How To Travel With A Toddler
Traveling with kids can be daunting, but also rewarding! Getting them out to your favorite spots, seeing them have fun, and making unique memories as a family makes the trip well worth it. While being on vacation may be the most enjoyable part, I’m sharing some tips we use every time to make for a more enjoyable car ride.
After having moved to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, it is a full 9-10 hour road trip to visit family now. We had to do that trip quite a few times already and we have the perfect system now mastered! So let’s get into my super easy and short list of tips we love.
1. Activity Tub
Hands-down my favorite thing I’ve learned is to secure a tub on the middle armrest in the back seat. It is easily accessible for your kids in their car seats, although younger ones may still need assistance reaching in depending on the set up of your car. I pack the tub a few days beforehand and keep it hidden so it is a surprise by the time road trip day comes around. I am always mixing up what is in the tub to keep it fresh and new as well. When packing the tub, I keep in mind things that are currently keeping her busy: playing with little figurines, reading ISpy books or comic books, sticker books, dry erase books, even a travel chalkboard.
2. Emergency Bag
Ever since day one of bringing our first daughter home, we keep an emergency bag in the car. This contains everything we may need for any accident. We keep spare diapers, wipes, current clothing sizes associated with weather, a blanket, socks, and a pair of shoes. We also keep a collapsible potty in the car during trips. This has helped a lot, especially during potty training! In a separate bag, I keep travel size medicines, hand sanitizers, first-aid kit, and anything else we may need if we were stuck in the car for an extended period of time.
3. Snack Bag/Cooler
Your number one tip for any situation with kids is to bring snacks. Going for a walk? Bring snacks. Headed to the doctors? Bring snacks. I. Kid. You. Not. Always pack snacks! For long road trips, I like to head out and get special snacks we might not always purchase as well as mess-free options. For example, apple sauce or yogurt pouches, cut up cucumbers, baby carrots, organic fruit snacks, apples, fresh cut up fruit, cheese and crackers, cutie oranges, and so forth.
4. Backseat Organizer
This backseat organizer helped a lot in the early years! We would keep special books in the car in the little pouches. There are mesh spots to keep all of her cups/juices. We always had a spare pouch that we would throw misc. toy pieces as the car became a mess over the trip. Keeping them all together made clean up so much easier once we reached our destination. It came in a pack of two as well so it was perfect for us: one in each car! There is even a spot for a tablet, which we have made a hole in for a charging chord. After our daughter fully explored her activity box, which would take her hours by the way, we’d throw on a movie and she’d usually fall asleep around that time too.
5. Car Trash Bag
This backseat trash bag has been the best purchase for our car! I wish I purchased the ‘2’ option so we had one in each car. We weren’t traveling in mine a lot earlier, but now my daughter and I do a lot of adventuring in my car and it desperately needs a trash bag to help keep it clean. It’s small, lightweight, and easy to reach making it super easy for us all to use. Then when it’s full, you unroll the Velcro at the bottom and give it a light shake into a trashcan.
6. Bag Hooks
We purchased this set of 4 car hooks and put two in each car. It has helped keep bags, coats, picnic blankets, and more off of the floor or car seat! During a day trip, it keeps our cars clean and organized. During long road trips, it makes bags easily accessible and helps create more packing space for us.
I wish I had more tips, but that’s seriously it! It’s as simple as that! We love all of these tips and use them every time. If you have any other road trip hacks for kids that you utilize, I would love to build a supportive list in the comments below. Happy road tripping!