Traveling With Toddlers: 10 Tips to Make Your Vacation Stress Free
It’s no news that traveling with children is challenging, but traveling with toddlers? Those parents deserve an award, as this can be tougher! But the big question is, what if it’s fantastic? Interestingly, with simple family travel tips, you can minimise how stressful your journey will be, particularly with toddlers.
These tips range from preparation to resting well, as is the key to smooth travel days, particularly for your baby. Also, let’s not forget booking for logistics such as accommodation and car rentals like car rental Carngo.com that will take you to and from if you are going by road. Even if you are going by air, a reliable car that will transport you to and from the airport after your trip is crucial.
This article covers the tips that will make your family trips run like a well-oiled machine, even with your toddler alongside.
Excited right? Now, let’s jump right into it!
Top 10 Tips for Stress-Free Trips with Toddlers
1. Do Your Trip Findings
Before you eventually embark on the journey with your toddlers, one crucial thing to consider is to research your trip. Research hotels before booking, research budget car rental, and every other logistics that will make your traveling less stressful. Don’t just book; remember you are going with your baby, So her comfort should be paramount.
When selecting accommodations, it’s crucial to be as near the playground or pool as possible. It’s convenient, but the more reason is if you’ve got a child who’s batty training or has to visit the restroom a long, you don’t want to keep running all over the resort and up 10 trips to your room.
2. Pack wisely
Another vital travel with baby tips is to pack wisely. You never know what the toddlers end up needing. So, ensure to get the best bag for traveling with toddlers and pack all the necessities, from food and diapers to extra clothing, but avoid overpacking as hefty luggage will be very inconvenient. So, leave the stuff that you can quickly purchase at the destination.
And if you are visiting friends or family, ask if they have the gear you can borrow, like toys, strollers, and cribs, to minimize luggage.
Overall, stick to the necessities, like clothes, toothbrushes, medicines, and other requirements for your family trips. Then, of course, there’s the tendency that the weather won’t cooperate during your entire journey, so prepare for it when packing.
3. Pre-book Your Transportation Means
Another helpful tip when going on a trip with toddlers is to pre-book your transportation. As mentioned earlier in the introduction, if you are going by road, going by your car might mean stressing yourself to drive around, even with the so-called family vacation meant to relax. So the best idea is to rent a car.
Look for a trusted “Car rental near me,” as you wouldn’t want to risk settling for a car that will leave you stranded on the road. And if you are traveling by air, don’t risk getting to the airport in long queues in the hot sun with tired and cranky toddlers. Instead, avoid attempting to get a local taxi or public transport and pre-book a vehicle straight to your abode.
Car rental is a convenient means of transportation for travellers, especially those with toddlers. All you have to do is to look for quality “car rentals near me” and rent a car there. This way, you won’t have to queue at different locations because waiting alone is terrible, but it is the worst with kids.
So, choose one of the reliable companies for car rental and get a car economy, standard, VIP class, and travel without limitations.
4. Start Rested
Another tip for a stress-free trip with toddlers is enough rest before the trip day. Rest is essential to smooth travel days. So put the toddlers to bed early to ensure they’re fully rested for the journey ahead.
Remember to get to bed early, too — you’ll need all the strength and patience you can get. Also, pack all your things the day before your journey if you can. Nothing is worse than wandering the house at the last minute, looking for stuff you still have to pack for the kids.
5. Keep It Fun
Hide surprises for your toddlers in your carry-on, especially if you are traveling with toddlers in the car. If she’s restless inside the car or on the plane during the trip, you can pull out a new game, toy, book, or other luxuries. Introducing a new activity or plaything at a low point buys you more time.
This leads us to my next tip: snacks.
6. Have A Stash of Snacks to Fend Off Meltdowns
Everyone gets a little crabby when they’re starving. Unfortunately, with toddlers, hungriness can lead to sluggishness, irritability, or a full-blown breakdown very fast. Meltdowns occur when toddlers are hungry, sleepy, or uncomfortable. Avoid this by packing a stash of healthy snacks.
A hungry child is, most times, not the happiest child. As such, you can never have excess snacks while traveling. Whether it’s to quench hunger during a long trip, offer a substitute for a ridiculous restaurant or plane food, or trick them into being good.
Healthy treats are a great idea as they are more satisfying and won’t give your kid a sugar rush. Aside from this, you never know when an eatery will operate in your destination. So, having a few snacks handy for more nice lunchtimes is a no-brainer. So always pack snacks. And then, pack more anytime you are considering traveling with toddlers.
7. Apply The Rest Stop Rules
It’s no news that toddlers don’t like sitting in a spot for a long time, or else they get frustrated. So for road journeys, create travel time to stop every couple of hours. This allows the toddlers to go out, stretch, play, and replenish.
Experts recommend that adults relax every two hours or 100 miles during a trip-- for toddlers, you should do it more often than usual (about the 90-minute mark or even less, if possible).
8. Safety First or Baby Proof Your Hotel
Now let’s talk about when you get to your trip destination. Childproofing your room before settling in is one of the things that can make your journey worthwhile, as you can afford your toddlers to get injured. Some hotels have free proofing kits -- or even do it for you -- if you request them beforehand. So if you travel with a household, you’ll have to bring or get outlet covers, cabinet locks, and other safety tools.
Also, check your hotel room for any safety apprehensions (heavy table lamps, sharp edges, objects, balcony or pool access) to prevent any incidents. For additional peace of mind, you can also go with a few safety necessities, like corner guards and socket covers.
Overall, ensure you sweep the room when you get there to check for open stairs, furniture with sharp corners, dangling cords, and other toddler risks.
9. Adjust Your Expectations
After settling in the hotel room, you might discover that your kids are not enjoying the trip. Wondering why? Let’s face it; toddlers don’t care about the Roman Colosseum or the Mayan ruins. Of course, we want it to be a family trip, but most of these things aren’t for them; it’s for you though that’s perfectly ok!
However, you have to be willing to dance to their tunes and change your prospect about what your trip will seem like at this point, even if that implies slow-moving activity right from your bucket list or canceling any kind of relaxation or at the very least, add this stuff in moderation. After all, it’s vacation! It’s ok to break routines.
Overall, plan activities your toddler will enjoy and maintain a balance that will make everybody happy and entertained.
10. Slow Down
Gone are those days when we could once have fun with a long- weekend city vacation. These days, when traveling with a toddler, we’re lucky if an entire week is enough to tour a new city! Because right now, with a toddler, the go-go-go techniques to travel aren’t just working for us. It takes a long to leave the door, and as soon as we do, we’re short of time until everybody’s tired again.
We’ve discovered to use our time in shorter, 2 to 3 hours at most, and take regular breaks so everybody is happy and friendly. And remember that, after all, activities, Dad & Mom need a siesta too! So don’t extend your planning. Instead, stick to 2 to 3 activities daily and take rest for the day. The outcome will be happy toddlers eager to keep adventuring with each new day.
Conclusion
Traveling with toddlers in car or any means of transportation doesn’t have to be stressful. With some pre-planning and the right approach, family travel with toddlers can be fun! Get a budget car rental within your financial capacity, pack wisely, go with many snacks, and adjust activities to amuse the kids.