Make your life easier when you go on outings!

Whether you are at the stage of being housebound or just about surviving the outings and wondering why do you bother, these tips should make a difference in your approach:

Give pre warningsr
Sometimes it’s the anxiety about going out that makes it difficult to get out of the door. If we provide children with a warning that we will be going out that day and where we are going, it can really help to reduce the anxiety of the uncertainty. Some children will cope very well just knowing that they are going out and others may need more information e.g. what time, where, how are we getting there, how long we will be there for, who might be there, what you will do etc and importantly that you will be coming home afterwards.
You could use a visual schedule (make pictures of a sequence of events) to demonstrate this and use this as a talking point for the goings on in the day.
Be preparedr
Make sure you have everything with you that you might need, here is a short list of things that you might need to take (add to it for your own child’s needs):
Medication
Spare underwear/ clothing for accidentsr
Drink
Healthy snack
Small handheld visual schedule (2 or 3 pictures in a sequence with end one being picture of home)
Comfort toy for when anxiousr
Communication aid if need/ use oner
Independent play toys for when you need to keep self busyr

Deal with behaviours and set limitsr
Even though you are out you must still set boundaries and limits so that your child can respect them, enjoy being out and get the most benefit from the outing in a safe way. Some children will test you when out and push their limits to get their own way. For some parents, this can be embarrassing when out but you will be helping your child a lot by sticking to your boundaries and limits. In the long run this will make your outings more pleasurable as your child learns to respect limits given.
Keep it positive
Going on an outing should be a fun thing (depending on where you are going i.e. doctors’ appointments are not fun!) The way you feel about the outing will be projected on to your child(ren); if you feel anxious or nervous, unhappy about going out don’t expect your child to be full of joy that you are going out they will pick up on your feelings and you could experience resistance if you are putting those sorts of negative feelings out there. Speak positively about the outing, and feel good about it, because you are prepared for all sorts of things.
Give a functional role or purposer
Sometimes kids get bored when on an outing because it can be a long day or it loses purpose for them, so ensure that they are involved, having a role in the day whether it’s being in charge of a bag to participating in the activity, whatever that may be, make it appropriate for your individual child.
Recognise when it is too much to processr
If it does get too much for your child, create a safe, quiet and comfortable non stimulating area for your child to self-regulate and have a break from all the extra processing they need to do when out and about. Remember that you can always go home, you don’t have to stay out if it is all too much for you or your child. Generally if you or your child is having a difficult time, keep the outing short and develop this over time until you feel more comfortable out.