Checklist for Traveling With Kids
Traveling with children-particularly with younger children-is no easy feat. Having to do this ALONE is especially challenging, but luckily there are a few things that you can pack beforehand that (hopefully) will make your life a little easier. Having traveled alone with my 5 children over the holidays, I found these items to be absolutely invaluable:
1) Toddler booster seat. If you can afford a seat for your toddler, get one and use a booster seat. With these, your child will (hopefully) be more well-behaved and not running around! I absolutely love the security of this Cosco high back booster seat for $50, and my girls adored the pink color!
2) Sticker books, coloring books and paperback books for the older kids! These provide hours of entertainment, so load up. Here are some sticker books that my kids and I love: this Flags of the World sticker book for just under $7; this John Deere themed sticker book priced at just over $11 (my boys loved this one!); and of course, this Let’s Color! activity book for my girls, at around $6.
3) Supplies, supplies, supplies. Anything you think that you’ll probably need, pack it. This means diapers, wipes, two changes of clothes, and my ABSOLUTE lifesaver, a burp cloth. In fact, I’d bring two of these because they are great for cleaning up all sorts of things that can come out of a child’s body!
4) Meals and snacks. Pack all the meals you’ll need for the entire trip plus light snacks. Meals are anything such as sandwiches that don’t require refrigeration, bananas, biscuits and dry cookies. For light snacks, you could throw in a few fruit roll-ups and lollipops. From personal experience, I would say forget the drinks—they can spill and you can’t bring them on the plane, anyway!
I hope this helps to make your traveling experience with your children more enjoyable!