11 month old this summer. We'll primarily visit Slovakia (about 12 nights) and Croatia (6 nights). My wife is of Slovakian descent so I have focused more attention there. It is not my daughter's first international trip, but since she is more aware and communicative, I am trying to help her get more from the trip.
We have started learning a few Slovak words and hopefully will have a few down by the time the trip rolls around. She can be shy, of course, but hopefully a lot of practice now will get her to use them at least a couple of times. We also watched the Rick Steves video for Dubrovnik and the one for London, where we have a layover. I got a kids' book from the library on Slovakia but it is for older kids.
Any tricks you've tried that have worked particularly well? Thanks!
Learning about the unusual things she might see (like the double decker red buses, different fire trucks, policement, that sort of thing) in London, and give her a 'spotting' card that she ticks when she sees on, with points for the item that get a special 'treat' (could be a toy, ice cream, whatever your budget and preferences are). You can do one for the airport (plane, flight attendant, pilot, bag x-ray machine, etc) and one for each day (with a little judicious 'planning' on mum and dad's part, you can pop in Big Ben / The London Eye / Buckingham Palace etc on the right day along with some easy ones like 'pidgeon' and 'river'!