Recently, My husband, 2 children and I ventured on a 7 Day Royal Caribbean cruise that we earned from Beachbody coaching. Then in April it was off to Jamaica for the extended family vacation. So all of this traveling led me to blog my thoughts about what works for us when traveling with kids. Mine are 5 and 2 years old, so you might have to tweak it up depending on the ages of your children, of course!
For the car or airplane rides, or whenever they may be getting bored here are some things I like to have on hand:
• Paper, crayons & small paperback books
• A couple of their favorite little toys for them to play with
• A couple new little surprises to present to them along the way
• A little blanket and pillow
• Last Resort – Electronics. I say last resort because I think it’s important to break away from the usual stuff the kids might do at home when we’re on vacation so I don’t want a lot of time spent watching movies or playing electronic games. But if the airplane or car rides or long, we break out the Ipad or portable DVD player for a movie or small electronic games to take their minds of the long trip. An additional reason why you want this to be the last resort is it will delay or negate the chances of them falling asleep as their minds are occupied.
Peyton on Vacation
For snacks we pack:
• Cereal, crackers, fish etc. divided into zip lock bags- one for each kid
• Healthy snack bars
• Fruit snacks, suckers or cookies for when the out of control break downs hit or when we need them to pay attention and stay near (M & M’s, lolly pops)
• Bottled water – they need it to stay hydrated plus it’s great for cleaning up sticky hands and faces. Also, the sugar free single packet drink mixes are great to take to mix with water and avoid sugary drinks.
We make sure we’ve got this stuff packed for once we’ve arrived:
• Hats, sunglasses, water shoes, bathing suits & sunscreen
• Band-aids, and children’s Tylenol (yep , you just never know)
• Baby wipes
• Blow up floaties as it doesn’t take up much space!
Dwyer Vacation
So there are my tips on what to bring along. But most of all, have fun, relax and enjoy your family time – it doesn’t happen often enough!