5 Tips for Traveling with Kids
Traveling with children can be both rewarding and exhausting! We traveled just the two of us while the kids were babies, viewing those adventures as much needed time away, a marriage retreat of sorts. Now that the kids are older, we bring them with us on nearly every trip. Ages: 12, 10, 8, and 5. We’ve learned a few things about traveling with kids that have proven very valuable.
Are you ready for our BEST ADVICE???
1. Perspective
Many a trip with parents and children have gone awry because of misplaced goals and expectations. Our perspective is that family trips with children are for spending time together. Some of your greatest opportunities to create lifetime memories will present themselves on vacations. What you do with those opportunities is up to you. Yes, there will be time to lounge and read a book while they splash in the pool, but don’t stay there all day. Instead, engage. Be Present. I guarantee you that your children will complain, fight, or get bored much less when you are spending time with them than when you’re not. They’ll be too busy basking in your attention, which, by the way, is what they want most whether they’re willing to admit it or not.
perspective PLANNING tip
Sit down beforehand and comprise a list of realistic expectations based on the ages of your children. List their needs and yours, and work out on paper how the two can meet together. Give yourself a goal for intentionally interacting with each child throughout the trip. Pack a small notebook to write down what activity or conversation you had with each child and what you learned from that time together. Note: It doesn’t have to be at the expense of the rest of the family. It can be as simple as a conversation with one child while on a family hike, getting up early to play tennis or work out together in the morning before others wake, or taking a walk in the evening for 30 minutes.
2. Plan Extra Time for Everything
Plan for everything to take a little longer than it would if you were traveling by yourself. This includes getting out of the house to drive to the airport, checking in, maneuvering through security, boarding the plane, and every moment afterwards. Keep your schedule loose and leave room for adjustment. A flexible schedule will allow for the unexpected, as we both know that they’re bound to come. You’ll find yourself less stressed and able to have a happier trip if you plan for extra time at every turn.
Be sure to allow plenty of REST between activities. You might enjoy visiting two museums and three restaurants in one day, but your children probably won’t. For teens, it can be as simple as building in a break for shopping, ice cream, or 10 minutes of technology. For young children, finding a local park or green space to let off some of that energy may be all it takes.
Slow Down
On a daily basis, most of us have a very busy schedule. Getting kids to school, hurrying them to sports practices, and homework before bedtime are all normal activities that need to occur before a certain time.
A vacation needs to be a break from the hurry. Mentally, prepare yourself to relax and enjoy the journey. Building in time to do everything at a slower pace is the key!
Be Flexible
Have a general idea of how you would like your vacation to go, but don’t be thrown off if you have to change plans. Remember, the purpose of the trip is to be together and create memories. Unhappy parents = miserable children. No matter what happens, if you stay calm, they most likely will, too.
Traveling in the company of those we love is home in motion.
Leigh Hunt
3. Adventure
The value of outdoor adventures cannot be underestimated. The Adventure Family Project puts it like this, “It’s not just about thrills and spills or building a bank of rose tinted memories of childhood. Whether building a tree house, camping and stargazing, fishing on the canal, or exploring the local environment on foot or by bike; active adventures bring real health and developmental benefits. When children are helped and allowed to experience risk, even in a semi-controlled way, it helps develop their ability to deal with it and builds self-confidence. It encourages them to think for themselves and develops their resilience. It readies them for dealing with the risks and uncertainties that are part of the big wide world.”
Vacations are a great time to try something NEW and CHALLENGING. Have fun with your children. Be a kid again, and you won’t believe the amount of bonding you’ll do in the meantime.
adventure PLANNING tip
Take time beforehand to have a family meeting and determine what kind of adventures your children would like to go on. While on vacation, keep your eyes open for spontaneous escapades that may present themselves. Here’s more tips on Planning A Family Vacation.
peter pan
Would you like an adventure now, or should we have our tea first?
4. Wake up! It’s food o’clock.
If I had a dollar for every time my child said he/she was hungry, I’d be rich! With four kids, staying on budget while feeding all those mouths takes serious attention. Here are the ways we help our family stay happy and fed on trips:
- SNACK BAGS. We buy large quantities of packaged snacks at Costco a week before we leave. A few days out, we have a snack packing party. Each child gets a gallon size bag to pack their favorite snacks in. Write their name in sharpie on the bag. These bags are kept in their own backpacks.
- REFILL SUPPLIES. Throughout the trip, we buy more snacks at local grocery stores for each child to replenish their snack bag at the beginning of each day. We keep the large stash in the hotel room or car. Don’t forget to refill water bottles each morning, as well. Buy some fun local snacks that they don’t always eat to experience the culture while traveling.
- EXTRA ITEMS: Include a small bottle of sanitizer, travel pack of wipes, extra smaller ziplock bags, and pack of gum in each snack bag.
- MEALS: Make sure to enjoy local food wherever you go, but opt for the more local restaurants instead of the touristy ones. Don’t be embarrassed to order adult meals and share between the kids. Also, look online to see if any restaurants offer kids eat free options. Opt for grabbing food at the grocery store to eat outdoors or on the road or cook your own meals, when possible. Sometimes, we snack through lunch and eat at a restaurant for an early dinner, then grab ice cream to share to stay on budget.
- WATER BOTTLES. Purchase each child their own designated water bottle to be used on the trip. It must be empty to go through security. Once on the plane, simply ask the flight attendant to fill up the water bottle for you. My younger children love the water bottles that can mist.
5. Packing
I love to travel, but HATE to pack!! It’s all the little details and the fact that I want everyone to coordinate that has to potential to send me over the edge. In order to compensate for these difficulties, I developed a plan for packing that works quite nicely. Here it is:
Pack in Advance!! What I mean by this is pull out the bags or suitcases two weeks in advance. Stare at them empty for a few days and allow your anxiety to subside slowly. lol. But seriously… I have a goal for everyone to put one outfit in their bag each day until they’re packed, finishing two days before we leave. So, if we’re going on on a 5 day trip, we start packing a week before we leave. Ideally, bags are packed and in the car one day before we leave.
Why pack early? This gives you time to realize that your white t-shirt is grungy and you need to buy a new one with time to do that. It also relieves the anxiety that happens when you’re running late and still trying to pack, which normally results in you inevitably leaving something behind.
Use a Packing List. There are tons of online lists that you can access and edit depending on your destination. Bottomline, it’s a must to use a list and who doesn’t love checking things off? Also, do the research to find those travel hacks for wherever you’re going and put them on the list, too. (Baby powder to get sand off at the beach, etc.)
Packing Cubes. These are an organizational life savers, especially with kiddos! We use packing cubes for every trip, whether it’s 2 weeks or just a weekend. How it works for us: each child is given one packing cube to pack their clothes. Teenagers will need more room. Clothes are rolled to maximize space. Then, packing cubes are either put in one suitcase or each child puts the cube in their backpack. The packing cube is essentially a clothe zipper bag with a handle. The beauty of these is that kids can take their packing cube out of their backpack and leave it in the hotel or car, allowing the backpack to then be used for a daypack for water bottle and snacks.
The Backpack. Each child needs a backpack suited to their size. This backpack is their responsibility throughout the trip and should carry the following:
Water bottle and snacks
A device and headphones for long flights
A book, notebook, pen or pencil.
Extra outfit or clothing for layering. ie: light jacket
Lip balm, sanitizer, small bag of wet wipes
Travel pillow or small travel blanket for long trips or flights
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Thanks for these! We have three lIttles, so these are so helpful!
You are most welcome! So glad we could be of help.