Best Travel Tips with Toddlers

Let’s make it easier on you with these best travel tips with toddlers and kids!

Traveling with young children can be a challenge, especially on long trips in a car, airplane or train – it’s really hard for them to sit in one confined position for a long period of time. 

The trick to making traveling fun and exciting for children is to keep them entertained and their tummies full.

With boredom, comes restlessness, and with hunger comes crankiness.

A combination of this can mean an unpleasant trip, not only for the children, but for everyone traveling together.

If you take some time to prepare before embarking upon a long traveling venture, you might have a much happier experience. This post contains affiliate links.

 

Best Travel Tips with Toddlers:

7 Ways To Keep Children Entertained When Traveling

Keeping children entertained when traveling is easy with some pre-planning.

Children love to be busy seeing things and doing things, so making frequent stops if traveling by car can also be a great way to break up a long trip.

Be creative and think from your child’s perspective. After all, no one knows what your child loves more than you.

Pack Travel Bags

Pack a travel bag specific to each of your children.

Some important items to remember are your child’s favorite stuffed animal, blanket and toys.

Nothing comforts a child more than his or her favorite blanket and stuffed animal.

Just these items alone can make a big difference when traveling.

We never ever travel from home without making sure my son’s puppy is in the carry-on bag.

Try these delicious Cheerios Peanut Butter Bars!

Don’t Forget the Snacks

Include more snacks than you’ll think you’ll need and water in spill-proof containers for those in-between moments when your child may be suddenly hungry or thirsty.

If you’re traveling through the airport, pack empty water bottles and fill up once you get back security. 

This may help in keeping your child satisfied until the next available meal time.

Once our plane was diverted to a military base while we waited out a storm.

We were grounded for five hours!

I had packed enough snacks to feed an army.

Guess whose kids stayed relatively calm?

Mine!

So while you may think it’s crazy to overpack, you just never know.

These Star Wars activity books would be a hit!

Bring Along Activity Books

Purchase some portable travel trays, so each child has his or her own personal activity center.

Children can use these trays as tables when traveling.

Bring along new coloring books and other fun writing activity books that your child can draw, write and color in.

Remember to also bring the colored pens or pencils along.

The importance here is that these activity books are new.

The reason for this is that your child will be more excited and entertained with something new, than drawing books that have already been marked up.

Purchase Games Designed for Traveling

To avoid the crying or nagging of dropped toys or other items, purchase games and activity centers that are designed specifically for traveling.

These items will usually have pens attached by a string to an activity book and have magnetic pieces for games or puzzles.

By keeping everything within your child’s reach, and taking precautions for the unexpected, your child may have so much fun that he or she will not even realize how long you’ve been traveling.

Having a variety of different engaging toys and games are even great for children to enjoy together.

Hit the Dollar Store

Load up on cheap, inexpensive diversions at your local dollar store.

You can find everything from cheap toy cars to a new tiara.

Keep them hidden and pull out a new goody about every half hour.

It will keep them guessing and help you keep their attention on something other than how long it will take to get to your destination.

Pick up a few Disposable Cameras

Investing in a few disposable cameras can create hours of fun for children without the worry of it breaking or becoming damaged by an accidental drink spill, especially if you purchase the waterproof type.

Give each child a camera and ask him or her to take pictures of items that he or she has never seen before.

This makes it fun and can keep children occupied for hours.

Once you arrive at your final destination, have your child’s pictures developed so he or she can immediately see what kind of pictures were taken.

Younger children especially really enjoy taking pictures, so stocking up on a few disposable cameras can be a worthwhile investment.

Bring Along Electronic Items

Both older and younger children enjoy electronic items, such as an iPad, music player and handheld gaming systems.

Depending on the age of your child, a movie can easily deliver two hours of non-stop entertainment.

I know DVD players have helped us through many a long airplane ride.

And when we drove across country last summer, it kept the boys occupied for periods of time without asking, “Are we there yet?”

If you decide to pack along electronics, always remember to pack extra car chargers or batteries.

Don’t plan on finding a free outlet at the airport — they’re often already taken.

Like these best travel tips with toddlers? Find more fabulous parenting tips on Mommy Evolution!

9 Comments

  1. Thank you for another great post; I’m off on an adventure to France with The little one tomorrow; just the two of us for the first time (daddy’s on business and we’re going to see nanny and grandad France). I thought of quite a few of these, but I’m going to stock up on extra snacks now 🙂

    1. So smart! I can’t stress that you can never (NEVER) have too much food. You just don’t know when you’re going to get stuck. Good luck on your trip and have a fabulous time. And be sure to post photos when you get back. I’ve always wanted to visit France but haven’t made it there… yet.

  2. I am so with you on the overpacking snacks and having an activity bag for each kid. Sure came in handy when my biggest kid (aka Superhubby) got hungry too.

    Thanks for sharing with Small Victories Sunday. Hope you link up again next week. Pinning and sharing!

    1. Ha! Tanya. You’re so right! We do have to pack for that “extra” kid we have while traveling ;D

  3. Traveling with little ones definitely adds another dimension. Good suggestions on planning ahead for a smooth trip!

  4. Thanks for great tips and advice to parents on how to travel with kids without losing mind in the process.It is really very difficult to keep them in their seat.

    1. We traveled about every 2 months for the first couple of years after my son was born. Crazy but we did figure out how to do it! Good luck on your next trip 🙂

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