Traveling with Small Children

As the mother of three small children (ages 2, 3 and 6) and taking many trips to vacation spots as well as holiday visits to see family I have come up with lots of great ways to keep my kids safe and happy during road trips. Taking your child's age into consideration, you'll definitely want to bring along things to keep them occupied, as well as comfortable during the journey. It is inevitable that your child's normal daily schedule will be turned up on end but there are ways to help her cope with the long boring hours and new surroundings.

Considering that you will have your child strapped into the proper safety seat for their size and weight you will want to bring along things to squash their boredom. Depending on the length of your journey you may want to consider bringing along a new small toy that you will dole out every 100 miles of your trip or perhaps more often like one toy per house. A good place to find toys for this purpose is a dollar store. Remember that you will also have the trip back to contend with so don't use up all your ammo on the way there!

Don't ignore the old favorites. Remember to bring along a selection of tried and true favorites that are specific to your child. Elementary aged children may like a hand held game machine to bring along - a good first gift would be a new game to try out. Children who are over 3 would probably enjoy a new coloring book and a fresh box of washable crayons. Crayola makes a wonderful product called Color Wonder that keeps all the ink on the paper.

Nothing makes a child crankier then being tired, hungry and wet. Be sure to pack lots of healthy age appropriate snacks for your child along with bottles or water (or their favorite beverage) and sippy cups. Before the trip it is a good idea to get those small snack baggies and pre-pack them so it's easier to hand out snacks. Spills and leaks happen to the best of us so bring along an extra set or two of clothing. If your child is still in diapers it's best to pack a diaper for every hour on the road. You probably won't need to change them that often but when you get to where you're going you won't need to tear apart your luggage looking for a fresh diaper and some wipes if you've already got a bunch in your bag. If your child is in the throes of potty training or has recently been trained it may be a good idea to place a plastic bag (grocery store bags work fine) and a towel in his car seat in case an accident occurs. The bag prevents any fluid from seeping into the car seat and the towel soaks up as much moisture as possible until you can find a safe place to pull over and clean everyone up. A dry, fed and comfortable child will be more likely to take a longer, more beneficial nap in his seat .

Schedules are almost impossible to keep on vacation but if you can work a regular nap in every day you will all have a better time. Always take more clothes then you think you'll need unless you will have constant access to a washer and dryer. Don't give up your return trip toys while you're on vacation or before you get there or you will be setting yourself up for a long ride back. Be sure to bring your child's favorite foods, if possible. New surroundings can be overwhelming to a child so be patient and let them adjust. Remember that you're out to have fun!