Are you traveling with young children? 12 essentials for an easier trip
First, the bad news: there isn’t simple way to travel with two children under four. There is only prepared or unprepared. Parenting is nothing more than managing expectations. So when my husband and I decided to take a family trip that would involve both flying and road tripping, we knew we had no choice but to consider every possible scenario.
Although my daughter is almost four and therefore more self-sufficient, she has opinions that are difficult to change. My nine-month-old son has fewer opinions, but because of his size and, you knowlaws regarding child safety, he needs more supplies. And because they’re both young yet at dramatically different stages, they both need entertainment tailored to their attention spans.
To make this happen, our key to success was avoiding boredom and crowds, making sure everyone stayed fed and hydrated, and making sure we had all the gadgets we needed along the way. And with nearly 80 million Americans traveling more than 50 miles this Thanksgiving, we’re certainly not the only family looking to keep drama at bay during holiday travel.
From what went in our carry-on luggage to our on-the-go items, here’s what we relied on.
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Travel essentials for families
This backpack is perfect for preschoolers as it is big enough for a tablet, headphones, coloring books and toys, but small enough to carry on its own. Our hands were already full, so it was crucial to enlist our daughter to take care of her own affairs. It has kid-friendly zippers and an insulated front pocket that’s perfect for snacks, as well as a side mesh pocket that fits most water bottles.
My daughter only looks at her tablet when she travels, which makes it special. But like anything, she gets bored after a while. The Yoto Mini is an excellent screen-free choice for keeping kids entertained on the go. You simply insert one of the pre-programmed cards and listen. It also offers sleep sounds and white noise, can act as a Bluetooth speaker, and even provides access to kid-friendly radio stations in the Yoto app. I recommend the Silicone Adventure Jacket, a great way to protect the device when it is repeatedly dropped by little hands.
If you’ve ever had a child who is a temperature queen, like my 9-month-old son, then you will understand the immense importance of this product. It can heat 250 ml of water, formula or breast milk in four minutes; offers four heating temperatures; is clutter-free and easy to use; and fits easily in our diaper bag. We used this continual on our journey, and we will continue to take it with us every time we leave the house. It’s easily rechargeable, but make sure you always have the USB cable with you as the charge didn’t last as long as I’d hoped.
My daughter has always been picky when it comes to animal protein, but she loves jerky. Since travel days are often an “anything goes” day, she ends up eating a lot of food that causes her to crash and burn (read: juice, pastries, pizza, and fries). Having a turkey stick on hand was a lifesaver when I needed her protein, keeping her full longer. I like that Lorissa’s Kitchen snacks are free of the nine major allergens (peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, milk, sesame, eggs, fish, shellfish, soy); are made from grass-fed and finished beef and free-range chicken and turkey; and are gluten-free, nitrate-free, Non-GMO Project Verified and contain no sugar or preservatives.
My daughter’s first headphones were a pair I randomly bought, and they were garbage, so I was excited to try Avid WonderEars. The sound quality was much better than her old one, and I like that the headset is muted, that my daughter can easily adjust it herself, and that there is a volume limit. The only downside is that the cord isn’t detachable, meaning you have to choose between a 3.5mm jack or USB-C, which can get complicated with multiple devices.
I needed activities to keep my daughter entertained on the plane, but I also needed to keep her occupied at our destination. We had friends to see! Adult conversations to have! The Keke bag was great to take with you to restaurants, but also to take with you on a relaxing dinner at home. This easy-to-zip, carry-along activity bag has four compartments for different emerging skills: social/emotional, fine motor, pre-academic and creative. Plus, there’s extra storage for all the random things kids pick up in a day. (Stones? That one sequin in the playground?) I also like that you can sign up for Keke’s subscription service and exchange bags every three months.
This was the first trip where we traveled around the city with two kids (plus traversing an airport with two large suitcases, a travel crib, a car seat, and three carry-ons). I was so grateful to have this double travel stroller, not only because it was one of the lightest strollers I’ve ever used (19.7 pounds), but also because it was easy to unfold and had plenty of storage space on the bottom for our smaller bags. I was concerned that it would be too wide for certain areas, but we had no problems getting through standard doors or aisles. It is compatible with select car seats, which was crucial as our son is about to transition. The adapters were easy to install. Note that the way to unfold the stroller is to lift the handle – and that’s also the way we carried it when folded. This led to a few mishaps, like accidentally opening the stroller half the time we picked it up, but that was resolved by putting the stroller in its travel bag.
A carrycot is a no-brainer when jet-setting with babies, but since my son crawls and we couldn’t possibly watch him every second of every minute, we needed a safe place to pop it. We’ve used this Newton travel crib for sleeping and playing, and it’s one of the best I’ve ever tried. It’s lightweight, criminally easy to assemble and disassemble, has a super soft mattress, is Greenguard Gold certified and has a footprint twice that of other leading crib/playground combos. It also has an optional bassinet insert for babies up to 15 pounds.
This trip involved a three-hour car ride upon landing at our destination, but I didn’t want to lug around a cumbersome, forward-facing car seat for our 3-year-old. The WAYB Pico was an absolute game changer for us. It weighs only 8 pounds, is easy to install, folds to fit into the necessary backpack, and meets all U.S. motor vehicle and aircraft safety standards. Keep in mind that it’s only made for kids 22-50 pounds and 30-45 inches, but that’s a pretty wide range.
Every parent knows that you never, ever traveling without medication – and I thank the stars we didn’t make that mistake because both kids got the virus while we were away. (Not to mention the fact that my son has been teething for ten years.) What I like about Genexa is that their formulas use the active ingredients you know and trust, like acetaminophen, but no junk. Their products are certified gluten-free, non-GMO verified, and free of common allergens, sweeteners, colors, and artificial preservatives. Because why would something called “FD&C Red #27 aluminum lake” be in my child’s medicine?
As a parent, there are few things more valuable to me than safe, clean, ready-to-use products. I’ve been trying to be the kind of mom who hand-pours my kids’ various toiletries into generic travel bottles. Somehow it’s always so messy. The labels fall off when they get wet. I forget to refill them. This time we used b.box minis, which are dermatologically tested, full of botanical ingredients and free of parabens, dyes and synthetics. At 60 milliliters, this was enough product for both of my children, but the packaging is small enough to fit in all our carry-on luggage.
The latter is not an individual product, but rather a marketplace that you should know about. I absolutely love second-hand shopping, especially when it comes to kids, but sometimes you want new stuff, without the price tag. Rebelstork is the nation’s largest retailer of open-box and overstock baby products. We used it to buy the super light Cybex Anton G car seat as it was compatible with our Silver Cross double stroller, but they sell all kinds of baby gear. I love that this concept gives parents an affordable alternative to buying trusted brands, and I especially love that it diverts 12 million pounds of products from landfills every year.
A little preparation goes a long way
Ultimately, our patience was our greatest asset on this journey, and managing our own expectations was a crucial part of our success. After all, no amount of stuff can get in the way of getting older when both kids are screaming in the car at the same time. But with enough planning, good snacks, and good equipment, you can have a fun family adventure with two young children and have minimal tears.
The opinions expressed by CNET Voices contributors are their own.
