5 Essentials for Traveling with Toddlers

Summertime is a popular time for travel for families because the kids are on vacation. While our kids aren’t in school yet, it is when we take trips because I am a teacher! As a kid, my parents took us on vacation a lot, and I appreciate all the opportunities and memories these trips provided. We want to give the same things for our kids now, but I never realized how stressful traveling with toddlers can be!

Now, don’t let this fact discourage you. Yes, our toddlers had their fair share of upsets and meltdowns on our most recent trip, but they also had So. MUCH. FUN. We had so many wonderful bonding moments that we plan on traveling more as a family, even with our small children. But, there are a few tricks to help keep our travels in the right direction and mommy and daddy’s sanity!

This list wasn’t compiled in one trip. It has been a work in progress as I have forgotten to pack things in the past and chaos ensued! This last trip I finally remembered ALMOST all of these items and it went SO much smoother. Therefore, I feel like I need to share with other travel minded parents. Vacationing with kids is possible, just don’t forget the toddler travel essentials!

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Snacks

What two things are most beneficial in preventing toddler meltdowns?? Food and Sleep. We’ll start with food because I swear my kids eat every 2 hours. There is no way we could travel without snacks. We have only traveled with our kids by car, so I pack a giant bag of a variety of kid friendly snacks. Yes, the carseats get dirty. No, I don’t care. My sanity is more important and I can clean up messes later!

I made sure to pack a variety of snacks on our recent vacation. I also packed snack containers that I could allow the kids to hold by themselves. Have you tried reaching back and feeding two kids every bite?? It is just not comfortable!

I have seen snack sorters on Pinterest using transparent utility boxes, but my kids are not old enough to handle that many snacks at once, and I don’t know if the containers would hold enough or not!

Drinks – Sippy Cups

In the same category of snacks comes drinks. My kids are milk babies, so we have to pack a gallon of milk with us in a cooler, but more than what the kids are drinking, is what they are drinking out of! Pack those sippy cups!

Yes, my kids can drink out of a regular glass, but when they are exhausted after a long day of play and travel, they need something comforting. One time I packed the spoutless sippy cup when visiting family and Mia was NOT having it. We did not have a good day until we got home and she could have her milk out of her favorite cup.

So, I learned my lesson and I always make sure I have the right style of cups. On long trips, I pack more than one cup per child in case the first gets lost or dirty and I don’t have a chance to clean it.

Sleep Aids

Take a moment to take inventory of what your child needs to sleep at home and make sure you bring it with you! Sleeping in a different place on vacation gets to us as adults and it’s worse with my kids.

Last year we traveled a couple of hours away and stayed in a hotel room. I didn’t pack the sound machine and Wyatt (3 months at the time) did NOT sleep. I pulled up white noise on my phone using YouTube, and I was terrified of going over my data usage because the internet at the hotel was awful! We couldn’t use it all night and I couldn’t use my phone at the same time!

Since then, the sound machine is the first thing that goes into the suitcase. We travel with a smaller one that was only around $20. We also make sure to pack the kids’ blankets and Wyatt’s pacifier. These also go by the carseats so the kids nap easier while driving!

Activities

Pack the toys and games! For the car ride we packed books and dolls. Mia has her own Minnie Mouse backpack that she loves to keep her toys in. Toys were also great for hotel downtimes and were a good link to home. We made sure we packed some of the favorites.

Also for the car ride, we packed one of those old school portable DVD players. I don’t know if they are sold in stores any more with all the new technology, but Mia liked to watch her shows on there and I liked that I didn’t have to worry about her getting into apps and settings!

First Aid Supplies

These items made the list after not having them and I won’t travel without them again! Thermometer, Tylenol, and lately I added the otoscope.

Hanging out and having fun is grand until the baby ends up sick. We had to leave a wedding one time to get Tylenol because Mia was running a 102˚ fever. We were all upset and stuck driving around in pouring rain to get a bottle of Tylenol. Now it goes into the bag with everything else so we don’t have to rush and find it if needed. I’d rather have it and not use it than need it and not have it.

I have also added the otoscope to the most recent trip because Mia has had some ear trouble lately and I like the ability to check to see myself before we head into the doctor. The scope I have really isn’t the best from Amazon and if I had to purchase another one, I would probably spend a bit more money, but it is enough to tell if the baby’s ears are red or not.

Bonus Item!

So it wasn’t until I already had this post written and was looking at pictures from our travels that I realized there is also one other item that we have taken on every vacation with our toddlers. I guess I never thought of it because I’ve never forgot it. I automatically pack it each time,

That item is our baby carriers. Strollers are bulky and hard to pack in our vehicle, but the baby carriers fit in our suitcases easily. Since I use them at home often, the kids are used to riding in them and like them. We like that we don’t have to carry the kid in our arms constantly.

Now that both kids are toddlers, we use our soft structured carriers the most. They are easy to click on and hold our larger kids well. They are pretty pricey, but we purchased both of ours second hand and they work wonderfully!

When Wyatt was smaller we would take the large stretchy wrap. When we went to Tulsa to visit family last year when he was 5 months, it was the only way I could get him to take a morning nap. I have a post on three different ways to wrap it if you’re interested!

Happy Travels!

We hope you have some great travels in your future and get to enjoy all sorts of family moments. Let me know if you have any other necessary items for traveling with your toddler! We look forward to more trips in our future!

Also, if you are driving and have a baby on board, make sure you check out my post on Driving a Long Distance with Baby! Some of these tips apply to toddlers as well!