If you are taking your young children on vacation with you, or simply trying to get away for the weekend and don't want to employ a full-time babysitter for two entire days, then you are going to end up in a hotel with your younger children. This can be difficult for both you and your children—they will have to deal with older people who don't want them to make a ton of noise, and you will have to deal with their noise. Here are some suggestions for dealing with this age gap and making sure that your vacation goes smoothly.

1. Let Them Bring Toys

First, make sure that they have enough things to do to occupy themselves while you are all in the hotel room together. Make sure that they bring toys that require action, such as smashing plastic trucks into plastic dinosaurs, as well as quieter activities, like picture books. By allowing your children to bring toys, you will show them that their entertainment is entirely up to them and does not depend on you.

2. Stay Organized

Assign each of your children a drawer in the hotel. Tell your children that they are in charge of making sure that each toy is put back in their drawer when they are not playing with it and if you find it, it goes in the parents' drawer for a few hours or for the night. This will help you keep the room less cluttered.

Also make sure that you bring a pop up hamper to put all of your dirty clothes in. This will allow you to keep your clean and dirty clothes separate, as well as ensure that you don't have to deal with excess clutter.

3. Stop Arguments Before They Happen

If you have more than one child with you, try to stop arguments before they happen. If you anticipate that your children are going to fight over which child gets to sleep on which side of the bed, make sure that you let them know that they will switch every night, toss a coin for it, or have the oldest child pick. If you have to make a lot of arbitrary rules while travelling, that's fine. You're in a different place and this will call for different parenting situations. Keep the peace and make sure that your children listen to what you have to say.

For more information, talk to the hotel like Main Street Hotel about potential activities that your children can participate in.