Must haves for an (almost) 4 year old - first holiday in the sun

[Baconand]

We haven't been away for several years and not flown for 10, we have 2 weeks in a villa with own pool in Spain in early July. DD will be around 10 weeks off her 4th birthday.

What are your must haves for children at that age? Clothes wise we will have a washing machine so will happily wash things to keep the luggage down.

What's best to take for the pool? Plane? UV suits or normal swimsuits etc?

Also, can't decide what to do about car seat - if we take one of ours it weighs an absolute ton. I can't see us getting it to check in easily. But are the ones with a hire car a death trap? She is currently RF in a spin seat (up to 18kg/105cm) but will be on the cusp of outgrowing it when we travel.

Any wisdom appreciated :)

Cheap buggy...
You won't regret it ime..

I think a UV suit is a good idea if your dd is very pale and burns easily, or if she’s going to be spending a lot of time in the sun. We got them for our beach holiday as we knew that we’d be spending 6+ hours in the sun without shade.
Also take a swim ring and arm bands.
Take a portable black out blind if you think that she might have a hard time getting to sleep in an unfamiliar room when it’s still light, or if you don’t want her to be woken by the morning sun. You can’t guarantee that the curtains in your villa will be good enough.
Take a baby monitor, even if you don’t use one at home now. It means you can sit outside in the evening and not have to worry about her lying upstairs in an unfamiliar room.
As the flight isn’t that long, you probably don’t need to worry about headphones for the plane. The things that entertained my dd best on flights at that age were sticker books, a small Polly Pocket compact, magnetic jigsaws, lacing pictures…

Basic medicine such as calpol, ibuprofen - much easier having it than trying to buy it out there.
A million hats!

My daughter is a similar age. Cycling shorts and a t-shirt is great for that age. Basically anything with cycling shorts.

We used a UV rash vests with shorts / swimming costume bottoms. Made it easier if out in the pool all day. Less sun cream and easy toilet trips.

Sun hat / swim sun hat if they'll wear one.

Can't help on the car seat front. I'd use one hired with the car rather than lug our own one. But I'm quite relaxed about car seats in general.

I wouldn’t take your own car seat. The integrity after it’s been bumped about in the hold of a plane could be questionable. I’d risk a holiday one that you’ll use minimally rather than risk one the one you use daily.

UV suits, two at least. H&M do £2.99 dresses that can be worn to dinner and also over a swimsuit, cost hardly anything but are cool and good quality. Don’t get jelly shoes, they tend to cause blisters, Clark’s doodles and water sandals were better for us. Take stacking cups if you have them as they are good bath, pool and beach toys that are light and small to carry.

For the plane take ipad, headphones, snacks and a spill free water bottle to fill up after security. It’s not a long flight so should be easy.

Mine has always worn a normal swimsuit but is always out of the sun over midday as we do a nice long lunch, plus she had the good fortune to inherit her Mediterranean dad’s olive skin! I know they’re not recommended for learning to swim but at that age I use armbands just for holidays.

And normal summer clothes- shorts, t-shirts, dresses for nice restaurants, sandals, trainers for longer walks, cardigan for the evening and plane.

I always rent a car seat, better than the alternative which is dragging yours through the airport and having it get bashed about in the hold. At that age I would request a high backed booster and not a harnessed toddler seat as my DD would have been to big for the latter.

UV suits for me, saves stressing over sun cream. JoJo Maman Bebe do 2 piece UV suits that cover to the knee and elbow that we use, with a matching sun hat.

And don't forget the sunnies.

Pool shoes, especially if going to the beach as the sand can get quite hot.

Basic inflatables, a ball, we use a rubber ring rather than armbands and very very clear instructions that she isn't allowed in the pool without one of us.

Otherwise snacks, tablet (or a phone with some of her favourite tv shows downloaded) and a sticker book for the plane. We try and time it so it's a meal time too to take up 30 minutes or so.

Something for her to drink or suck during take off and landing.

And i'd echo renting a car seat instead of taking your own.

All of the above but also some small bath toys that she can play with in the pool but will float. We took small bath cars and fish and they were great. Easy apply sunscreen. Also calpol, plasters etc just in case. Also try and pack some different treats for the flight home that can be a surprise, sticker book, new reading book. We used to take small dominoes with us as well as it is an easy game to play as well as a pack of cards.

I would personally take a car seat but maybe get a new high backed booster if she's nearly in one anyway. When we hired one in France it was basically the cheapest HBB on the market at the time and didn't have very good safety ratings, basically no side impact protection.

UV top is very useful.

I got my daughter a float vest which she wore in the pool all the time. It's so helpful as it keeps them floating! My daughter was happy swimming around in a deep pool with it. Meant less worry about drowning risk.

Thanks all. This is useful, keep the thoughts coming.

I’m worried about the car seat and what sort to have if we hire, DD is about average sized, hovering around 50th-75th centile for height/weight. Currently about 98cm and 16kg so some way off the 100cm/18kg advised for HBB, so not likely to outgrow current seat before her birthday in Sept. But obviously entirely depends on the seat type and how much she grows between now and hol.
We were going to move to the Joie Bold so she can stay harnessed for longer and then convert when a bit bigger.

You can get travel car seats that can go on the plane. It will be forward facing but I always had mine strapped in on the plane then you have it for the rental car too

HBB is ok from 15kg- there’s an overlap between group 1 and 2. Obviously weight isn’t everything though and a good fit is most important so if she’s also still within the height/weight limit for a toddler seat and you’re more comfortable with a harness then I’d go for that instead. The car rental website should have size details when book it.

Yes I think we will do that. I know they can have a HBB from 15kg but they are safer when 18kg. I also don’t really want her in a seat belt on hol and then switching back when we are home. I do think she is just a bit too little yet. She’s quite behind on gross motor (can’t even run yet!) so she doesn’t seem physically ready. That might sound daft as she has all the speech and understanding of a 5 year old though- all the chat but won’t do stairs on her own, that sort of thing!

Talcum powder if you're going to the beach - gets sand off very easily!

Car seat - id always take my own (we have a spare for grandparents etc) in a car seat bag that you can buy off Amazon.

Pram - definitely, even if you don't use one at home.

Sun suits - yes yes yes!

Clothing - lots of sun dresses. Easy for the beach etc, but also can dress them up for the evening.

Mine get on better with swimsuit and factor 50+ reapplied liberally.

Pack more sunscreen than you think you will ever need, I paid €25 for a small bottle of f50 in Ibiza last summer...

3 UV suits
hats
dresses
cardigans
knickers
couple of pairs of shorts and t shirts
2 pairs of sandals
toys, which can be used in and out of water
tablet and ceebies magazines for plane, colouring book, pens, books, snacks
favourite cuddly toy
first aid kit
bracelet to prevent bug bites
water bottle

Oh yes. This reminded me we bought a super cheap buggy just for the trip. It was an excellent idea. And was suggested by MN when i asked a similar question!

I always but always recommend these;

www.amazon.co.uk/EarPlanes-Original-Earplugs-Filtering-Protection/dp/B0849562BY/ref=asc_df_B0849562BY/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=535228085039&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5962710295666031110&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=2826&hvtargid=pla-1412591333972&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

This has been a gamechanger for us as we have one child with sensory issues and planes made him hysterical with the pressure coming down.