Family Travel Tips

If you are traveling with children, the following are easy to forget but important not to forget:

oSuntan lotion

oBug repellant

oAntibacterial wipes/spray

oExtra clothes

oDishwashing liquid to wash bottles

oDiaper changing pads (I would recommend the disposable kind sold at any supermarket or Target/Wal-Mart)

Things it’s better to buy at destination than to travel with:

oFormula (except for enough to last you through your trip and the first day at destination)

oDiapers (except for enough to last for the first two days)

oSnacks (except for enough for the plane/car ride)

Best inventions for traveling with children:

oDiaper disposable sacks (most airlines won’t allow you to discard a diaper without one)

oPacifier Disinfecting Wipes (I discovered this recently and now would never travel without them)

oUmbrella Strollers (unless you have more than one child.  Although, pushing two is easier than lugging around a double stroller)

oPlastic bags (sandwich and freezer bags).  If you put all your liquids and/or gels in bags in your diaper bag, it will save a lot of time at the security check point.  Airport security/TSA make allowances for families with children, but you can guarantee that if you don’t get all your liquids out where they can be x-rayed, you will be searched thoroughly.  It’s easier to just have all your liquids ready in plastic bags, place them on the conveyor belt and let them get x-rayed and then quickly collect your things and catch your plane.  Believe me this extra step saves a lot of time.  By the way, the x-raying process does not affect your child’s liquids.

If you are traveling during the summer, don’t forget swimming supplies:

oSwim suit

oLife jacket and/or wings

oSuntan lotion

oBug repellant

oSwimming diapers

The one thing you should never forget when traveling with children:  A CAMERA

oBattery charger/batteries

oExtra film/HD card

oCamera bag/holder

Why We Travel with Children

By Colleen Lanin, The Travel Mama

Traveling with children is not as relaxing as seeing the world without kids. It is harder. It requires more planning. It requires more compromise.

But the same is true of parenting. And the joys of parenting more than make up for the inconveniences. Children live so much in the present moment that we are forced to slow down and see things as they do...right now...right here. And that brings traveling to a whole new and exciting dimension!

A few months ago my husband, Phil, and I took our two kids on a road trip to a quaint town of Julian, California for the day. It is a town known for its abundance of apple pie shops and its country small-town-ness.

We had a quick lunch at the Cowgirl Café before savoring slices of apple pie with vanilla ice cream at Mom's Pie House. Then we perused kitschy shops as long as the kids would allow it. The baby, Leo, began flailing his head into my chest and grunting. Karissa (then, three and a half years old) got that scary overtired glean in her eyes as she started tossing merchandise from shelves. This was our signal - time for naps!

The winding drive to a nearby apple orchard induced sleep for both kids. My husband and I lingered in the parking lot and chatted quietly while the kids dozed.

A short while later, we pushed Leo in his stroller through rows of apple trees while Karissa delighted in filling her paper sack with tiny ruby and green fruit. She zipped through the orchard, grinning through bites of apple. She cried when it was time to leave.

Next we drove to Lake Cuyamaca, a smallish lake lined by colorful fall trees. I marched ahead with the baby strapped to my tummy in his carrier. I wanted some solace from three year-old squeals and was lacking the patience to go at a three year-old's pace.

At one point I was so far ahead that I could neither see Phil and Karissa behind me, nor hear any sign of them. I worried I had walked too far ahead and my daughter had gotten tired, forcing them to head back. I stopped to stare at the lake through a twinkling of golden leaves. I hugged my son to me, leaned my face into the warmth of his fuzzy head and breathed in his baby smell. I enjoyed the serenity of that moment.

But even then, I felt a tugging at me. I wanted to be with my other child too. I wanted to see her reaction to the leaves as they crunched beneath her feet. I longed to watch her blue-moccasined feet scamper through the grasses, arms spread like an airplane's wings. I strained to hear those squeals I had sought to escape.

I waited.

Soon I heard, "Mommmmmy! Where aaaaaare youuuuu?!" Then I saw her, a streak of hot pink running toward me. I was greeted by a giant smile and little arms encircling my legs and stories of birds seen in the sky.

Karissa led our pack of four back down the path to our car. We rambled over rocks and roots and fallen leaves. We wound through trees, over tall grasses, around muddy puddles and past a lake dotted with tiny boats.

I witnessed, and therefore was part of, my child's pure joy in the journey.

And that, my fellow travel mamas, is why traveling with children is worth the interrupted sleep, the noisy meals and the constant potty breaks.

Welcome to Travel Mamas. Enjoy the journey!

Colleen Lanin can be found giving advice to those of us traveling with children on her website www.travelmamas.com.

Guest Columnist

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