My wife and I went to London for two weeks with our 8-year-old. Here’s what we learnt.
- You need a plan
It takes an hour to get anywhere in London, especially in tourist season. Add 20 minutes when you’re with an 8-year-old. So this is one of those holidays where you need most of your days planned out in advance.
- But don’t do too much
Cities are exhausting. You’ll rack up your 10,000 steps by lunch, which means the little guy next to you has done 15,000+. We worked on one main event a day, ideally in the morning.
- Get to things the minute they open
The Natural History Museum, which opens at 10am, is a delight for young and old – for approximately one hour. By 11.30am it is unadulterated mayhem, teeming with loud Americans and hordes of feral school children.
- Factor in emergency cab budget
No matter how well you plan, there may be heart-rending emotional pleas for taxi relief at certain points. Your wife will lead them. There’s a fine line between a character-building hike back to the hotel through city traffic and maintaining your sanity. Preserve your mind, we say. Similarly…
- Schedule down time in the afternoon
Daddies need afternoon naps and kids need time to process all the sights, sounds and information roaring through their tiny minds. Mommies can do some relaxing shopping.
- Accept that there will be screen time
And that’s fine. But also try local TV. There is a novelty about British quiz shows that is surprisingly appealing to children.
- Adapt to city hours
You’re in a city, not on safari. That means enjoying the night life and sleeping in late.
- Suck it up and do the big kids’ day out
That means Legoland or Disneyland or something similar. Hell, basically. But for a kid it’s magical. Do the research, be smart about it and you will survive, promise. You kid, on the other hand, will be over the moon.
- Then again, remember that a lot of stuff you take for granted is eye-opening wonderment for a child
Watch the buskers in Trafalgar Square. Take the tube. Sit at the top of the double-decker bus at the front. Rent a bike in the park.
(Note: save £25 by renting your adult bikes from the self-service racks next to the park.)
- See the trip as an investment in memories
Eight-year-olds don’t necessarily appreciate the glory of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers or Turner’s Fighting Temeraire on first glance. But you’ll be surprised how they talk about these things afterwards. A city trip is absolutely ideal for creating a scrapbook, so get started while you’re there – it’s something to keep them occupied at the dinner table and in the weeks after. And (hopefully) something for them to help remember a formative trip with their mum and dad when they’re older.
