Travelling with children might get "emotional" and "difficult", but is not entirely impossible.

That's according to psychotherapist and author Stella O'Malley, who was speaking to The Pat Kenny Show to share her best tips for travelling with young children.

The best way to manage demands is to ensure that each member of the family gets one thing they want during the day, Ms O'Malley revealed.

"If you have a day all for the kids, your partner might be furious or you might be furious – vice versa if it's all adult stuff with museums and stuff, put in a nice child-friendly meal in the middle or an ice cream," she said.

"I do think people have very high expectations over holidays and think that it's all going to be fabulous, and underestimate what it's like when it goes wrong," she said.

"It can go very wrong and there can be huge fights and it can get very emotional."

'Too strange'

Ms O'Malley recommends parents of very young children not veer too far away from what they are comfortable with.

"You're better not to go too far and you're better not to go too strange," she said.

"You'll spend the whole time calming the child down because they're out of sorts."

Ms O'Malley said holidaying is all about "figuring out your own family's rhythm" and not comparing yourself to others.

"You're better off understanding what your family is good at and where you're happiest and where you're not, as opposed to trying to bludgeon the round peg into the square hole," she said.

Research

Ms O'Malley said it is vital for parents to check what resources resorts and hotels might offer before booking.

"Some resorts are absolutely brilliant, incredibly child friendly. They are happy to take the kids away for the day and bring them here and bring them there," she said.

"Actually, you've kind of divided it up so the adult is just lazing by the pool, and the kids are having the fun times that they want and you might get together at lunch and get together at the evening meal.

"It's actually genuinely attending to each person's needs for the holiday as opposed to squabbling over what you want to do."

Values

Values can differ between families – from behaviour to sleep, to diet – and Ms O'Malley said it is important to understand your family's boundaries before you are jetsetting anywhere.

"If you're going to clash, be aware of where you're going to clash and have some ground rules around the basics of that with what's important to you," she said.

"Everything else, you can just compromise and get over it. But, be aware of your neurosis. Be aware of the things you're uncompromising about."

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