My husband and I agreed that we will not stop traveling in the future when we have kids. Many parents put aside going places and exploring the world when they have kids, but I feel the best education you can give your children is the experience of seeing the world. Yes, it’s definitely not as easy when you have to make frequent stops for diaper changes or try to keep their tantrums limited in public. But is it worth it? Definitely! Between my husband and I, we have 2 nieces and 6 nephews and as their favorite uncle and aunt 😉 , we have been with them and taken them to many places. My older bunch of the nieces and nephews often recall the trips they’ve taken with us!
Update: 3 nieces and 7 nephews!
From all of our experiences combined, I’ve gathered some tips for road trips and traveling with kids. Although this is a fair amount of hacks while traveling with kids, we don’t have any children of our own. We definitely by no means claim to be even close to experts on this matter and understand that it’s always easier said than done.
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1 Give yourself extra wiggle time. Something always comes up with little ones. Either they are hungry or they need to use the restroom or they are just not feeling their best at times. Whatever the reason is, you need to allow it to pass or take care of it before you can enjoy the rest of your trip. That means giving yourself extra time and calculating in extra long breaks throughout your trip. It also means that you can’t jam pack your schedule like you did when you traveled without children.
2 Pick your battles. When you’re on the road for a long period of time, even adults get cranky. Why do we think that a child can sit still for a long period of time in the car and be completely well behaved? Give the kids a break; let them sing and shout. As long as they are buckled in and safe while on the road, I would say give them a little time to get all that energy out. After all, they’re on vacation too!
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3 Let the children choose! Allow the children to be a part of the decision making during the trip. In order for your little ones to be excited about the trip, they have to feel like they got to do something they wanted. Now, I’m not saying ask them to make all the decisions. I’m saying figure out two really good options (that doesn’t make too much of a difference for you) and let them pick! No matter what they pick, it won’t make a big deviation in your plans and they feel like they got to do what they wanted to!
For example, it’s lunch time and the two fast food places close by are Chick-fil-A and McDonald’s. Let the child choose where they want to go!
4 Pack snacks and lots of it! When kids are bored, they want to snack. It’s not that they are hungry; they had probably just finished lunch 10 minutes ago. They just want to snack! Doesn’t snacking make us feel good too? The trick here is to pack healthy snacks for them to choose from. Don’t pack too many sugar filled treats, chips or candy; they will be bouncing off the roof after all these sugary snacks. Instead, mix in a few healthy choices!
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5 Wipes, tissue AND water. Whether you are traveling with kids (or pets!), having wipes, tissue and water in the car is super important! You never know when someone’s made a mess and you need to clean it up before it becomes a permanent stain. Yikes.
I consistently carry wipes with me when we have our pug traveling with us. Often, I use it to clean his face, nose or body after making a pit stop. Other times, I use it to clean his cage so that it’s free of dirt or dog hair!
6 More hands. Keep your hands free as possible and your load as light as you can. Any day out can feel like its too much when you have to carry a child, bags, water bottles, stroller and so on. Opt out for hand bags, backpacks and other options that keep your hands free. This is a also a much safer option when traveling with kids as you’ll probably need to quickly react to keep the kids out of danger.
7 Release the energy! Kids need to release their excitement and energy somehow. Hence, we can’t expect them to sit still properly or behave the same way adults do. They need the time and space to unleash all the energy stored up. If you are site seeing or touring a city, maybe there is a park nearby where the kids want to play. Allow them that time. After all, which kid would willingly pass an opportunity to play in the playground? Let them tire themselves out and have fun with less rules and expectations.
Here are a few things that might make your next road trip a bit more relaxing for you!
Munchkin Miracle 360 Sippy Cup
For toddlers, this is the perfect sippy cup. No leaks, no spills, no mess! If you’re not using this by now, you have some catching up to do! My little nephew used to carry this with him everywhere he goes!
Diaper Bag Travel Backpack
Need to store all the children’s things and your stuff into a bag and still look cool? Check out this stylish diaper bag! You can wrap this around your shoulder to keep your arms free. SO much better than the old hand bag options from back in the day!
BCOZZY Kids Chin Supporting Patented Travel Pillow
Kids often fall asleep for long periods and you need to protect their necks so that they don’t wake up with a strained neck (or worse, cranky!). This is a small, yet great option for traveling with little sleepy heads!
Car Backseat Organizer OR Backseat Organizer Holds Crayons Markers
This is another item that is great for young kids while traveling. Children often have a lot of things they need close by, such as their water cups, snacks, books, toys, etc. With something like this, it’s easy to keep everything together and organized. The car will stay clean and the kids, happy!
Regalo My Cot Portable Toddler Bed
Going on a few days of vacation with little ones can be a bit crazy! It’s hard to keep their routine and sleeping habits consistent while away from home. Packing something like a playpen/sleeping pack or portable toddler bed can come handy to keep the kids on schedule.
The whole point of this post is to encourage you to travel with children, even if that means some hassles and struggles during the journey. Kids will definitely remember trips with family much more than the hours of television they watched during summer months or the expensive toys they had growing up. Check out my Must Have Travel Items here for a few of my favorite things to have while traveling!
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