Real tips from real moms to ease your travel anxiety.
- Lots of Ziploc bags: You can use them to carry everything. Stuff wet bathing suits into them. Use them to pack snacks that your child may need on day trips. You’ll always be thankful for them.
- Separate pouches for essentials: Divide and conquer. Pack a pouch for plane travel with an iPad, a few favorite books, reusable stickers, a pouch for medical stuff with Band-Aids, Tylenol, hand-sanitizers, and another for diaper changes in the plane bathroom with a couple of extra diapers, changing pad, wipes and A&D ointment.
- Time zone tricks: Divide the time zone hour change by half. So if you’ve got a six-hour time change, make your toddler’s bedtime three hours earlier or later. It’ll be easier for them to adjust to the road and back at home.
- Distraction snacks: Relax the snack rules a bit whenever you’re traveling with a toddler. Keep their favorite foods handy. So if they can’t adjust to the food or skip a meal, they can stuff themselves with crackers or goldfish. At least you won’t have to deal with a meltdown.
- Plane-friendly car seat: After your kid turns two, they’ll need their own seat on a plane. To keep them from escaping, try the Cosco car seat. It’s light, inexpensive, and can be strapped into a plane seat as if it were a car and will make your flight, cab ride or rental car experience that much more comfortable.
- Portable Noise Machine: No. We’re not referring to your toddler. Find a rechargeable white noise machine or app, so it’s easier for your kid to fall asleep while traveling. It’ll help create the right ambiance in a strange or over-stimulating environment.
- Painter’s tape: It can stick anywhere, and they’ll have a great time sticking it, pulling it off, sticking it down again, and so on and so forth.
- Costume change: Pack a change of clothes for you, your spouse and your kids for the flight or car ride. In case your kid gets motion sickness and throws up or explosively poops on you, you’ll have a change of clothes handy.
- New toy distraction: Any cheap new toy or item can keep toddlers entertained for a long time. You can enjoy the peace and quiet the novelty that that item provides.
