I am prefacing this post by saying I’m the farthest thing from a travel expert. So consider this post with a grain of salt. I’m just a mom, and a relatively “new” one since I only have an almost three year old and a five month old. Oh and I also have a difficult time traveling due to anxiety. But, because I don’t particularly enjoy traveling and because I have anxiety, when I’m traveling with kids especially, I’m all about making things as easy as possible.
Investing in the right “gear” upfront can make traveling easier and, in my opinion, it’s all worth the money because it makes traveling go so much smoother. There’s enough to worry about!
This isn’t an exhaustive list– but it’s things that have definitely made our lives easier while traveling with kids. I try to keep things as simple as possible and making sure that we’re bringing is essential to making things smoother. We can forgo a lot of things and, in fact, I find that having fewer things does make for an easier travel day.
TIPS FOR TRAVELING WITH KIDS
AIRPLANE ACTIVITIES
My strategy for flying with kids it to keep it simple!!! There are countless videos and articles on social media about how to travel with kids and all these things you need to pack to keep them occupied. Honestly, the fewer things the better. Less choices = a win. And avoid anything that’s messy, hard to clean up, or distracting/annoying for other people on the flight. My son is almost three now so he carries his own activities in his backpack!
My toddler doesn’t use iPads at home or restaurants, but we make an exception on planes which makes it extra special. These headphones are affordable and work well and have held up nicely– even after being thrown in tote bags and backpacks.
These spinners were a gift when I had my first son and they remain a favorite. Three years later and he still loves them. Great for chewing on for babies and they suction to the window or tray table for lots of entertainment. They’re also small so they don’t take up too much room in a carry on.
I stole this idea from a friend. These drawing tablets are like magic! It’s easier to use than pulling out crayons and markers on a flight plus zero mess. Bonus: the pen is attached to the tablet so you won’t have to get on the ground to crawl around to find it.
Skip the over-the-top snacks and bring one of these. We typically get a little meal and snack before a flight from Starbucks (egg bites + a banana) and a little box of Cheerios to eat on the plan. The key for snacks in my opinion is to find things, like the Cheerios, that take forever to eat without loading your child up with sugar. My three year old son will pick at the Cheerios, after his egg bite meal, for an entire three hour flight. The key here is the snack container to avoid messy Cheerio spills. Also fewer options = less opportunity for meltdowns.
CAR ACTIVITIES
My husband and I almost always choose to roadtrip when our kids are sleeping. At least for now, they’re still young and nap so we mostly try to drive while their either napping or after their bedtime. When our oldest son is awake for a little bit, we have a couple of tricks up our sleeves.
This is like one of my biggest mom hacks, I LOVE listening to audiobooks and realized one day I could look up audiobooks for my son to listen to too. I either find one to stream or one to download audiobooks through our library card. On Spotify there are also some playlists of “podcasts” where people to read children’s books (but just prescreen them because some have not the best production quality).
Huge fan of our Toniebox at home and they actually work well for traveling with kids too! Especially when we want to listen to our own things up front, our son is able to control his own screen free entertainment!
SLEEPING ESSENTIALS
If you only buy ONE THING from this post… MAKE IT THESE BLACKOUT SHADES! I cannot tell you how amazing they are and I will not be traveling with kids without them now. They are affordable and work. The panels have a ton of suction cups so they attach right to the windows. The shades also fold up super small and take up barely any space in your luggage– and the space they do take up is 100% worth it. This is a new addition to my travel arsenal.
I regret not registering for the Slumberpod. I resisted it because it just felt like one more thing to pack, but after a couple of trips with early wake ups and rough naps, I knew we were going to need the Slumberpod. One of my friends swore by it and she was not wrong! 10/10 recommend for traveling wtih kids.
This travel crib has been amazing for us. It sets up so quickly and, most importantly, folds down super tiny. It’s easy to lug and stows away easily.
I’m adding this here because I can’t tell you the number of times I have forgotten to pack travel crib sheets. I have had to overnight sheets! They are a must-have for a travel crib.
CARSEAT/STROLLER TRAVEL SYSTEMS
This is our favorite travel stroller. It works for infants (if you have the Nuna Pipa car seat, you can attach it to the stroller without extra attachments!) and kids up to 50 pounds. The actual stroller is super light and collapses with the push of one button. Great for trips where you don’t want a full size stroller and also nice to push through airports.
Infant Car Seat Bag + Toddler Car Seat Bag
When we bring our car seats on airplane trips, it’s KEY to have travel bags with a backpack carrier feature!
I recently purchased this travel stroller bag and it’s been a game changer. Especially when gate checking the stroller. This one fits the TRVL and also has the backpack straps which makes it SO easy to carry. (To fit the TRVL, you just have to detach the belly bar and fold the leg rest but the bar still fits in the bag for storage.
Not that this is specific for traveling with kids, but including it because I do get a lot of questions about what car seat we have. I got the Nuna Pipa RX for my oldest and now I’m using it for our youngest again too. In our car, we use the base but when traveling, this car seat is great because you can use it in any car with just a seatbelt.
I bought this car seat specifically for travel. It’s safe and slimmer/lighter than our main convertible car seat. I will say, if you’re planning on bringing this onto the airplane, you might have a hard time getting it to fit in a basic economy seat. Might be better in an economy plus (or higher class) seat.
This has been my go-to baby carrier and it’s a must bring on a trip. Even if I have my stroller with me, I always have the carrier too. You never know when you’re going to need to strap the baby onto you to free up your hands. (Here’s my full review on the Wildbird Carrier.)
PERSONAL ITEMS
As far as personal items go, I like to bring a boat and tote as my personal carry on! Especially as a mom, it fits a ton but can be shoved under a stroller and doubles as a diaper bag when you get to where you’re going.
These are great to organize your things and I always try to pack an extra empty one for anything that gets spilled on, too. This isn’t specific to traveling with kids– I’m just a big fan of little bags within bags to keep things organized and handy.
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I love the practicality of all the items! Thanks for sharing!
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Super specific comment ahead: I loved audiobooks as a kid or as I called them “books on tape” lol. I listened to every Ramona Quimby tape until they wore out! Some suggestions (probably when the boys get a little bigger) are the series of Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins, Ralph S. Mouse all by Beverly Cleary. I believe they are all read by Stockard Channing which is so good! Charlotte’s Web but the version read by the author E.B. White specifically! Lastly the version of A Secret Garden which was done by BBC Radio (full cast of voice actors).
Ha! Quite an exhaustive list but they are all so great and if you have to listen to them too they might as well be good books! 😁
Great suggestions! Thank you!
Ha! My travel books on tape also included old radio shows like Abbott and Costello. My kid wasn’t too much older than Jack when podcasts became his favorite – Wow in the World was an early favorite.