There is something pretty amazing about driving to the mountains and hiking for a couple hours to reach an overlook to a spectacular view. Or to relax on the beach on an exotic island, listening to the waves pounding on the beach and the seagulls hovering nearby. To visit a completely new place and see things you have only ever dreamed about! Or to dine on the craziest flavors and try all of the local cuisines! It is one of the most amazing experiences ever!
Like I said it is ONE of the most amazing experiences ever, not the most amazing. That one is parenthood. Being able to rock a baby to sleep, to have a little person pick you over anyone else in this world, to listen to your daughter read for the first time, or to kiss a the pain of a boo-boo. NOTHING is as incredible as these feelings.
BUT, if you combine these two wonderful things……pure magic!
I love to travel and I love being a mom, doing both of these things together is honestly the biggest thrill of my life. To travel with kids is an adrenaline rush of pure chaos, but SO much more magical then traveling without them!
Now, I am not saying traveling with kids is an easy thing at all! Heck, no! I would be a lunatic for saying that. You know how kids throw fits, complain about being hungry, are constantly dirty, and easily bored at home, yeah lets just take that up a notch just at a prettier destination. Traveling with kids is rough, but it is insanely more rewarding! Aren’t the hard things usually more rewarding anyway?
I have 4 kids; a 5 year old, 4 year old, 2 year old, and a 9 month old. We are the definition of chaos, and we love to take this chaos all over the world. We have learned a couple lessons over the years of how to manage this chaos a little bit better. We learned the hard way so hopefully you won’t have to! Here is what we have learned!
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Preparing For The Journey
I may be weird, but one of my favorite parts of a vacation is planning for one! I LOVE to make itineraries! But I am just one of those people that love to have EVERYTHING planned out and scheduled in advance. I like to know what I am doing and when I am doing it. My husband constantly makes fun of me for this, because he is the complete opposite. Which is why I plan the trips and not him.
Thorough planning is SO important when traveling with kids! Its not necessarily important for you kids, but for you as a parent. Traveling is stressful and kids are stressful, put those together and it can be hard to enjoy your vacation. So if you have everything planned in advance, that stress minimizes by a ton!
Here are things you need to consider when planning for your vacation:
- What I mean by planning thoroughly is make an itinerary plan a, b, and c! I live by the line in the TV show Flash, “Make the plan, execute the plan, throw away the plan, make a new plan!” Make an itinerary for your trip, but make it flexible and have a back up plan. Kids slow things down, kids need naps, kids need to eat, kids will throw fits, and all these things can change up your original plan, so make your plan and then come up with alternatives if that plan falls through.
- Plan around nap time, we usually drive the longer distances during our kids nap times so that they can at least catch a 20-30 minute nap in between activities.
- Plan meals on time! As an adult you can handle waiting an extra hour or two to eat, even kids that can not tell time will always know when it is time to eat! Don’t skip it and don’t try to push it back, because this will just lead to grumpy kids complaining that they are hungry.
- Plan kid friendly destinations as well as adult destinations. I know this is your trip, but it is also your kids trip. If you want them to enjoy traveling and be happy while traveling, add some of their activities to the itinerary. Add zoos, cool playgrounds, ice cream, and swimming to your itinerary of national parks, monuments, and waterfalls. Make it fun for your kids too!
Now that you have it planned the next step before you go is packing. I have a love hate relationship with packing. I love that I am getting ready to go, but I hate the stress of making sure I have everything we need and that everything fits!
When traveling with kids there is so much more you need to pack than what you would just as adults. I mean just for babies, you have to pack pacifiers, pack-n-play, bottles, thermos, toys, blankets, diapers, wipes, baby food, baby spoons, baby snacks, burp rags, and a carrying harness. That’s a lot of extra stuff!
When packing for kids focus on not just clothes, but entertainment, electronics, medicines just in case they get sick, extra clothes or ways to clean clothes when they get dirty, and objects that help you kids sleep.
Be sure when packing you put things in places where you can reach important items. Make sure snacks are reachable, toys are somewhere within reach, and that blankets and electronics are somewhere close. Lastly before loading up the kids, be sure everyone runs the bathroom one last time!
On The Road
Pros and cons of traveling with kids:
- Pro- Your kids are tied down for the trip and so you get at least a break from chasing them around.
- Con- Your kids are bored from sitting for so long.
- Pro- Your kids are more likely to take a nap!
- Con- They will probably nap and be full of energy when you stop.
- Pro- If you are driving all you have to do is focus on driving.
- Con- If you are riding you have to spend half of the drive leaning back to hand kids toys and snacks.
For every good thing about road tripping with kids there is an equal bad thing. Road tripping with kids is not my favorite thing, but at the same time I love it! I love that I get a break and just have to focus on driving, but I hate that if someone drops a toy or is hungry I have to listen to them cry and complain until I stop the car to fix it!
The main things that you need to be aware of to help with road tripping or even flying with kids is keeping everyone entertained and keeping them from being restless and pent up with excess energy.
Ways to keep your kids entertained while traveling:
- Talk with them, my kids love to talk.
- Karaoke in the car, crank up that Disney and sing and dance.
- I spy (just spy things in the car, not outside. Learned this the hard way)
- Movies
- Videogames (tablet, switch) my toddlers love the Mario Odyssey and the Lego games
- Phone games, instead of upgrading my husbands phone we just kept it and canceled the plan. Literally all we do with his old phone is fill it with phone games for our kids to play while traveling.
- Toys, raid Dollar Tree before you leave and just grab random toys, color books, craft kits, whatever! Then every hour on your trip hand out a new activity so that your kids always have something to look forward to.
- Books, interactive book are the best. The I Spy books, touch and feel, maze books, or the 1001 things to spot books
- Water color, I am not a huge fan of bringing crayons or markers on our trips, just because they get lost, but I do love these water color books! All you need is the brush and water!
- Window stickers, messy but really great for entertaining the kids that can reach the windows. Or just bring a dry erase board for the littles that can’t reach the window.
A happy kid makes traveling so much easier than a bored kid. Bored kids are grumpy, mean, whine, and just make things miserable. Entertaining kids on a trip really isn’t that hard, honestly the majority of any trip we go on our kids just want to watch movies and play videogames. Our baby is the hardest one to entertain, but thank heavens for snacks and toys! We just switch between those and he does fine.
The more you travel, the more accustomed your kids will be in the car and the easier it will become. Honestly we drive 2 to 3 hours a couple times a week and so my kids have no problem with road trips at all. Great excuse to travel more! Haha!
The second thing you really do when traveling with kids is make pit stops!! Just like a bored kid is hard to deal with in a car, a restless kid is hard to deal with when you finally get to where you are going! Kids are kinda like wind up toys, if you drive all day and keep winding them up; when you finally get there and let go of the winder, they go crazy!
You need to let them get that energy out or it will be no fun doing whatever it is you are planning on doing! Make pit stops about every 3-4 hours! Obviously this will not work on a plane, but on a road trip this is a huge lifesaver!
For pit stops I don’t mean gas station bathroom breaks, I mean a place where you kids can run around and stretch their legs. We normally find a small hike or a roadside attraction to walk around. Just something the help them unwind so that they don’t keep get restless.
Dealing With Meltdowns and Tantrums
I can give you all the tips and tricks there ever was, but your kids is going to have a meltdown on your trip, just own it! It will happen, cause they are kids! They are off schedule, overstimulated, not at home, and did I mention they are kids. Tantrums and meltdowns happen to EVERYONE, and they will happened to you. Most likely more than normal when you are on a trip.
So before I tell you how to avoid them, just know I am teaching you how to avoid them as little as possible, cause they will inevitably happen. You are not a bad parent, you will be embarrassed, but this is just part of the experience of having kids.
Obviously you know your kids, I am just going to share what has worked with us to help deal with the meltdowns and tantrums on a trip:
- Explain to your kids before you go anywhere what to expect, what they will get to do, and what they will not get to do, and why. For instance, we went to a zoo recently. Before we went I told them we were going to pet goats, see lions and snakes, and we could play in the sand. I then told them there is a carousel there, but we are not going to ride it even though that would be cool. Also people can feed giraffes at this zoo, which would be cool to do, but instead of feeding them, we are going to feed the fish. That way they already know they are not going to do certain things, so they are less likely to get mad at me when they see those things.
- REWARDS! Who said rewards were a bad way to parent!? Usually when we go places I will bring a pack of Twizzlers. I then give them a time limit. So if they are good and don’t fight or complain for 20 minutes, they get a piece of a Twizzler. If they do throw a fit, I then add 5 minutes to their time. Its amazing what a kid will do when they know they are will be rewarded for it. Also this is my trick for hiking. If they get to the end of a hike, they get an applesauce pack. It is just a reward for their good behavior, which makes them want to get more and to keep being good.
- Give your kids time limits. When we are traveling I tell them they have 15 minutes with the tablet. Every time their sibling asks if its their turn I tell them how much time their sibling has left. When time is up, the one with the tablet has to share or 5 minutes is added to their time. They know if they don’t listen or they throw a fit, they don’t get to play for a longer time.
- Let them be the boss every once in a while. Instead of fighting your kids and telling them this is what we are going to do and how we are going to do it, let them pick. They can’t get mad if they were the one to make the plan. For instance, we were at the ocean and I asked do you guys want to go so we can eat or keep playing. They wanted to keep playing. So I asked how much longer they wanted to play, 5 min, 10 min, or 20 min. When I let them make the decisions, they tend to know meltdown as much, cause they were the ones to set the terms.
Navigating Accommodations
This last year I went on a girls weekend to Phoenix, Arizona. When we planned where we were going to stay we looked at resorts with lazy rivers for floating down, giant nice beds, hot tubs, and spa treatments. We also wanted somewhere quiet, beautiful, and relaxing. These are the things you look for on a trip with a bunch of adults.
When traveling with kids these are not exactly what you are looking for when picking accommodations. Instead of picking places that are comfortable and built for relaxation, you look for places that are fun and not so breakable.
Personally, the majority of the time we camp wherever we go. Mostly because it is cheaper, but also because nature isn’t exactly fragile. It is so nice to let our kids climb trees, throw rocks in a creek, and pick flowers before going to bed. It really runs out any of their excess energy so they sleep better.
In hotels we are just trying desperately to keep our kids quiet, and in Airbnb’s or resorts we are just trying to keep our kids from breaking things. They are just a little more stressful, but still manageable.
Things we consider when picking a place to stay:
- Is there a swimming pool or something we can do to run out our kids energy before bed?
- Free breakfast?
- What options do we have for making meals? At least a microwave or fire pit!
- How many people are allowed in the room?
- How many beds are offered?
- Is there a balcony and how easy is it to get to?
- How many breakable things are at this place?
- How close are we to the car? (because we will probably be making multiple trips to the car bringing stuff in and out)
Just know your kid will be excited where ever you stay. My kids ask if they can stay in a hotel for their birthdays because they think it is so fun. They literally jump up and down whenever I mention we are camping in a tent and they love climbing around in RVs. No matter where you stay they will be excited.
When picking a place, its more about what you feel more comfortable dealing with, with your kids. If you are super consciences about your kids being too loud, maybe an Airbnb is best. If your kids are destructive, then maybe camping is your best option. Just pick the battle you wish to fight.
I will tell you that comfort and routine are just as important on a vacation than at home. If you read books at night at home, read them on your trip. If your kids share a room at home, have them share a room on the trip. Keeping things as normal as possible, even in a foreign place, will help your kid sleep better. In return, you will sleep better, and both be happier the next day.
Exploring Together: Family Activities
Traveling with kids is not the same as traveling alone or as a couple. I am not going to lie and tell you that it is. It is so much more stressful and so much more work. The saddest part is that you will not get to do everything you would do when traveling as an adult. BUT the list of things you cannot do is extremely small.
Kids are adventurous! They are smart, resilient, and fun! We will go tubing and my 4 year old will ask to go on her own. My husband will cliff dive and my daughter will jump in right after him. With our kids we still boat, we still swim, we still hike, we still walk around cities, and so much more.
We may simplify the things we do, but there isn’t much that we don’t do because we have kids.
Ideas for family friendly activities:
- Hikes that are under 2 miles
- Swim at lakes
- Dolphin or whale watching cruises
- Zoos
- Nature centers
- Science Museums
- Children Museums
- Farms
- National Parks and State Parks
- Historical Sites
- Selfie Museums
- Factory Tours
- Playgrounds
- Play at the beach
- Botanical Gardens
- CLICK HERE FOR MORE IDEAS…..
The key to a great family vacation is doing things your kids enjoy AND things you enjoy too! Don’t make the vacation all about you and don’t make it all about your kids. Do things you enjoy. For me, I LOVE National Parks, hiking, waterfalls, zoos, and swimming. So on each trip I always pick something I like to do.
My kids love swimming, arcades, zoos, museums, and hiking. So on each trip I always pick something they like to do. The majority of the activities that we plan though are things that we both like to do, like swimming, zoos, and hiking! Do things you both love, and you will both have fun!
Eating On The Go
I think eating out is one of the most dreaded parts of parenthood. Maybe that is just me, but eating out with kids is dreadful! Kids are MESSY and LOUD and have absolutely no patience at all. They want food and they want food now, and then they order, get their food, and decide they want something else! Ugh it is miserable!
This is why I avoid it as much as possible! Don’t get me wrong I LOVE to eat out. I love trying new food and not having to clean up or cook! I just hate eating out with kids. To me it is so much less stressful to just make our food myself. I make our own meals for several different reasons:
- Its significantly cheaper
- It is a time saver, because you don’t have to take an entire hour or 2 to get seated, take an order, wait for your food, eat, and wait for a check
- It makes you feel better. When I eat out too much, my stomach doesn’t handle greased food too well. Too much fast food or restaurant food makes me just not feel good.
Even though we don’t eat out for every meal on a trip, we do eat out at least once or twice. We try to find fun and kid friendly places to eat that involve the culture of the area we are visiting. We have eaten at restaurants that served us by a toy train, in restaurants surrounded by Lego villages, in restaurants where we eat at a table hippie van, and we always look for the restaurants with the coolest looking ice cream shakes!
These more fun experiences help keep my kiddos entertained while waiting for the food. Just trying to make it as easy as possible.
Our other tips for trying to calm the storm of children at restaurants are:
- Sit in a booth! Its almost like caging in your kids!
- Bring a snack. Okay I know you are at a restaurant to eat, but that wait for your food to get there is brutal with kids, bring just a bag of crackers or pretzels, something light that will hold them over every time they complain about being hungry.
- Play games while waiting. I spy, find the color, count the hats, whatever you can do to keep them entertained.
- Make it a habit of sharing your kids plates. My daughter will order chicken nuggets, my son mac n cheese, and the other cheeseburger. When the food finally arrives they will all have changed their minds and want each other’s food, if you share they will all get to try a bit of everything.
Okay one more tip before I move past food. When you are traveling with kids always have food available! Make sure you always have snacks wherever you are! Maybe because it’s you are doing so many more activities on a trip, but I never hear I am hungry more than when I am on a trip. If you want happy kids, pack plenty of snacks!
Safety First
I cannot mention traveling with kids and not mention the anxiety of keeping kids safe when traveling! Safety is always a worry as a parent, but when you go out of your comfort zone, surrounded by people you don’t know, doing new things; that worry about safety amps up a level!
Here are my best tips and tricks for keeping your kids safe while traveling:
- Always explain the rules to your kids before you do an activity and have them repeat the rules to you. For instance, we are going on a hike and so I will explain to my kids that they need to stay on the path, they can not leave my sight, and they have to stop every time I say, ‘freeze.’ Understanding these simple rules will keep them safe!
- If you are going into a city or an area with a lot of people, have everyone wear the same color! This makes if easier for you to keep track of everyone, because you know what color you are looking for.
- Keep your little ones tied down in busy places. By tied down I mean a stroller, carrier, backpack, toddler leash, or even just holding hands. Have them restrained in some way that discourages them from running off.
- Childproof your lodging. Whenever we get to a hotel we always move the phones out of reach, close the bathroom doors, and hid all of the pens that are left on the tables. Just stuff that we don’t want where are kids can reach them to get hurt or so that they don’t break it themselves.
Creating Lasting Memories
Traveling will give you and your kids the most unique bonding experiences of all time. At home I can only handle playing dinosaurs or barbies for about 5 minutes before it becomes more of a chore for me than fun. Traveling is something I love to do and traveling is something my kids love to do. This is something we both love doing together!!
I love spending my days hiking with my kids, swimming with them, trying new things with them, and creating lasting memories. When traveling I get to watch my daughter accomplish a hike all on her own! I get to see the amazement in my toddler’s face when we hike into a giant cave surrounded by bats. Seeing my son overcome his fear of sharks and lean in to stroke the back of one in an aquarium. These are the memories that I will hold on to forever, and they will too.
If you want to spend more time with your kids, then go on an adventure with them! Travel the world, travel in your own community! It isn’t easy by any means. I promise though, that you will never regret the time you spend with your kids! Embrace the challenges of traveling with kids as an opportunity for growth and unforgettable family adventures!
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