Each journey creates stories, but when it is with your little one, it becomes the best memory ever.
I felt this with my father. He was fond of traveling, and traveled with me across India in my childhood. I have great memories of that period. Every year I used to get excited about the next destination. This is the sole reason why I wanted to explore places with my little one.
The ground rule of safe traveling with kids is to keep it simple yet perfect. Though you won’t get perfectionism from the first journey itself, you will learn. That’s why I chose domestic and local traveling in the early years to get the confidence for international ones.
Yet another reason for starting with local traveling was the immune system of my kiddo. Interestingly, there were no major problems I faced during the trip, as I was completely prepared. For planning the itinerary, I chose an infant friendly destination to ensure the baby’s safety.
Here are some more takeaways and tips I have divided according to my destination and the age of my daughter; you must check once:
How to do the packing for toddlers? – My first ever trip with the little one!
My first ever trip with my daughter was at the age of 2. We decided to travel after two years of birth as she had developed the right sleeping pattern and had her favorite toys with her. Also, it was a family trip, and we chose the train for my daughter’s convenience.
We booked the lower birth, as she would get sufficient space to move around. The journey time was 6 hours, and we preferred her sitting to the window seat.
The journey was fun. If you are thinking of going on an international trip, then you need to make slight changes in the packing. One of my friends traveled by flight; she got free tickets and some best facilities on the plane itself.
The airline allowed her to carry 20 kg luggage, excluding the weight of the stroller. She got a baby-friendly restroom and a diaper changing table. So no matter which traveling mode you choose, here are some essentials you must know:
- Take adequate rest before heading to travel, and keep the contact number of any child doctor handy.
- Pack plenty amount of fluids so that your child stays hydrated throughout the journey. Always prefer to take boiled water with you .
- Keep changing the scenery and views of the baby, as they will found it interesting and might keep them engaged.
- Carry a thermometer, baby wipes, Diapers,diaper rash cream, formula milk, baby soap, lotions, extra baby’s bowl, and spoon, Essential medicines ,bottle sterilizer .All this handy with in a carry bag .
- We carried vegetables soup and porridge to feed during our journey .
- Don’t forget to carry new and interesting toys to surprise the infant, as the older ones may bore them.
Lastly, never forget to keep a baby carrier along with you for moving freely at different sightseeing areas.
How to do the packing for a 3-year-old child? – My second trip to Goa by air!
I got lots of confidence during my first trip; everything went according to the way we planned. Goa is undoubtedly the best place, because you have everything accessible around. Be it doctors, pharma, and cozy rooms. Even though I carried foodstuffs this time too; we tried to experiment with food in restaurants as well.
My daughter loved the buffets because it had fantastic breakfast options. I even managed to take help from restaurant officials for emergency situations. Here are some essentials for traveling with kid above three years:
- Carry essential medicines, baby wipes, thermometers. Also, keep your family doctor updated about your routine, so that they can help you anytime in emergency.
- Take some color books or picture books to keep your kids engaged. Honestly, It helped me a lot during the traveling hours.
- You can even keep a baby stroller to move your baby around while they are sleeping. It was a savior for me, as I parked it alongside when my daughter asked to play around.
- Carry ready to eat cookies and wafers, because your child can get cranky due to hunger.
- Keep a cloth set handy along with baby wipes to avoid any problematic situation.
How to do the packing for a 4-year-old child? – My third international and adventurous trip ever!
The more I traveled with my kid, the better I got confident. And this was the reason why I chose hongkong as my International trip destination. As we had to stay outdoors, I tried packing as many favorite snacks as I can for her. We enjoyed a lot on this trip because it was full of adventure, and looking forward to having something like this in the future!
- We pre-planned the destinations and the places we wanted to visit to avoid problems during traveling. As this was a 6 days trip, I packed many clothes for her, because she spoiled it a lot. Keep your schedule little flexible according to your child’s need.
- Carry an extra small bag while outdoors . The bag can have your kids essentials like some snacks, one medicine, Your contact details and changeovers, and it became a lifesaver for us as well.
- Limit the number of toys, but never compromise with home-cooked food. My daughter loved the cuisine there, but as I wasn’t so sure about it, I carried lots of food to keep her well-fed.
- Don’t forget to have hand sanitizer, lotions, and body wipes handy plus all medicines and most importantly do carry that prescription given by doctor along with it .
Final thoughts on How To Travel Smart With Kids:
The best tip I can give you as a mother is not to freak out while traveling with kids. They are joyous, and they will make your trip more amazing than ever. From my personal experience, I have felt that a journey with a little one is more adventurous and fun as compared with adults, because you never sit vacantly. If you are hesitating to go for a trip with a newborn, I will tell you, don’t think twice, there are lots of best experiences you can withstand for life.
Conclusively, before going on any trip with the newborn or a toddler don’t forget to look at my checklist because I have covered everything required. Take many photographs as a family piece, and enjoy your holidays by creating great stories!
Great to know your experience!!
I remember how difficult it was traveling when my kids were small. I too used to make a checklist so that I do not forget anything and get into panic mode if I miss something. Great tips thanks for sharing.
Such a fabulous and helpful post is this! Totally agree with all the pointers here, keeping all essentials can make things so easy. sometimes we mums fuss more than required.
Planning a trip with a baby can be so much fun if we take care of some basics. More importantly when we pick the detination right. My first trip with my daughter was t 2.5 years to Hongkong and that was so much fun vs my first trip with my 10 month old son to Austria. Loved your packing tips
Oh yes. We have travelled with our kids since they were 10 months old. Singapore, Bali, Hyderabad, by road, air, train. It’s fun yet needs a little proactiveness from our side.
I always feel apprehensive to travel much when my girls were little but later on with experience i had learnt it is all about pre planning. Loved your post and you had covered all points so well in this.
that was a comprehensive suggestion .. I remember the first time I had gone with my little one I had also taken the induction cookware.. these were some lovely tips
Traveling with kids really required so much planning and I am happy you have given us great pointers to keep in mind while planning.
We have been travelling with kids frm the tme they were small n what we do is we keep our hand luggage light so we can take more of kids stuff with us. Also I carry coloring books for flight journey n both my kids gets engrossed. Yes also snacks to keep them munching in flights is a must….
Traveling with kids is itself one of the biggest challenges for parents. They show a different behavior pattern at different ages; you have shared convenient tips and tricks to keep them engaged in domestic and international travel.
Those are some great and very practical tips I must say! Even we have been following most of these tips right from the planning to the tripping phase.
I travelled a lot with my kids when they were younger and thankfully it all went hassle-free. You’ve shared some good pointers for a comfortable travel.
Wow you have done a great job of collating this information. I have always traveled with my son since he was a baby and I agree with your pointers.
Loved reading about your experience, travelling with these little ones is indeed a bit challenging but a lot more fun than any other travel experience. These tips are indeed helpful and I am sure going to help a lot of new parents traveling out there.
Thanks for those gems and pointers. Now I use a check-list when I travel with my grandsons. Makes the travel much easier if we plan in advance.
I have travelling with my kids quite often and one more thing I like to add is stop being perfectionist on the trip, let the feel of the travel take place all over you and enjoy it to the fullest.
Very helpful tips you have shared. I haven’t very good experience in travelling with my kid as he throws lots of tantrums outside .
very good tips – definitely a practical approach is the way to go!
The only thing we struggle with is limiting the no. of toys – for each person in my family! lol! the elders are just as bad as the youngsters in this family 🙂
Traveling with little munchkins is a roller coaster ride, I have had ample experience of traveling with daughter throughout her younger baby years. They are highly unpredictable, when you expect mayhem nothing actually happens, and when you go clear-headed that she is used to traveling now, all hell breaks loose.
Your post reminded me of the first ever travel with my infant twins. It was long haul, India to US with a stopover. We had 10 month old twins and a 7 year old! Thankfully the twins were cooperative both ways and it was not too much trouble. Of course we didn’t manage to sleep as much as we would have wanted on the flight, but otherwise it was a great trip!
We have always enjoyed traveling with our son. Each travel was a learning experience that helped us prepare well for the next travel. Our first travel was a road trip with our son when he was just 2 months old, I still remember how we packed the whole house inside the car. But it was memorable. Loved the tips and checklist you have shared, will be helpful for parents to plan their trips well with their little ones.
This was an exhaustive read about travelling with kids. In fact I do the same as I travel often with my son and did an extensive trip to Europe last year. I had packed just the way you have written.
I am a mother of two wonderful kids, and my travel experience with them has always been a beautiful experience. While reading the post, I could relate to my travel plans and experiences. Thank you for bringing back the beautiful moments.
Even I travel with my daughter when she was 1 year and then second trip to Shimla when she was 2year. You have shared great tips.