Tips for Traveling with Kids
By Marci Lutsky
Most local schools will be closed for spring break next week and many of us will be traveling. Whether you are traveling an hour to visit grandparents or hopping on a plane, this can be a stressful experience when young children are involved. It certainly gets easier as they get older (I promise) but I wanted to provide some helpful tips that have gotten us through long travel days over the years. Just remember, the day ends eventually. This is what I always told myself and it helps.
If you are traveling by car, there are several things to consider. First, think about what time of day to leave. If your kids still take naps, try to plan the car ride around naptime. It’s much easier to do that than to try and get them to nap in a new place. If you are traveling for a longer period of time, look for places along the way to stop where your kids can release some energy. For us, sometimes this is a playground and when they were younger, I always looked for children’s museums along the way. If you are flying and have an early morning flight, staying at an inexpensive hotel by the airport can sometimes be helpful.
Let’s talk about one of my favorite topics, food. Airport and rest stop food can be very unhealthy and very expensive. Whenever possible I pack our meals for traveling even if it just includes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Snacks are key during long car rides. Look for ones that are appealing but not too full of sugar. My kids each get a water bottle by their seat and know not to drink too much because we try to limit the amount of stops to make.
Here is the trickiest part of traveling with kids…entertainment. How do you keep kids amused for hours on end and avoid meltdowns? Well, if I knew the answer to that question I would be a millionaire but I’m not. There are certainly plenty of ways to keep them occupied. Get to know Five Below. When my kids were very young, this was my go to place for long car rides. I would load them up with new coloring books and stickers, all for less than $10. Now that my kids are older and are readers, I go to the library and load them up on books. You have to be careful with this one because when you travel somewhere with a library book there is a good chance that it will get left behind. We do let our kids have some screen time in the car which of course they love. We usually download a movie for them to watch. I try to find movies that are both pleasing to them and the front seat listeners. We recently let them watch Field of Dreams which was an oldie but a goodie. Audiobooks are also a great way to pass the time while keeping everyone engaged together.
Traveling with kids can definitely be stressful but most of the time it is worth it. As they get older, give them a travel journal. Even if they can’t write yet, they can draw pictures which will spark memories of their adventures. If you are traveling with your kids over spring break, have fun and try to take the stress out of the experience by planning ahead. If you have other good travel tips, I would love to hear them!
Marci Lutsky is a local mom of eight year-old twins and can be reached at veggingattheshore@gmail.com.
