It’s officially summer now, which means that many of you will probably be traveling with your children over the next few months. We’re taking the kids on their first trip to Europe at the end of August (don’t worry, you’ll get the play-by-play on how that goes, omg jet lag with kids?!).
I’ve learned over the last couple of years that you all are extremely clever and wise, so I’d love to crowdsource and hear your favorite travel hacks.
I’ll share four things we always do when we travel:
The kids have to carry whatever they want on travel day in their backpacks. Then they’re less likely to ask to bring 402 stuffies. (Less likely, but the chance is definitely still not 0%.)
We offer the kids gum for airplane descents to help with ear pressure. If nothing else, it distracts them.
On long drives, we have our 8-year-old sit in the middle of the backseat, which minimizes her carsickness. (Here’s a piece I wrote last year on the science of preventing motion sickness.) We also bring a few plastic bags in case she throws up.
We write out a physical schedule every morning to help our routine-oriented 8-year-old. We emphasize it could change, but just having a plan helps curb her anxiety.
What are your favorite hacks? And/or what have you learned NOT to do while traveling? Please share in the comments!
We used to joke that traveling with small kids was like traveling with your drunk friends. It’s somehow more bearable when you can shrug off the left-behind personal effects, the inappropriate loudness, and the spilled drink and say “drunk friends!” to your adult travel companion. Now, with kids 11 and 14, it’s getting more like traveling with your hungover friends. For car travel, a designated, larger-than-you-think trashbag is important. No one leaves the car without collecting trash first.
I subscribe to screen time free for all on planes, but to keep kids entertained at any other point during travels, including waiting at the gate and especially restaurants, I bring a “bag of fun” including a deck of cards, MadLibs, pens/markers, pad of paper, and random dollar store shit to entertain my beasts.