Question of the Day: Share Your Best Tips for Traveling with Children

I always make sure to pack plenty of snacks and drinks. I find that my kids are much happier if they are not hungry or thirsty. For plane trips I just packed empty sippy cups and filled them up after we went through security. I also bought my ipod touch so my three year old could watch movies on the plane. He did not make a peep the entire trip. It was a bit harder with the 18 month old but we packed some small toys that he loves. Magna tiles are the best invention ever. They pack up to a small size and the boys can play for hours.

Get metal lunch boxes with magnets or other magnetic toys. It is contained and the kids have fun sticking the magnets on the lunch box. Lots of paper for drawing and markers or crayons. I agree with Michelle, snacks are key. For traveling around the States in a Winnebago, find toys that are new to the kids. This adds to the excitement.
.-= Jill´s last blog ..Date Night =-.

we always employ the “you can take what you can carry” rule for the children. we’ve had our daughter carry an age-appropriate backpack or bag since she was about three (maybe 2 1/2) and it has made her incredibly efficient about the things that she needs when we are away from home. as she got a little older, she was responsible for her backpack of accessible goodies and hauling her wheely suitcase. babies are a bit of a different story as you’ll have to do the packing for them.
.-= aneelee´s last blog ..bread challenge update: getting better at this =-.

Most of our big trips have been car trips and we always had a bag of stuff for each kid–usually backpacks that they could carry. Crayons, coloring books, paper and pencils, a book to read or look at, a card game (My kids loved Rugrat Uno), sunglasses, a favorite stuffed animal and their blankie. As they get older they still bring a book to read, an electronic game and of course their Ipods. We also played a lot of games too. We looked for different states license plates, had them look our for landmarks and even sometimes for exits. Snacks and drinks are a must too. And even though it sometimes took us a while to get where we were going we stopped at rest stops for bathroom breaks and to walk/run around. My friends would complain that their children didn’t travel well. My husband and I were lucky that our kids did–they never had a choice really since he and I like to go, go, go.

We flew to Romania with a 10 year old and a 2 year old. I also flew home from China with a 2 year old. Small snacks are a must! Also, Color Wonder markers and paper were great for the young ones. Small Ziploc bags packed with a few toys and/or snacks that you give out a various times during the trip. It doesn’t have to be something special..even $ Store toys…it’s just something different and new to occupy the time.
I agree that if you can take something for them to watch movies on it is a lifesaver, or rather a sanity saver!
I had a backpack with tons of compartments. It weighed a lot but it was so worth it to have everything easily accessible. If you have a child under 3 or who is lightweight, you might consider getting a wrap to wear the child on your hip while making connections. It helped me a lot!

Never flown with the kids but we do lots of car trips as my parents live out of state. I make the trip a lot by myself with the kids (4 kids oldest is 6) but they are used to traveling so that helps. Honestly, our biggest sanity saver is the DVD player. Our kids don’t watch TV at home and we only allow the DVD on big trips (longer than 2 hours) so it’s a real treat and they are quiet most of the way. Except for the baby of course, nothing you can do about that but pray they’ll sleep:) We also keep a frisbee and beach ball in the glove compartment. When we stop at a rest area it’s easy for the kids to get a quick game going that allows them to burn off some energy. Another tip which I often have to convince myself of is it’s always easier to pack a lunch than to do fast food . I hate taking the time to get this ready right before we leave, but once we’re on the road I’m always so thankful I did. The kids never want to eat when we stop for fast food and it’s a waste of money not to mention time. We do a lot better handing food back in the van and then stopping to go to the bathroom/play.

One of our children has a sensory processing disorder, which is challenging when it comes to trips in particular. Some things, in addition to snacks, toys and movies that have helped when traveling are keeping their routine (meals and bedtimes) as normal as possible, having quiet/nap time for everyone and good communication about the trip plans. Being a big “planner”, we have always scheduled each day of all our trips. When we went to Disney, for example, we told the girls which park we would be at each day and if there were any other pre-scheduled activities (meals/shows). Each night we would talk about the one thing we wanted to do the next day. We made sure we did those four things (there are four of us in our family). I have learned it is good to plan your days, but not too tight. Sometimes some of the best memories come from spontaneous moments. And, no matter what age you or your children are, make sure to have a quiet or nap time near or around lunch. This will make everyone happier! Plus, I have also learned to go with the flow. At one airport, there was an empty boarding area. We let our girls play musical chairs for the 2 hours before our flight boarded. They were happy. We laughed. And no one was bothered. Other families with young children actually joined us. Plus, it is a great memory I will always have. Enjoy your trips!

When traveling either by air or car…….Never use this time to wean your child from a bottle!! Baby bottles are the best way to “pacify” a fussy toddler or baby. Even if you have already weaned them, bring juice or water and use a bottle. This helps to quiet the child, calm them, keeps their ears from getting plugged up in take off and decent in air travel. Also, FORGET THE BABY SEAT ON AN AIRLINE!! Hello!! You want a child who is going to fus and cry the whole flight?? Just strap it into a car seat! Forget the car seat. Just hold the baby on your lap and nurse him or bottle feed him. He will be quiet and will quickly fall asleep saving you from the embarrassment and torture of a crying fussing baby the whole flight! Don’t bring toddler cups! The liquid ends up spilling everywhere and does nothing to keep your child happy or quiet!

Now that DD is 6, she enjoys her DVD player, her leapster, drawing, and playing puzzle games on my phone. And we hope the baby sleeps.
When DD was around 3, she got a lip gloss and a package of juicy fruit gum at WalMart and she was occupied for the two hour ride home!

Zip lock bags. My son and I did 20 flights before his first birthday (as well as two long bus trips and two very long train trips) about half of them alone. We take the car seat to the gate sometimes if there is a chance of an extra seat, but otherwise he is a lap baby or sits in an extra seat during the flight. Mostly his entertainment consists of food and throw away “toys” (ie cups and spoons). I pack everything in zip locks so I can find what I am looking for quickly and repack it after security (we flew internationally just after the Christmas bomb thing, so lots of bag checking). I always back extra clothes, cloths, diapers etc since you never know what is going to happen.

We’ve brought our then 2 year old home from Russia to the US and in the 2 years he’s been home with us we’ve made several more trips within the US.
I do not believe in letting every child have their own activity bag/backpack for the planeride. If she has 4 kids, it’s way too much to keep track of, both through security and thought the trip in the Winnebago. I’d pack a single activity/snack bag and have the parent dispense the contents as needed

My suggestions for their age ranges include; Play Dough, sketch pad with crayons in a Ziploc bag, several small Matchbox cars (or the like), a roll or two of blue tape (they type you use to edge with when you paint) Kids love ripping off small pieces, taping it to the airplane tray table, making designs, etc (and cleanup is pretty easy) a homemade “Eye Spy ” bottle (small soda bottle filled with either sand or birdseed and 10-15 items like change, bday candle, crayon, Q tip (make sure to Superglue the cap on to the bottle). Avoid anything with multiple small pieces (like Legos and puzzles)

We love traveling. I have a 4 year old and a 19 month old. We usually do road trips from Maryland to Maine. About 12+ hours of traveling at a time. I pack enough clothes for a week even if we are gone for longer, because I can usually find a place to wash enough clothes to last us the rest of the trip. For road trips the kids like the DVD player. We have it set up so that my husband and I can listen to music in the front and the kids watch a movie in the book. We also all love books on CD. Most recently I just purchased the Chronicles of Narnia for this year’s trip. I bought my son a small lap desk that holds crayons and coloring books. It hangs off the back of my seat and the lap part is made of sturdy cardboard that is easily crushed if we were ever in a car accident (heaven forbid!). My son fell in love with a mini etch a sketch and played with it for hours last year.

We recently took a 15 hour trip to Maui from Maryland. I downloaded a bunch of children’s shows on my ipod nano. The kids loved it. I wish I hadn’t packed the portable DVD player because the nano is all they needed. I also packed a travel magna doodle. Hours of fun and no clean up. I just wish I had bought two! We also surprised the kids with small pillow pets in their seats. They are stuffed animals that can also be used as a travel pillow. Perfect. It also helped that I packed snacks for the plane trip because we had little time to buy food between plane transfers and I didn’t want to buy the expensive airplane snacks. Popcorn, fruit snacks, and fruit leather were a big hit, in addition to peanut butter sandwiches

I lived in Hong Kong for four years and every summer we would come back to the US for 8 weeks during the summer. I had 3 kids, two under 10 and a newborn who flew her first 28 hour flight at 2 months old. I know travel with less, more is not always better, have a big enough stroller to carry the baby and everything else. For the two older kids the video games always worked well and the tv’s on the plane. These days Ipods are worth the investment, for both music and movies and so easy to travel with, instead of carrying around a heavy laptop. For the baby, they don’t need much, diapers, juice, formula and several changes of clothes, and if they are older (toddler age) mine actually enjoyed read aloud story books using headphones, playdough and benaroos.Just things that are easy to pack and don’t take up much space at all! Enjoy your trip.

We traveled a couple of years back to the UK with five kids.. under se7en!!! We had a fabulous time. Firstly travel really light we literally had what we wore and a change of clothes and we rinsed out clothes and hung them on the radiator at night. Seriously there were two adults and five kids to hold we had to be able to handle our luggage from the terminal onto the train, onto the tube and a couple of blogs to the hotel… really – travel light!!! Ours were so wide eyed with awe they didn’t need any toys!!! Looking at museums and parks all day meant they were totally tired out at night and we all slept like dreams!!!
The best preparation was to practice walking about town with our kids and make sure they they were never further than a hand a way… we “trained for London” with longer and longer walks and their daypacks with their sweater and their water bottle and their snack – all the while staying close to us. We made it a game and they became really good at it!!!
Here’s a post I wrote a while back on preparing for London (anywhere really) with kids…
http://www.se7en.org.za/2008/07/07/if-you-were-going-to-london-for-a-few-days-what-would-you-do
.-= se7en´s last blog ..This Week (17 May) at Se7en… =-.

For flying, check the TSA website for exact rules on security and liquids (esp. if you have to take formula or breast milk or larger amounts of liquids through security). here is a link: http://www.tsa.gov/311/index.shtm

Easy shoes for your family to wear – they have to take off shoes to go through security too.

Bring a light weight stroller (with baskets if possible) to gate check. We used this a TON last summer when my husband and I went to Mexico with our 3 and 1 year old daughters. We borrowed a lightweight, small folding double side-by-side stroller from a friend who had twins. Even though my 3 y.o. could walk, it was just nice for her (actually both of them) to have a “place” to be comfortable and safe in while we traipsed all over multiple airports and waited in lines. We also brought an Ergo baby carrier, just in case. It came in handy when my little one was fussy and needed some lovin’, but I still had my hands free.

I agree with traveling light. I overpacked for this trip, and it was a pain in the neck. Leave room in your carry-on bags to shove the layers of clothes and snacks. Leave room in your checked bags so you don’t have to squeeze them tightly shut.

Also, lower the expectations. We normally wouldn’t have gone to Mexico with a 3 and 1 year old. But, it was for my sister-in-law’s wedding, and we, of course, had to be there. I really looked at it as not a vacation for me, but I’d do the same things I’d do at home (food prep, baths, nap time, bed time, etc.) just in a different place. We actually enjoyed the time, and really just relaxed and swam and had fun with our girls and family.

I’m interested to read more! Happy traveling!
.-= Erin´s last blog ..everything to someone =-.

I make little surprise bags for my kids. In paper lunch bags, I put a few small things like post-it notes, a piece of hard candy, a Hershey kiss, a toy from kids’ meals, a small sheet of stickers, etc. Cheap things and/or things from around the house. I put 4-6 things in each bag and staple them shut. Every 1.5-2 hours, or as needed, I pull out a bag for each of them. They look forward to opening their bag and finding their surprises. They are cheap entertainment. And they are a good way to break up the monotony. These can easily buy us 20-30 (or more!) minutes of entertainment.
.-= Tricia´s last blog ..Dealing with Swimsuits =-.

I found it a huge help to pack entire outfits in large ziplock bags. Into a ziplock put shirt, pants, underwear, socks, hair accessories: one outfit for one kid. No more digging through everything to find the socks that go with the shirt! With the air squeezed out they take up no more room than the clothes alone and with multiple kids it makes changing a breeze.

Last year the kids (10, 4 1/2) and I did a 6 week road trip up the east coast from Virginia to Maine staying with family & friends along the way.

My kids and I researched different cities & states before the trip so they could have a say about what we saw along the way. We mapped the trip out and then they could follow along on a kid’s map that we had purchased.

I socked away books, coloring supplies, dollar store finds, yard sale steals for months so that they would have a small “box of entertainment”. If we did anythign like this again, I would wrap the treats and let them open them one at a time when necessary/before a meltdown.

We found a great children’s book series on audiobook that we could all listen to…Peter & the Starcatchers by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson…and I really did like the storylines.

We got “vacation loans” from the library so that we could keep books and DVDs for up to 8 weeks. We got age appropriate books on each state so that the 10 year old was required to read to us about the next city/state before we got there.

We discovered the “Time Traveler” program in Virginia that encouraged kids to get a passport and stamps throughout the state. Once completed and mailed in, they received a letter from the governor. This helped them get into some of our “educational” stops along the way.

My final tip is simply ringpops. I can’t explain why but we bought a bulk pack and it was the “special” treat that could turn anyone’s mood around and we shared them with folks along the way. Always brought a smile to someone!
.-= Holland Saltsman´s last blog ..Pappa Don’t Preach! =-.

All these ideas are great. I try to remember to pack (in my suitcase) a “coming home” bag (ziplock) for the airplane with snacks and one or two “new” entertainment toys, pens, paper, stickers. . I found that I was SO prepared to go, and coming home, when we are tired and “done” I wasn’t prepared at all! The snacks were all gone, toys scattered, lost, broken. . . Planning ahead has helped!

I often traveled with my kids(DD-6.5 & DS 2.5) on planes & in the car to Ohio to visit my family…by car this is about 9 hours.

1st. Plan the trip correctly. My kids were content looking out the window for about 30 minutes, so thats what we let them do. Then we have lunch packed and let the eat in the car another 30 minutes. If we’re lucky its around nap time and 1 or (cross your fingers) both of them take a nap…if we’re lucky 1.5 hours. Then we give them another snack. So before you know it we’re about 3 hours and ready for the first stop.

2nd. Say what you will about McDonalds but they have a trip planner that you can find McDonalds with playlands near your route. http://www.mcdonalds.com/content/us/en/restaurant_locator/restaurant_locationsresults.html?country=usa&method=search&primaryCity=19086&postalCode=19086
Sometimes the kids just need to move!!! I like to pack sandwiches, etc but sometimes we let them get happy meals and usually we would them get a bag of the small cookies or apple dippers. They burn of steam, you get a break.

3rd. New toy, whatever it is, make it new!

For planes the color wonder products are great, not only did my kids love that they got markers but I didn’t worry about the mess.

Good luck!
.-= Jessica´s last blog ..Free Neti Pot =-.