Toddler Travel Tips

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Well HELLO, pals! It’s been some time since we’ve seen you on the blog, and I’m here today to share a few tips I learned while traveling solo with my toddler. Whether you’re heading to the most magical place on earth or heading home for the holidays, traveling with a toddler can be stressful. I crowd sourced from Instagram and followed experts likes Where Is Briggs and Safe in the Seat to prepare for our trip, and after (barely) surviving, here are the lessons I learned:

  1. ALL THE SNACKS: I could have filled a suitcase with all of the snacks I packed. I’m not kidding. I tried to grab some of Jackson’s faves but also get things that he doesn’t usually get to have, including having candy at breakfast. We loved this Gobe snack spinner that doubles as an activity, as well as this Whiskware Stackable Snack Pack to keep your options open!

  2. ALL THE ACTIVITIES: I packed Jackson’s backpack filled with activities including this adorable custom travel toddler busy box from 2 Plus 3 Equals We on Etsy. Resoundingly, one of the pieces of advice I got from people was that any limits you might have on screen time do not exist in the air. Knowing this, I made sure to download several episodes of our favorite shows and movies to my iPad. Jackson loves truck videos on YouTube so I also signed up for a premium account trial just to be able to download a few of those as well. I purchased these headphones for Jackson ahead of the trip, but he refused to wear them when it came to it. If silent movies will keep you busy, buddy, that’s fine.

  3. FOLLOW THE EXPERTS: I know I already mentioned Safe in the Seat and Where Is Briggs, but there is a ton of great information on the Internet about traveling with toddlers. Like all things with parenting, I think it’s great to read different perspectives and then decide what works best for you!

  4. ACCEPT THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS: I had so many strangers offer to help throughout our travel journey – “Can I carry a bag for you? Hold the door? Grab your car seat?” Normally, I’m the type to say, “Oh no, I can handle it” and I quickly realized I should accept help if someone was being kind to me. PS if you ever seeing a parent struggling, please offer to help them.

  5. LET ‘EM LOOK: And if people aren’t so kind, forget them. If someone can’t handle a toddler having a meltdown or realize that you’re trying your best, whether they say something rude or just by staring, LET ‘EM LOOK.

Overall, when traveling with a toddler, be it by planes, trains or automobiles, you should do whatever it takes to arrive to your destination safely and with a happy child without guilt. You’ve got this!