Tips for Traveling With Kids
If you know, you know. Traveling with kids is kind of like swimming in a riptide. You just hope you make it out alive. And when you do, cause you will, you vow to never try it again. Until you forget the pain and the romanticism of adventure sweeps you up and you find yourself chasing a Paw Patrol carry-on down the wrong terminal. A few simple words of encouragement from one crazed traveling parent to the next: “It gets better!”
We recently took our kids to Park City Utah for our first ever ski trip as a family in real mountains. It was really an amazing trip and I sat to reflect on why this one went so well and actually felt like vacation. This is where I landed:
Traveling with kids is hard no matter what, but the age makes all the difference. Independent walkers, eaters, wipers, etc is the difference between sanity and exhaustion. If you can wait to go on that epic trip, do so. They don’t remember anything when they are little anyway - so save Mickey for later and opt for the local state park now. I believe one of the biggest stressors for parents is when we expect kids to meet us where we are at instead of meeting them where they are at.
Traveling with kids also goes a ton better if you can be mindful of the timing of it all. Remember how miserable a red eye can be for you? Now imagine having to wake a bunch of kids to catch an early morning flight. Rushing. Stressing. Exhausted. I promise the whole travel experience will go so much better if you can fly during normal awake times and be grounded and tucked in during normal sleep times. Trust me on this, it’s worth paying a little bit more. No parent, ever is sitting in an airport at the crack of dawn with a toddler in full melt down thinking “I am so glad we saved that $50.” When traveling with kids, set them up to win!
I have travelled every month for the last 5.5 years and the biggest lesson I have learned is that less is more. This could not be more true when it comes to kids as well. Kids have an awesome sense of ownership when it comes to adventure and their gear. Allowing them to pull their own suitcase and carry their backpack adds some buy-in on their part. They are part of the family, not just an add on. Try to keep their load light and meaningful. We let our kids bring one of their favorite toys along - usually their favorite stuffed animal that doubles as a pillow. They also bring their own dōTERRA oils for kids and On Guard Hand Sanitizer! The kids collection is designed for all the physical and emotional changes that occur daily for kids - things that get heightened with travel. Having their oils on hand creates a sense of ownership and for their health and empowers them to move forward into a healthier state of mind and body, and they will own their own germ free environment when they have their own sanitizing spray. When you travel with your kids, pack only the necessities, a fav toy and oils. Keep it simple.
If all conditions are right - age, expectations, timing and a reasonable load, you are off to a great start! A few other things that help us have the best time is to give them our attention in flight. Sometimes we get lucky and movies and games are available and are a great distraction. However, it’s smart to be prepared if technology is not available. In our case, our kids don’t have devices because we have chosen to keep them unplugged as long as we can. In flight, our older kids get lost in a book and our younger kids love activities with us. Hidden Pictures or Where’s Waldo is fun to do together. We also play hangman, tic tac toe or give them words to spell or math problems to solve. It’s not boring like it may sound - they love the individual attention! We’re all captive on that flight, we should make the most of it!
Ok moms and dads - oil up, pack less, and wait til the sun comes up before your next big adventure with kids. We are taking on Europe with our kids this summer so we’ll be taking our own advice and likely adding some international tips to the list.
Bon Voyage
