Travel with Toddlers

Travel with Toddlers




So summer is here and so are travel plans. We travel quite a bit with our kids and have taken big vacations since our first child was 4 months old. My friends and family think we are crazy. I know this because they don’t mind telling me so! Recently, several friends and even some casual acquaintances have asked me about tips for travel with kids. I have tried to think about what I find most important.



Planning – it is all in the planning. We have taken kids (babies) on cruises, car trips, and to Disneyworld. I love lists. That’s not surprising! I used to make a packing list for every trip until it occurred to me to save the lists! Genius! So now I have multiple packing lists (Packing for car trips, Packing for cruises, and Packing for Disney). I’m willing to share those with anybody. It is so easy because you can pull them up and just modify for the specific trip you’re on.



Airplane trips – Here is my number one rule with traveling with kids: “By the end of the trip, I do not want everyone on the plane to know my children’s names!” I’m sure you’ve had one of those trips. My mother was on a plane once with Jackson. She clearly remembers his name. Throughout the trip the entire plane heard, “Jackson, stop it! Jackson, don’t kick the seat! Jackson, don’t throw your peanuts! Jackson, get back here!” At that point, Jackson was crawling away from his mother under the seats. When they got off of the plane, Jackson was asleep. His mother’s hair was falling down; she was sweating, and probably about to cry. Here is one of the key things – His mother had brought absolutely nothing for him to do. I hate having to carry a truckload of stuff on a plane but it saves us every time. We bring snacks, DVD’s, new games, colors, dry erase, and anything else I can think of!



Other general tips for planes – bring something to pop their ears (gums and drinks for bigger kids; pacifiers and bottles for babies; Dum Dum lollipops are also perfect!) Remember birth certificates for lap children under two. And I always take empty sippy cups in their bags and then ask for an entire can of juice or water. And of course, board early! We always fly Southwest so now families can board between the A and B group (if you don’t get an A boarding pass). One trip home from Orlando we got to the airport really early so then we just kind of wasted time, ate, didn’t go through security. And then suddenly we were late! We rushed to the gate but got their as the C boarding group was getting on the plane! And here we are with 4 kids under the age of 7. It was comical. I thought I might have to use my mom’s trip from back when we were little. This was during the days of assigned seating and she did not get two seats together when I was very young. The gate attendant recommended she sit me down next to the other passengers in my row and hand me an airsick bag. Then politely tell the nice man or lady sitting there that I tend to get motion sick, but she would be just 5 rows up if anything happened! Guaranteed seat swap!



Car trips are not my favorite way to travel. I love that you can take so much more of your own stuff. I especially like to take all my own pillows and blankets. My favorite thing to do is for me to fly and for my husband to drive with all of our things! But I have found some tricks. I have found metal TV trays and large Magnetics. The animal shape ones are especially fun! We also bought one of those grabbers like you can use to pick up trash or reach things several feet away, and I use that to pass things back to the kid in the back of the van.



And cruises – I love to cruise with small kids because it is so contained. Your room is right there for naps, the food is right there, the entertainment is good and easy to get to. Not too much time spent figuring out what you’re going to do and how you’re going to get there. The biggest downside is you have to bring EVERYTHING with you. Diapers, wipes, formula, snacks, clothes, etc etc. There is no option for running to Wal-Mart for something you forgot. Makes packing and getting there tricky. We did find some good tips though on one of our last trips. One was to buy one of those shoe organizers that hang over the door. They have all the little pockets for your shoes. Generally, cruise state rooms are very small and have almost no counter space or storage. You can hang this over the bathroom door and use it to store all types of things – cameras, room keys, toothbrushes, sunglasses. Anything small that you need to get to easily. That has been a life saver! I also always take Ziplocs, Sharpie markers, scissors, electrical outlet expanders, Band-Aids, blister pads, and ponchos on trips. You never know what you might need to store, mark, cut, plug in, or protect yourself from on a vacation!



Disney trips would be a whole other blog entirely. Disneyworld is one of my favorite places to vacation. It is so easy and kid friendly. I could talk forever about tips, things you must do, things you must NOT do with kids, strollers, resorts, souvenirs, and more. I think it is a great trip with all age ranges. We’ve been with babies (age 4 months); we’ve been with all 4 kids; we’ve been when I was 7 months pregnant. I love it! And after all, it is the happiest place on earth!



So, I say travel with kids! Don’t feel trapped because of the difficulties posed in travel with small children. But, do plan plan plan and then plan some more. Have a schedule; take plenty of familiar things from home, and some new things to grab their attention. Keep to your routines with meals and naps as much as you can. And then just relax and know that things will go wrong, kids may have meltdowns, and the laundry will be waiting when you get home, but it will all be worth it!

Some Days I Feel Like a Taxi

Guest blog on LubbockNeighbors.bing.com

Some days I feel like a taxi. And with my new van wrap, I kind of look like a taxi! You hear it called “soccer mom” syndrome, but we’re not in soccer. We are however in a learning program (4 days per week), music (1 day per week), speech (1 day per week), and Tega (1 day per week). Add in various doctor appointments, dentist appointments, our first ever orthodontist appointment, plus work and assundry other things and it just gets crazy! What I really need is two of me! I have a large dry erase calendar in my garage entry, I have a Google calendar which I can access on my phone, a calendar on the SeekingSitters site to track babysitters I have set up, and a date book at work, but it doesn’t seem to be enough to keep it all straight. I can’t figure out what kids are where, who is picking up whom, when I have sitters at the house, and how to keep from losing a kid! Today I printed off my Google calendar (which I love because you can color code your different activities – pink for home, blue for office, yellow for sitters), and then I used a highlighter to mark pickups (green for dad, pink for a grandma), and when a sitter is here, and then everything else is on me.

I have blogged about organization before and about the ups and downs of a big family, so I guess this blog is a little bit of both. I worry that we get going too much and I don’t really have time to just sit down with the kids. (Note to self: add to calendar game night, snuggle time, family swim.) But I also worry that just because it is hard to get to all these things, that my kids will miss out because I drop activities to make it more convenient. And what do you drop? Not the tutoring program that is helping my 1st grader immensely; not the piano that I value but my son might drop in a second or the music class that is the 3 year olds only activity; not speech. Already we opted out of any sports this summer but I need to fit swim lessons in there somewhere.

So many things change when you become a parent. You get such a different perspective. In my counseling practice, I used to talk to parents whose kids were having behavioral or emotional problems about needing to schedule one-on-one time with their child on a regular basis. Sounds good, right?! It is good! But that was before I had kids. Seems like it should be simple. Now, I still counsel that but with a more understanding air of how difficult that can be! Especially for a big family. My kids all need that special time. I need to find that time for them, but time is what is flying past us at mach speed. I am going to put that on the calendar though. Every other week, a special afternoon for just one kid and an extremely fun babysitter for the rest! It’ll be good for all of us.

My daughter said to me today, “You are always working.” This is sadly true. I’m home much of the week, but there is so much paperwork for my psychology job and phone calls for my babysitting business, and just general upkeep for the house. When I was a child, my mom said, “It is not my job to entertain you. Go play.” And I whole heartedly agree with this. I do not have to be my children’s playmate, but I don’t want to miss their childhood because I am BUSY. Busy can wait. You would think things would slow down in the summer, but they sure don’t!

Bucket lists have been a popular topic lately and I have things I would like to do for me and only me. And I encourage moms (and dads) to have that time to themselves. That is rejuvenating and makes you a better parent. I just got back from a long weekend in San Antonio with a dear friend, and I’m in a great bookclub with several close friends. And my husband and I try to have a date night once a week. But my bucket list for this summer is going to be about the kids. Things we need to do and time I need to set aside. They’re only little once!

Clay Café with Erin
Jumping Jungle with all kids
Zoo (Amarillo, Abilene, or Dallas) with all kids
Tea Party with Ryan
Science Spectrum with Evan
Shrek movie (3 big kids or by myself – I just want to see it!)
Game night
Slumber party for whole family
Playdates set up
Ranching Heritage Center
Botanical gardens
Swimming at least one day per week

What are your plans for the summer? I would love to add more great ideas to my list!