Travels With Toddlers

We recently returned from a 10 day trip with our three year old and nine month old. We survived. Vacationing with small children can seem more like work than play, but we value experiences, and we cherish the joy that our children had on our trip. I can understand why so many people are overcome with anxiety at the though of traveling with small children. If you value travel, like we do, here are three tips we used to make our travel successful.

Tip #1: Book ahead and bundle.

Travel is expensive. In order to maximize our travel time, and the experiences we could enjoy on our trip, it was important to us that we find affordable flights from the midwest to California. We shopped around multiple websites, companies, and airlines to find the best prices. There are several airlines that function as "budget airlines" like Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines. For this trip we ended up booking a travel bundle with Frontier Airlines. The bundle included three "extended leg room" seats, one checked item, one carry-on item, and one personal item per traveler, as well as a rental vehicle for the nine days that we were in California all for a bundled price of $1300. We purchased our travel bundle about six months prior to our travel dates. It is important to understand that the budget airlines charge a drastically increased fee for any bags you pay for on the day of travel. They also nickel and dime every other amenity like snacks, soda pop, and alcoholic beverages. Which leads me to my second tip.

Tip #2: Pack snacks and entertainment.

With an understanding that we would not like to purchase a $3.00 can of soda pop on the airplane, my wife packed us plenty of snacks and entertainment. She packed each of us a dinner box, which included a sampling of cured meats, cheese, and crackers, and packed clementines, granola bars, and fruit snacks for additional snacks. We like to purchase small toys, coloring books, and other activities from a dollar store prior to travel. This allows for us to surprise our son with something new to play with while also providing security knowing we won't lose a treasured toy during travels.

Tip #3: Don't overbook your schedule.

A few years ago, we travelled to California for a similar vacation, and we packed our itinerary with activities day and night. While this provided us opportunities to do all of our favorite activities, and eat at our favorite restaurants, it also left us exhausted, impatient, and cranky with one another. We planned a handful of activities for this trip, but we also allowed ourselves the freedom to change plans and relax. One day I took our son to the beach, and my wife decided to stay behind with the baby (who would've just eaten sand all day) to get some extra rest. The freedom and flexibility in our schedule also allowed for some spontaneous memories that we will cherish forever.

Tip #4: Consider time differences.

Traveling across different time zones is difficult. My small children have shown that they handle it even worse than most people do. We traveled from Eastern Standard Time to Pacific Standard Time, which meant that our children were function on a biological clock that was three hours ahead of the local time. In the first few days of the trip we pushed our kids late into the day only to have them grow tired, cranky, and unruly. When this was coupled with our own jet lagged fatigue, it made a recipe for some intense emotional break downs. By day three we decided to plan any major activities for the morning time, and to go out for nice lunches instead of for dinners. This allowed us to let the kids wind down (even if they didn't immediately go to sleep), and deal with the emotional toddler outbursts in the comfort and privacy of our own lodgings.

Tip #5: Ease back into your daily routines.

It took our family a full week to adjust back to our normal life in the midwest. The baby would be wide awake at her routine bed time. My wife, who usually goes to sleep between nine and ten PM would be up until two or three in the morning. By day four of attempting to muscle through our normal routines, our home and family life imploded. We didn't allow ourselves the flexibility to get rest, to adjust, or to ease back into the busyness of work, parenting, socializing, or volunteering. Obviously it won't always be possible to do so due to work restrictions or other obligations, but I highly recommend taking a day or two after your vacation to allow you and a significant other if you have one to rest and restore yourselves. Traveling with toddlers is hard work. You deserve a break.