Traveling with toddlers

I love to travel. It’s an opportunity to expand my perspective, meet new people, see new places, reflect, grow, escape, recharge, and connect. I feel fortunate to have the ability to travel and explore.

Traveling with our kids has been one of the most fulfilling and rewarding things for me as a parent. I feel we are giving them an experience, and experiences are what mold and shape us into the people we are today.

Friends sometimes ask if it is hard to travel with kids. My answer is that it is and it isn’t.

I travel for work and thought I knew how to travel well, but I’m on a new level since traveling with our kids. I know how to find a lactation room, changing station, quiet corner, and quick snack better and faster than ever.

Every travel experience is unique and has stories to tell. We’ve dealt with explosive diarrhea on airplanes (unfortunately more than once). You know it’s bad when you’ve exhausted the four extra outfits in your carry-on and as the plane descends your husband says, “Just wrap her in the blanket like a burrito.”

These moments sound a little awful and admittedly they can be painful at times. I remember missing our flight to Guadalajara, Mexico, then waiting on stand-by for the next flight. Two seats were available on the next flight which meant seats for Mia and me and Andre riding on my lap while leaving Jose behind for tomorrow’s flights. I could feel Jose’s tension as he dreaded being separated from us, but we knew that his family would be at the airport to greet us, and we’d be at our destination with comfortable beds for the kids to sleep in.

Talk about a lot to juggle. Picture me entertaining our toddlers for two hours, spilling snacks everywhere, and scrambling to complete our entry & customs paperwork. Then exiting the plane onto the runway, squeezing in a packed shuttle to be escorted to the airport, grabbing our two checked bags, and hauling the kids and luggage through customs.

You may not believe it, but it went surprisingly well. The flight went as fast as it can, we found our luggage, made it through customs, met my in-laws, and made it to their home by dinnertime. Jose caught a flight early the next morning and was with us for lunch.

Traveling is a great time to test your limits and push outside your comfort zone. I find that I can be very focused and resourceful in these moments. More importantly, I think it helps our kids be braver, more adaptable, more responsible. They sense the need to be helpful and attentive, which helps them grow as well.

Not all of our travels have crazy stories. Our last vacation with the kids doesn’t involve any haphazard travels. Our flights were on-time, our kids were healthy, we had a great week on the beach, and we met new friends in the house next door.

By the way, traveling doesn’t have to mean flying. I do encourage you to go some place new, and there are many wonderful places to visit that are closer to home. We recently drove a couple of hours and spent the weekend with one of my college girlfriends. Our kids had a wonderful weekend playing with her girls. New toys, new parks, new foods, and new friends all make for exciting and memorable moments.

We’ve also spent the weekend hiking at state parks, watching the state volleyball tournament, weekends at lake cabins, and more. These are all special memories for us.

So what are some tricks when we go on an adventure? The number one piece of advice is to begin with an open mind. Be ready to be flexible and keep it fun and exciting. Your energy will project onto the kids.

Second, and equally is important, is to pack a lot of snacks. Lots and lots of snacks. And then pack some more. Our kids can carry their own backpacks now, which means they can also carry their own entertainment. We pack 1-2 books for each of them, a stuffed animal, and headphones. It’s amazing how exciting it can be for the kids to show their puppy (or whatever animal they have) around and teach them about traveling. I try not to overpack on entertainment because the environment alone is new and exciting. I also know that at one point or another I will end up helping to carry their backpacks and I for one do not need anything extra to carry.

I will say it again. Literally everything is new and exciting. But it is also exhausting. My third tip is to try to build in a sleep plan for the first night or two so the kids can adjust and have energy for the daytime activities.

If you’ve ever said that traveling with kids is too hard or they won’t remember I ask you to reconsider. Some of our craziest, most stressful moments have made for some of our best memories.