I have five kids that will drive me seriously crazy unless I am ready when we travel. Love the kids, but if I am not prepared they whine, fight, and get hangry. That’s why, to my husband’s dismay, I have a loaded car when we travel. And with summer right here we’ve already been on the road. So here are the things that give this momma some sanity. Basically, here’s how to not go crazy when traveling with kids. Here are some tips whether you’re in the car or on a plane.
GRAB MY FREE KIDS TRAVEL ACTIVITY PACK HERE
Best Travel Items for Kids
1. Tava Tablet
This pen teaches your kids to read and write. It’ll help kids with their vocabulary, listening skills, and reading comprehension and it’s a lot of fun.
3. Nintendo DS
If your kids love screen time, they’ll probably enjoy all the games they can play on the DS. Road trips are a good time to be generous with screen time in order to keep the peace.
Any coloring book will do, but you can find my temple coloring book here!
It’s always fun to learn about a new place before you go there so if you can find books about your destination, you can involve your kids in the research. Alternately, any book about travel and the interesting places one can go will be a great boredom-buster.
6. O BALL
This simple toy is perfect for babies! It’s light enough that it’s easy to hold and squish with baby fingers.
7. Travel Bingo
When boredom begins to set in, pull out travel bingo so the entire family can become experts on the move.
8. Chapter Book
Older kids can read chapter books to keep them entertained in the car, but for the younger kids, we like to read out loud to them so they can be included.
9. Kid O Tablet
This toy fascinates my kids. Using a magnetic pen, your kids can create shapes by pulling metal beads up or pushing them down using their fingers.
This classic toy lets your kids draw amazing illustrations that can quickly be erased. The best part is that there are no messes!
Best Travel Snacks for Kids
- Trail mix
- Dried Fruit
- Fruit Leathers
- Beef Jerky
- Popcorn
- Carrot sticks
- Nuts
- Sandwich Crackers
- Sliced Sweet Potatoes
- Crackers like goldfish crackers
Road Trip Games for Kids
- Letter Game- Find the letters of the alphabet on road signs. Once you find “A” move to the letter “B” and so forth.
- License Plate Game – Find as many states as possible. You can write them down or if oyu have time beforehand you can print this map for free.
- Road trip Bingo (free printables below)
- Dice in a Tupperware – If your kids like to play games they can still do so by simply putting dice in a Tupperware container so they don’t go everywhere
- Lego Tic-tac-toe
Flying Tips for Kids
- Have your kids chew candy, gum, or something squishy while taking off and landing. You can also just bring a bottle or sipper cup. This will help their ears to pop taking off and landing.
- Bring a ziplock bag or two for trash like the kids used gum, dirty diapers, or soiled clothing.
- Bring lots of diapers in case of accidents or just being able to clean up spills.
- Ask the attendant if you need a blanket, they usually have one.
- Bring snacks for your kids, sometimes peanuts and crackers aren’t enough. We love fruit leathers and granola bars.
- Bring coloring books, books, or other quiet games. Having novel items also makes flying more fun. You can also check out our favorite travel items above.
Going on a Cruise with Kids
Read about our experience cruising to Jamaica with the kids here.
Free Printables
GRAB MY FREE KIDS TRAVEL ACTIVITY PACK HERE
And here are some more traveling hacks. And be sure to check out this post with more lost of FREE PRINTABLE packing lists. Happy traveling parents. And best of luck to you.
P.S. I love using Get Away Today to plan my trips!
Nice tips and ideas that travelers can follow through.