Holiday Traveling Pro-tips: Infants, Toddlers & School-Age Kiddos
Traveling with kids can be extremely stressful. Add to that traveling during the holidays and a global pandemic and you have a recipe for a lot of angst.
Here are 4 tips for specific age groups that I hope will make traveling a bit more seamless!
Traveling with infants:
Make sure to pack extra everything! Extra easy-to-change clothes (be prepared for the inevitable diaper blow out or spit up), diapers, and wipes. My favorite outfits are footed fleece pajamas that zipper up from the feet because they are warm and easy to change.
For breastfeeding parents, make sure to pack a comfy baby carrier so you can wear baby close to your chest and a stretchy nursing cover. Even if you don’t cover while nursing, the cover can be used to cover a baby's head while walking through security. This is especially important now that many people are choosing not to wear masks. Plus, being close to your chest will help regulate your baby’s temperature and heart rate since being around so many people can be stressful for baby, too.
Take lots of plastic garbage and ziploc bags for those diapers and clothes that will get messed up.
Bring lots of new toys and snacks.
Traveling with toddlers: (this is tricky because they want to run and move around)
Make sure to have new toys. You can wrap them individually so that the unwrapping is also a fun activity.
If you do screen time, make sure to download your child’s favorite shows at home. We love PBS kids and you can download episodes from the app so they are available even if you do not have access to Wifi. Consider kid-safe headphones that don’t allow the volume to go too high.
Pack lots of single serving snacks. We love SkinnyPop, Cheez-Its, and fruit leather.
Make sure to pack a potty-seat. We love the portable Oxo potty seat and liners (pro-tip, just go ahead and get the liners, regular grocery bags don’t work. We totally had a mess trying to be cheap).
Traveling with school aged kids:
Allow them to be bored! There is a lot of research to show that being bored is actually really important for brain development. Be prepared with lots of patience for the inevitable complaining and whining. Just tell yourself “it’s good for his brain, it’s good for her growth” and repeat it over and over.
Download several audiobooks or books on tape. We love Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, Akata Witch (this is a bit spooky so make sure to read about it first), and the Wings of Fire series.
Consider a new activity book based on what your child likes. Our nature-loving guy likes bug and animal books.
Let them curate a playlist for the family to enjoy the week before a road trip. And when they play it don’t complain! Try your best to listen thoughtfully.