Tips for Traveling With Kids (and Baby)

Fall is the perfect time to travel with kids and baby. Wait until baby is a little over 1-month-old -- wait at least six weeks. You may not want to hear this bit of information, but it needs to be followed. Why? Infants under the age of one month are very susceptible to viruses especially if you are flying on a plane or if there are other kids around in a small place. In fact, may doctors say to wait until around the age of six months old. Babies' immune systems are stronger the older they get.

Get the right seat.

If flying by plane, schedule an off time to fly so that there will not be as many people and ask for the row of seats called the bulkhead. This is perfect for parents traveling with babies and small kids. It provides an area wide enough for a toddler to site on the floor or to stand. Or, it is perfect for you to spread a blanket on the floor to perform a diaper change. If you do not have the area, a diaper change can be done in the galley area of a plane. The flight attendants may raise an eyebrow or two, but don't worry about it. It almost always has to happen and baby comes first. Bring along a bag to use to wrap the diaper in or use the barf bag. Either place it back into the diaper bag or throw it away after it has been securely wrapped.

Prepare for the trip early.

Make a list of everything you may need in case of an emergency. For example, should you get booted off of a plane or your road trip takes a detour, make sure you have plenty of things in easy to access carry-on bags. For example, ample diapers, clothes, snacks or whatever, in your bags and diaper bag.

Get the kids involved.

Who says they can't help to pick out a place and magically become a part of the "adventure?" Show them a few choices written out on piece of paper and let them look at the areas with you on the Internet. Print out information sheets on the ones they are excited about. Don't show or print out any place that you are not really considering. One year, we only considered beaches. Each beach was written on the inside of a handmade card. The kids drew, colored and cut out balls, umbrellas, birds, fish, among other things, and placed them inside a plastic bucket. There were four of us so we made four of each object to be placed in the bucket. Each one of us pulled out a suggestion while turning our head. Whichever one was pulled out the most was the winner of our vacation spot.

If you are flying, pack as few toys as possible.

Instead, use the travel size Etch-A-Sketch and other toys that make little noise but provide plenty of fun entertainment for hours. Let them sketch an object on the plane or outside the window. One year, my kids drew the people and animals from our neighborhood from memory and it kept them busy for so long that they were not even aware how long we had been traveling.

Pack surprises in their luggage and carryon bags.

Little things that will delight them when they are found. Don't pack too many overall or too many in the same place. These kinds of things will make the vacation more exciting and will give the kids something more to do. The more they have to do, remember, is the less they have to complain about.

Don't pull out anything until they ask for it. Let them attempt to have fun on their own by just looking around or by playing "I Spy" with shapes of clouds. For example, whoever finds an object amongst the clouds first, wins a point to continue the game or change it. Let the adult say a shape like "bear." Whoever sees a cloud that looks like a bear first, can win a point towards the five-point minimum of staying with the game and becoming the leader or changing it.

Make sure to take along old favorites.

Despite any new toys or games they may have gotten recently, they will always want some of their special, older ones, whether they agree with this or not while packing.

Buy inexpensive cameras for the trip.

Let each child have their own and let them take pictures whenever they feel like it. Cameras are great assets in building and producing family memory books. Tell the kids that after they take a picture, they can write down information or a story about the object that they just took a picture of. This will not only keep them busy, but also will make a great and creative memory book when the picture is placed on each page. In fact, they can trace or draw a rectangle anywhere on the page for the picture to be placed. By letting them choose the area, it could end up anywhere on the page, making each child's memory book unique and interesting from page to page.

Travel in the early mornings or late evenings.

If you travel at an off-time when the kids are sleepy, they will not be bothered by extended traveling times, as they will probably sleep for most of the initial time.

Don't forget to pack plenty of snacks.

Whether you are traveling with a baby, toddler or preschooler, pack water and light, edible, no-mess snacks, excluding chocolate and anything else with caffeine. Provide baby with liquids and/or something to suck. Babies need just as much liquid as anyone else, especially on planes. Drinking breast milk, juice, water, formula, or even a pacifier, will help babies open up the Eustachian tube. This connects the middle ear to the nose and equalizes the pressure on both sides ensuring an easier balanced feeling for baby.

Don't forget the wipes.

These can be used by everyone for cleanup of any mess. In addition, they can be taken out of their original packaging and placed inside a plastic freezer bag for easier, less bulky packing.

Make sure your emergency contact information is current.

The information for phone numbers, names of doctors and friends/relatives to contact change from time to time. In addition, carry a current photo of your family in your wallet, purse or whatever travel sack you are using to carry valuables. Save time and write out your directions. It's always nice to travel with another adult for those extra pair of hands. Nevertheless, just in case, write out the directions in sequence steps as you anticipate them to happen. This saves time, energy and sanity when traveling with kids and especially with a baby. If you have the travel route written down, you will not have to attempt to read maps or figure out where you need to go next with baby and kids in tow, which can be an exasperating task. Instead of rustling with a large map, you can easily read directions on a pad and follow them in sequence as long as you print legibly.

Dress your family all in one color.

You will need to allow kids to run around more times than not. Frequent stops or time to allow them to stretch, use the bathroom and move around a little is a lot safer if everyone is wearing the same color.

Babies need time out too.

Babies get pretty fussy when strapped in a car or infant seat after two to three hours. If traveling in a car, make frequent stops so baby can get out of the seat and stretch her back away from the seat. Those seats get really hot, no matter what time of the year it is. Depending on how old the baby is, if you are on a plane, she can sit on your lap or in the seat next to you for a while (if it is empty).

©2006 Jodie Lynn