Tips For When You Travel With Kids

Spring break, summer vacation or anytime you Travel With Kids a few tips to make the adventure easier are always appreciated. Whether it’s your first time or tenth traveling, there is something we can all learn to make the vacation less stressed and more enjoyable.

Travel Necessities when You Travel with Kids

My number one tip (for just about everything) is to Pre-Plan. The best way to have a fun and comfortable family vacation is to pre-plan, that way you are prepared for whatever situation may arise. Think back on other outings, what items do you wish you had packed?

We’ll start the list with a few items to purchase in advance of your trip that are good to have on hand. Listed below are a few items you might not think of that will come in handy when traveling with kids.

Keep Them Occupied and Organized

Start with items to keep the kids occupied. Busy kids won’t be bored kids. Always be a step ahead of their boredom level. It’s great to have lots of activities to keep the kids busy, but it’s just as important to have it organized. Clutter in the car is stressful at so many levels.

It’s easy to stay organized if you designate a 3 ring binder for each child. Add a few pencil pouches in the binder to store writing tools and others can even hold cards and small games. Consider also including a few clear plastic binder sheets with pockets (Dollar Tree). Another simple way to organize in a binder is with gallon sized baggies. Just punch 3 holes on the long end and include them in the binder. This way kids can stay organized by keeping track of any brochures they may pick up during their travels.

• Crayons, mechanical pencils and a highlighter (works the best for word search printouts.)
• Paper, game printouts.
• Deck of cards.

On The Go

Items to have when you are on the go. For sight-seeing or a day at a theme park, the following items should be added to a backpack.

• Band-Aids: Carry a few with you, they can be a life saver for an uncomfortable shoe or a small mishap.
• Antiseptic hand gel or pre-packaged hand wipes: Perfect for quick clean up.
• Folded tissues and/or napkins: Store a few of each, folded up in a baggie as they will stay much cleaner and more organized this way.
• Sun screen, chap stick, insect repellent: Good to have on hand for the unexpected side trip. Sunburns and bug bites have added misery to many a family vacation.
• Zip lock bags: These always come in handy! So many uses; collecting shells, wet clothes, keeping phones dry during a rain storm, storing leftover food or snacks….
• Always keep a good clear photo of your child on your phone, just in case you get separated from them in a crowed area.

Overnight Stays

A few items that come in handy when staying at a hotel.

• A rubber door stop can provide extra level of security for a hotel room door.
• Small plug-in nightlight to help find the bathroom in the middle of the night. Some children might also like to have a mini flashlight nearby in case they get frightened or confused in the darkness.
• Multi-plug socket to keep all rechargeable items in one place. Now that most family members have their own rechargeable devices, this will deduce the chance of forgetting a device or a charging cord.

Keep In The Car

Mostly for comfort the following items keep in the car will be a lifesaver for keeping the kids (and adults) from mini melt-downs. For quick and easy access, keep the following weather related items in a designated plastic storage container.

• Sun glasses, hats and/or visors are pretty much a necessity for any outdoor adventures. This may be a give for most of us, but also consider having backup items as well.
• A light weight wind breaker or jacket. If you are traveling out of town, weather conditions might not be what you are used to. Evenings temperatures may drop and a little extra protection will be appreciated (or at least limit the whining.)
• Umbrella, rain poncho for unexpected showers.
• A small blanket or even a beach towel are good to keep in the car for an impromptu picnic, or visit to a splash pad.
• An extra copy of birth certificates, photo id, travel reservations, airline tickets. What you should have will depend on where you are traveling. These documents can also be scanned and emailed to you or kept in cloud storage.