ParentLife Blog

Summer Traveling with Infants and Toddlers

Traveling with an infant or toddler can quickly become a bad experience (both for you and for the travelers around you) if you are not prepared. Take it from me! My family (including my almost 2-year-old) just returned from a trip to Texas to visit extended family — an 18-hour drive! Thankfully, our trip was a very positive experience.

If you are traveling this summer with your an infant or toddler, keep the following pointers in mind.

• Remember to build in plenty of extra time, especially if you are driving. We did our best to stop about every two hours to let Jack run and wiggle. That kept him happier in the car. It took us longer to get do our destination, but keeping him comfortable and happy was well worth the time.
• Stock up on small, inexpensive toys to entertain your child when you most need it. We borrowed some "new" toys from friends and family and bought a few of our own. When Jack got bored and started to fuss, we simply gave him a new toy and that made him happy. One of his favorite travel toys was a Magna-Doodle, which is great because we didn't have to worry about crayons melting or ink getting all over him or the car. Check your local dollar store or clearance shelves for some fun travel toys.
• Remember to only pack toys that you can live with. If a toy is  annoying to you at home, it will more than likely annoy you even more when you travel.
• Be sure not to be too quick to pull out a new toy. Pace yourself so that you have plenty of options for the whole trip.
• Stick to a familiar routine as much as possible but be flexible too. Routines help your child know what to expect and create a sense of peace and calm. Even though we were sleeping in unfamiliar places, sticking to our bedtime routine helped Jack know it was time for bed. At the same time, being flexible was important. At home, we lay Jack down awake and let him fall asleep on his own. However, in a hotel room with us present that would have taken him hours, so I rocked him to sleep each night. We created a new routine for the trip. By the third night, Jack was familiar with the new routine and fell asleep much faster! Be willing to adapt your routine as necessary. 
• Don't forget your child's favorite blanket, stuffed animal, or comfort object. I don't know what we would have done if we had forgotten Jack's favorite blanket.
• Be sure to pack extra everything if possible. We actually only brought one package of baby wipes for the trip and ran out. We had to make a stop on the first leg of our trip home just to buy baby wipes. We used more than normal because we were in unfamiliar (often unclean) places.

If you are lucky ... maybe your child will do a whole lot of this while you travel:

For more trips for traveling with your baby (especially a newborn), don't miss our Birth to 12 Months Growth Spurt article "Baby on Board" this month. It provides many more travel tips as well as some fun travel toys!