Traveling with kids? You have looked forward to the day you will board the same flight with your kids. While this is a great way to bond with your kids and show them new places; it can be exasperating. There are some travel tips when traveling with toddlers that you must know in order to have the best travel experience.
You don’t want to make some of the mistakes most parents tend to make when traveling with their toddlers. From not packing the right travel essentials to failing to make hotel reservations – the mistakes are quite many.
This is why we have come with lots of solutions. These curated travel tips when traveling with toddlers will help you make the important arrangements so you can have a good time during the trip.
1. Book Ahead of Time
It is very essential to tighten the loose ends. You don’t want to be left stranded because you don’t have a place to stay with your toddlers on arrival. You wouldn’t want to have the experience of not finding an available flight. So, book ahead of time.
2. Always Buy Lots of Snacks
Snacks are kids’ favorites. Buy as much as you can. With this, your toddlers will have a nice treat while traveling. Getting some essential travel subscription boxes will help you keep your kids busy and happy throughout your journey.
3. Avoid Certain Flights
Certain flights wouldn’t be ideal for your toddler. Some of the flights to avoid are those that tend to have a long layover, as well as flights that depart later in the day.
It is best to travel by flight, which typically leaves in the hours of the morning. This way, you and your toddlers wouldn’t be bothered by lots of people milling around the airport.
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4. Help Your Toddler Sleep
The fact is that your toddler might find it hard to adjust during the flight, especially if it is the first time. Therefore, find creative ways to make the kid sleep.
You can do this by taking away the playtime or lulling the toddler to sleep.
5. Pack Only a Bag
For convenience, pack one bag. This way, your extra hand will be used to navigate the toddler through the airport.
6. Complete the Relevant Paperwork on Time
Get the important documents checked so you will have a free passage when it is time to fly.
7. Ask for Child Discounts
As funny as it may sound, you can get discounts on some items. You could get discounts on the bus fares, as well as tourist attractions.
All you have to do is to take your kid with you and ask for a discount. If there is any, you will be lucky to have it.
8. Let the Toddlers Decide
A lot of parents make the mistake of choosing all the memories they want to create for their kids during a vacation, without bothering to know if the kids look forward to the same.
Thus, allow the toddlers to let you know the things they would like to do and possibly – the places they would like to go to.
9. Keep a Flexible Travel Routine
The aircraft could develop faults or the weather becomes so bad to fly. This is why you need to maintain a flexible traveling routine.
This goes a long way to help you readjust your travel plans.
10. Bring a Slice of Home
The chances are that you and your toddlers are traveling to a new location. Therefore, bring a slice of home or something that will give the kids a familiar feeling and help them adjust to the temporal vacation you have.
11. Don’t Skip the Meals
Remember to maintain the same mealtime routine your toddlers are used to before traveling. Have fast food ready or keep some snacks handy so your toddlers can eat when they should.
12. Take Spare Outfits
Your toddlers can stain or make their current outfits untidy. From letting off potty from their body to staining their clothes with meals, your kids could become dirty in a short while.
With a change of outfit readily available, they will look neat again.
13. Discuss the Flight with Your Toddlers
As part of the efforts to make toddlers a part of the travel planning routine – consider discussing the flight details with them.
Help your toddlers understand how the flight would go, the things they must do, and the things they must expect during the flight.
14. Fly Premium
Booking a Premium ticket helps you to bolster the traveling experience for your kids. This is one of the efficient travel tips for toddlers because it helps the kids to have little or no experience of waiting in lines.
15. Schedule and Maximize Downtime
Toddlers have lots of energy and would do just anything to prove that. Yet, the energy can be used for better things.
Schedule specific timeframes when the kids wouldn’t be playing or sightseeing. The time saved from those exercises can be used for other things, including reading a book or taking a stroll.
16. Reserve an Extra Seat
Consider paying a little fee to reserve a seat for your toddlers. This gives them more free spaces to enjoy their flight in comfort.
17. Be Prepared for the Unexpected
You have gone through the travel itinerary and done everything that needs to be done. Yet, it wouldn’t be out of place to prepare for the worst.
The flight could be canceled. Your toddlers could even get sick or the places you wanted to reserve are all taken.
So, keep an open mind and be prepared for any unexpected changes in your travel plans. If you’re traveling during covid-19, cosider reading these best travel tips during covid-19 to keep you updated about relevant ways to stay safe during your journey.
18. Keep the Electronics at Home
Electronics like iPhones, tablets, and any other device could distract your toddler. Consider leaving some of these at home so that your kids wouldn’t be detracted from the goal of the trip.
19. Invest in a Tracking Device
Toddlers love to explore and you may not have all the time in the world to have them under your nose.
Invest in a small GPS tracker. With the tracker, you will be brought to speed on the current location of your toddlers.
20. Get a Camera for Your Toddlers
Your kids would want to capture important details of their trip. Therefore, get a camera for them. It could be a portable and entry-level camera or an old phone of yours.
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A suitable camera is one of the best ways to keep record of all vacation experiences while on a trip, some of these travel case for camera and the best travel bags when purchased are the best ways to ensure proper packing and safety for your travel essentials.
Conclusion
Traveling with kids can be stressful, but hundreds of parents and guardians have successfully had a swell time traveling with kids. There can be challenges such as ill-health, hunger, fear, and unfriendly attitude when traveling with kids. Some of these challenges can be overcomed by getting acquainted with essential travel tips when traveling with toddlers.
The best travel tips when traveling with toddlers include the following preparations: buy lots of snacks, avoid certain flights, book ahead of time, pack only travel essentials, ask for child discounts, take spare outfits, reserve extra seats and prepare for the unexpected.
These travel tips when traveling with toddlers as discussed in this article will help you make the most of your trip and have the best experience traveling with kids. If you’re traveling during covid, there are important travel tips during covid that will help you stay safe. Some international travel tips will help you make the most of your international travel.