Planning to travel with toddlers involves preparing yourself, but what about preparing toddlers for travel? Some of the challenges you’re worried about facing may actually be avoided, or at least lessened, by prepping your little ones for the exciting trip ahead.
Emotionally Preparing Toddlers for Travel
Once you know where you are headed, begin talking to your toddlers about the idea of going there. Teach them things about your destination—what you might see, words people use, different kinds of food. If you need help making it more interesting or relatable to your kids, try finding a book or TV episode about your destination. I really like the show Super Wings on Prime Video for this purpose.
It is important to keep your talks positive and reassuring. Preparing toddlers for travel should not be daunting. You want your children to feel excited and comfortable about your upcoming adventure!
Packing with Toddlers in Mind
As you probably know, packing for travel with babies and toddlers is a whole other ballgame. You’ll want to carefully review your packing list and make sure you have the essentials for young kids: snacks, toys, comfort items (blankets, stuffed animals, etc.), and diapers.
When you gather all your toddler items, make yourself a toddler survival kit. This is a separate bag that you keep within reach, holding anything you might need at a moment’s notice. For example, our bag contains the following:
- Favorite stuffed animal (assuming the kids aren’t already carrying them)
- Snacks
- Spill-proof cups
- Lightweight books
- Small, quiet toys
- Tablet (we try hard to avoid using it, but if we get desperate, we want it close!)
Remember that you can include your toddlers in deciding which things to include. When preparing for our last trip, our older toddler picked everything he wanted to bring in his backpack. I beamed with pride when he stopped picking toys because he didn’t want his bag to be too heavy. Letting them have a say in packing their bag makes them feel like part of the process.
Establishing Travel Routines
Travel can be a big challenge if your toddler is used to a routine. The best thing you can do is try to anticipate your travel routine and start making adjustments to your home routine leading up to your trip.
For example, say your toddler normally eats dinner at 6pm and is in bed by 7:30pm. You’re traveling to Spain where adults and children are often eating dinner between 9pm and 11pm. In this case, mark your calendar for a couple weeks before you leave and start pushing dinner and bedtime back little by little to ease the transition.
If you’re traveling to a different time zone, don’t forget to factor that in, as well. Kids can typically recover from jet lag quicker than adults (cite something), but trying to adjust to the new time zone ahead of time can definitely help.
Preparing for the Journey Itself
In addition to talking to your toddlers about your destination, talk to them about the travel itself. Talk about the process of arriving at the airport, going through security, and flying up in the airplane. Or talk about all the fun places you can stop on your road trip.
If you’ve got long travel days ahead, have a plan for how to keep the kids entertained. There is a delicate balance to this that you will perfect over time. You’ll want a variety of activities, but you don’t want to bring so many toys and games that you get weighed down.
Remember that toddlers are often easily entertained. We’ve seen our little ones get absolutely engrossed in the most random things from sugar packets to coasters to whatever is going on out the window. So don’t feel the need to download as many hours of movies as you have traveling, but do have a few of their favorites available.
Travel Health and Safety Tips for Toddlers
Toddlers encounter minor illnesses and boo boos at home, so make sure you prepare for these occurrences when you travel, as well. Pack a small first aid kit and any medications you need.
It is easy to get dehydrated when traveling, especially when flying. Pack your kids’ favorite cups and fill them with plenty of water. Also, if your kids are like ours, they always drink water with ice, which is not common in many countries. Before you go to one of them, get your kids used to the idea of drinking water without ice. Even after a month in Europe, our kids were still reluctant to accept this as normal.
It is also a good idea to familiarize yourself and your toddlers with what to do in an emergency while traveling. Whether it’s learning how to say “help” in the local language, knowing the number to dial for emergency assistance, or even just talking about who would be a good person to ask for help, go over some basics with your kids before your trip.
Making the Trip Fun
If you’re unsure how your toddler will handle travel, try planning at least one activity that you know they will enjoy. When you’re talking about your upcoming trip, ask them what they would like to see. Or mention how much fun you’re going to have doing a particular activity you have planned.
We ended up at many mini golf stops (planned and unplanned) on our last long road trip. We knew that it was a familiar activity that would make our kids happy.
Preparing Toddlers for Travel ≠ Perfection
Now that you have your strategies for preparing both yourself and your toddlers for travel, please also remember that no matter how prepared you are, things might not go as planned.
The number one thing I tell people who ask for advice about traveling with kids is to be flexible. Even if your itinerary is seemingly a toddler’s dream vacation, they will still be out of their usual environment. Be patient with your kids and manage your expectations, and you’ll be sure to have a fun-filled family adventure!
What are your top tips for preparing toddlers for travel? Share in the comments below!
For more family travel tips and inspiration, check out our other blog posts!