If there is one thing I would consider myself seasoned at as a mother, it's traveling. As a military family, I have made international trips with my son just the two of us, we have moved internationally with him and while I was pregnant with our daughter (we just didn't know it yet), have been on many 10+ hour car trips in Europe and in the States, and have packed, and packed, and packed again for little people ages five months to three years. So, as we were preparing to go to Wyoming to visit family for the holidays, I thought I had it in the bag when it comes to traveling with kids. I mean, I did a plane ride from Germany to the US with a 5 mo. old baby and back again with a 9 mo. old baby, what can't I handle (in the traveling realm). I know what you're thinking; "how does she do it?!" Well, here are my five easy steps for traveling with small people under the age of four.
1. Pack Enough Diapers to Last Through a Nuclear Holocaust.
Then pack 1 more bag just in case. Because it never fails. It seems like my kids mess/wet their pants exponentially more when traveling in the car than any other time. I guess it's good to know they are staying hydrated, but seriously! I rolled into the driveway of my parents house with 1 fresh diaper to spare, praying my daughter wasn't considering making a #2 for a couple hours. She obliged, thank God.
2. Pack Ample Snacks
This way, your toddler can decide he hates everything in the snack bag so he can frequent convenience stores along the route to buy more foods he is going to hate upon opening the packages. Apparently gummy bears and granola bars and goldfish crackers obtain an unbearable taste when riding in the car. So do mini doughnuts, fruit snacks, and cheese sticks. All of these items will become inedible once the car starts and the only thing that is fit for human consumption are suckers. Thanks to grandpa, suckers happened.
3. Choose your Restaurants Wisely!
Kids need some time out of the car on long trips regardless of their age. However, this doesn't mean that I want to spend 19 hours in a McDonald's Play Place. Don't get me wrong, I am beyond thankful for the McDonald's Play Places, especially those with wifi, as a great indoor alternative to the park or if I must get some work done in a safe environment like our local McDonald's. When driving, this is the worst possible option. We avoid anything with a play place like the plague. However, there are still some awesome options for kids to eat! Places with quick service and a kids menu are always a hit. Really, any place that serves fries and chocolate milk in a timely manner and has a happy hour (when I have a co-pilot) is good by me. I highly recommend Applebee's and Waffle House for kids dining options on the road.
4. A Fun Activity Bag
Have your child pack the special activity bag with toys, books, etc to do in the car so he can beg to play a game on the Kindle Fire or your cell phone the whole time. I let him play on the Kindle to keep both of our sanity, and asking him to just "check out the scenary" for 12 hours in one day is a lot to ask of a three year old. But, we still choose to limit the time he uses these electronics so he doesn't turn into a little demon tablet addict. So, I give the device about 10% and then when it "runned out of batteries" that's the time when we stop and mom plugs it in to charge up to another 10%. It's been an easy and usually fit-free method in my experience thus far. Oh, that bag of cars, books, tractors, and other toys? It's still zipped shut in his temporary bedroom as we visit family. This bag is a perfect way to take up the last 4 inches of trunk space in the vehicle to make sure you are really getting your space worth out of that car!
5. Download Expedia and Hotels.com
Do this so that next time you can say screw it to the road trip and just fly there. However, on the road these apps come in handy to book a hotel along the route! The last thing I want to do when the little people are just done being in the car is drive around looking for a hotel with vacancy. Booking on these sites is quick and easy and can be done in route (not while driving, of course!). Anything that saves me some time, saves my kids some tears, and makes our hotel stay experience less like we are going to get mugged and more like we are super fancy patrons is something I will do! But seriously. Next time, just fly.
Road tripping is one of those things we all want to do in our college and younger years. If you do it then, awesome! Let me just say if you wait to do your road tripping until you have children be prepared for things like poop, spilled candy, begging to stop at truck stops, asking "are we there yet?", complaining about the music (although, I can't blame him, my co-pilot's choice of station, Willy's Roadhouse, isn't exactly the most hip station on Sirius), and stopping much more frequently than without children will happen with small ones along. I am lucky in that my little people are actually very good travelers. Part of the perks of a military family is that you do travel often whether it is to move or visit family far away, and everything is far away from Wyoming, so they have started their road tripping at a young age. My best advice? Take it in stride and don't sweat the small stuff! Do what makes the trip easiest on you, even if it means your toddler eats blow pops for lunch.
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