Traveling with a toddler is hard! They are often unpredictable, can explode into a tantrum at any moment, and do not have the capacity to communicate their feelings well enough to help you address them. This can all add up to be a recipe for disaster when traveling, however it doesn’t have to be. Traveling with your beautiful little angel can be fun and exciting, as long as you follow my 6 don’ts below!
#1: Don’t take a red eye flight
This might be a debatable one, however, if your child is like mine and suffers from FOMO (fear of missing out) and is a habitual sleep fighter, avoid a red eye at all cost. Yes, in theory it seems like the perfect choice for a long flight. In a perfect world, you’ll go through your bedtime routine at the airport, and then your sweet angel toddler will drift off to sleep in your arms or in his/her car seat and the whole family will sleep and wake up refreshed when you land at your destination. WRONG!
In reality, they’ll fall asleep for a little awhile and then awake completely pissed off and uncomfortable and you’ll be dealing with an overtired small human who refuses to go back to sleep and might even puke on you mid flight (this exact scenario happened to me, please see don’t #2). No one gets sleep, and then you arrive to your destination completely exhausted and traumatized from the experience.
OK, I might be a little dramatic, but the truth is, red eye flights are not for every child. You’ve been warned.
#2: When traveling with a toddler, don’t forget a change of clothes…for yourself
When my son was a baby and we flew, I always packed a change of clothes for myself. I knew I could face the unexpected blowout or be spit up on and wanted to be prepared. When he got older, I figured blowouts and spit up were a thing of the past so there was no need to take up precious carry on space with my clothes. Flash forward to our red eye flight to Portugal (see don’t #1) and I learned a very important lesson: never forget a change of clothes.
We were mid-flight on an 8-hour haul, so we had about a little under 4 hours to go and he woke up PISSED! Non-stop screaming for what felt like forever. Poor boy was overtired and I’m assuming uncomfortable. As I’m trying to console him with all of the mom tricks I can think of, he throws up on me. Not once, TWICE! Luckily for him, I came prepared with a change of clothes. However, I had to sit the remaining 3 hours in the air and then through customs at the airport covered in vomit. I will never forget a change of clothes again.
Parents, please listen up and learn from my mistakes when traveling with a toddler.
#3: Traveling with a toddler builds an appetite, don’t think you have too many snacks
Snacks are a must. When you are packing your carry on, if you think you have enough snacks, pack a few more. Once you think you have too much, you have just enough! Snacks will help with tantrums, boredom, restlessness, hunger etc. Bonus if you can pack new snacks never before seen. That will buy you like 10-15 min of quiet and stillness.
#4 Don’t forget toys, lots of toys
Same rule as above. Pack more than you think you need. Pack new toys never before seen. Remember that toddlers have notoriously short attention spans, so having something new and fresh to give when they start getting restless, will be a lifesaver.
Of course, conventional toys are great, but “toys” can also include books, post-its, stickers, glow sticks, cotton balls and a container, empty water bottles, etc. Rotating between your stash of snacks and stash of toys will help keep everyones sanity.
#5 Don’t be boujee about screen time
I know there are a lot of suggestions/rules/policies about screen time and toddlers. I’m here to tell you though that none of that means shit when you’re traveling with a toddler! This is about survival people!
Give…your…child…that…Ipad/tablet/phone. If they start catching on to your snacks and toys trick, screen time can save your life and your sanity. Chances are they are getting little to no screen time while you are on your trip, so they’ll be fine.
You can find safe toddler headphones, so their shows don’t disrupt everyone else on the plane, and you’ll enjoy some quiet time, maybe even the rare nap.
#6 Don’t sweat the small stuff
Overall, a toddler is going to be a toddler. There will be tantrums, there will be hiccups and there will also be joy and memories. Despite the stress that comes along with traveling with kids, I love experiencing it with them. I love that my kids will grow up and be able to look back at all of the cool places we were able to take them.
So, take a deep breath, know that no matter what goes wrong or what unpredictable roadblock you encounter on your trip, it’s nothing compared to the memories, and experiences you are providing to your children, and the fun you’ll have at your destination.
Do you have any other “don’ts” for traveling with a toddler you’d like to share? Please leave them in the comments below.
