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How Do You Travel with Kids?
This is the question. Travelling with kids is one of the toughest things to do. Before you had kids, you didn’t have to worry about anyone besides yourself (or maybe your significant other!).
There are so many uncertainties and variables when you are travelling with kids. You are taking them out of their normal routine and hoping for the best. This can be so stressful as a parent, especially the first couple times doing it.
Different types of travel can bring different difficulties from a car ride, where you have a little more control to a plane ride where you are essentially trapped with what you have. It also changes with traveling with one child vs two or more!
If you are gearing up for your first trip with kids, or your 10th and are just looking for some extra tips, here are some easy, practical tips for travelling with kids.
Plan travel during nap times
Travelling during naptime really helped to make it through longer car rides and plane rides. For the most part, the car seems to lull the kids to sleep, especially younger ones. The plane can be a little more tricky, especially if they are sitting on your lap. But I like to make sure I have all the essentials within reach before take off for a nap so I can settle them in pretty easy. If you are travelling by plane, these essentials are must haves in your diaper bag!
Bring Activities and Start Them Early
When we flew to Orlando with my daughter, she was into stickers big time. I brought a few different kinds and only brought out one at a time. This helped to keep her occupied for longer. Some of our other favorite activities are Water Wows, coloring books and crayons and Magic ink books. Most of these work well in car or train rides as well!
Bring Snacks and Drinks
It’s amazing how toddlers can get distracted by snacks. They love to play with them and eat them. There’s nothing like it! I always stock up (probably a bit TOO much!) on their favorites. Also, don’t forget drinks! If taking a flight, I have found that the airlines we’ve been on do not have milk. So if your kid loves their milk like mine do, grab some before boarding the plane.
Have Your Bag Handy
When flying, I always keep my bag of snacks, drinks and activities right under the seat with me as opposed to in the overhead bin. This way, when the kids are starting to get antsy, you are ready with the next thing to keep them occupied.
I do the same when traveling in the car – I keep a small cooler right by my feet or on the seat next to me with drinks and snacks handy. I also keep a bag with extra activities in arm’s reach. While you can stop the car if you need to, sometimes it’s just easier to push through and get to your destination!
Let Them Walk as Much as Possible Before
Letting the kids out of the safety of being strapped in a stroller and allowing them to walk around can seem daunting, but trust me, it’s for the best! Let them exert as much energy as possible before boarding that plane or getting in the car. That way (hopefully!) they will be ready for a nice, long nap for the trip! It will also help to have them sit still for a little longer if they have a little less energy.
Go with the Flow
This one might be the hardest, but is the most important to make your trip great! There are things that will inevitably not go as planned.
As opposed to be being disappointed, go with what happened and look for the memories! Try to turn a negative into a positive and don’t let the change throw a wrench in your whole vacation.
Travelling with kids is the one of the best ways to make some lasting memories. After all the stress, those memories will remain!
So there you have it, just a few family travel tips to help make your trips a little easier! What tips do you have?
Check out these other family travel posts you may enjoy!
Diaper Bag Essentials for Flying
totally agree with this- esp letting them walk as much as possible. we even stop and try to get our kids out at a park to get energy out and make it a bit easier for them!
Oh that’s a great idea!! Anything to tucker them out!
You’re spot on with this list! When you come prepared, it makes travelling with small kids enjoyable!
These are great tips! My toddler is a seasoned traveler. He is always more relaxed than I am! I always try to have one or two new toys that get revealed on a long flight. It usually keeps him happy and occupied for a little bit.
This is so great for when I take my daughter when she is older! But, I am taking her (she will be 4 months old) next month. Any tips on little babies on planes?? I am so nervous!
One thing I would say would be to have either a binky (if she uses one) for takeoff and landing to help keep her ears from popping. Feeding during that time helps too!
Now that my toddler is older, I’m going to have to try your activity suggestion. We have a six-hour flight to Vegas coming up and I’m dreading it since he’s older and easily bored these days.
I definitely agree with the nap time idea. It really helps. Having stories or fun songs to listen to is good too.
Thanks for sharing this helpful information. You are inspiring me to travel with kids. I love traveling to different places. But I was worried about travel with kids safe? Actually, I got a lot of information from your blog which you have written your blog. Review this article my confusion is clear, Thanks.
I am so grateful I found your post, You’ve really covered up almost all the possible tips that a beginner should follow while traveling with kids. My husband and I have been thinking of going on traveling with kids soon. Actually, I got a lot of information from your blog which can make our traveling much more relaxing and enjoyable. Thanks.
I’m so glad I was able to help!
Great article! Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I can totally relate I decided it was time to get over my fear of tour just this year. I did it in a bit of a backward way: I booked a backpacking trip for the end of this year. I figure there’s no better way for me to prepare for such a big adventure than to start a tour with kids, It was so great that I have two more planned and a few more in mind. Your tips make sense and you’re right that it’s very empowering to face our fears and take control of them. Yay for us!!!