Anyone who has ever travelled with babies or toddlers knows how challenging it can be. Whether you are travelling by air or by land, it’s important to be prepared. Below are time-tested travel tips that will make the distance between point A and point B a lot more manageable.
An Extra Change of Clothes (for all!)
Motion sickness is a real thing. If your child isn’t used to travelling, turbulence or a bumpy road can do a number on a sensitive tummy. It only takes one time for your little one to vomit on themselves (or you) to learn this lesson forever. I’ll never forget the story a friend of mine relayed to me about the horror of having to sit through a solid three hours on an airplane soaked in urine from her daughter’s diaper that had overflowed. That story was enough to ensure we all have a change of clothes handy from now on when traveling just in case.
Small snack packages
Snacks pull double duty on an airplane. Not only do they keep little mouths occupied, but swallowing their food every few minutes can also help to alleviate pressure in their ears caused by high altitudes. Breast or bottle-feeding will serve the same purpose. My favourite snacks to carry when travelling are dehydrated fruit such as berries and banana chips, trail mix, dried cereal, or homemade granola bars. Choosing healthy options will keep your kids from becoming too squirmy while they are confined to a small space and the inevitable sugar crash that is sure to follow.
Busy Bags
These can be made at home with easy to gather materials. If you’ve got a brown paper bag lying around, fill it up with notepads or mini-colouring books, crayons or mess free markers, play dough, or small sticker books. These are things that are easy to travel with and easy enough to occupy your little ones in confined spaces.
Individually Wrapped Presents
It’s as easy as hitting up your local dollar store to gather a few compact treasures. Gift wrap each one individually and store them somewhere easily that is accessible on your travels. Take out one present every hour for each of your children to unwrap. It will give them something to look forward to each hour along the way, and is sure to keep their attention for at least a portion of the time in between.
And if all else fails…
Embrace Technology
Listen, we’ve all heard the warnings about too much screen time, especially for young kids. On the other hand, there are times in life that for the sake of everyone’s sanity it makes sense to bend the rules. Chances are that when you finally get to where you are going, the kids will be so active and engaged in holiday activities that they won’t see a screen again until the trip home. My son particularly loves to look through photos of family members and pictures of himself with his friends. So go ahead, hand the kids whatever i-device will keep them seated and relatively quiet for the trip. When parents and kids are able to arrive at their destination in a calm, relaxed state of mind, everyone wins!
What about you? What tried and true travelled tips have you used when travelling with young ones.
XO The Good Enuf Mommy
Tiffany Austin is a mom, a wife, writer, and educator living in Canada. Tired of never feeling “good enough” as a new mom, she began a blog to encourage other moms to feel confident and empowered in their own decisions. Her blog, The Good Enuf Mommy, includes everything from helpful parenting advice to product recommendations aimed at making the lives of moms just a little bit easier.
