Traveling With Kids : 5 Best Tips Parents Need to Know

Just because you now have a few tiny travel companions, it doesn’t mean you can’t travel without you pulling your hair out or losing your shi-take mushrooms!

After experiencing a complete toddler meltdown (or 2.. or 3.. or 4!) I’ve put together a quick list of my best parenting tips and hacks that all traveling parents should know when braving that family road trip or 6 hour flight hoping that your babe won’t get you thrown out the window.”! Now keep in mind, I’m not claiming to be a pro by any means - but if I can take family road trips being the only adult to 4 small children, that counts for something right?!

So enough trying to prove why you should take my advice - here goes:

1. Take it Slow and Plan to Arrive Early. The last thing you want to do is stress out over being late yelling at your kids the entire time to “hurry up!” Because face it- they have NO SENSE OF URGENCY! Take notes :)

2. Don't Overpack. Only bring the bare necessities - that’s right, channel your inner Baloo! The thought of forgetting something is scary, I know, but most likely there will be some place nearby to just buy that toothbrush or t-shirt you forgot. Doing that is a lot easier than lugging around 20 extra pounds of stuff you probably won’t even use..

3. Pre-Book Everything You Can. Not only will booking last minute cost you more money, it can easily leave a huge window for things to go wrong! (Have a Plan B and a Plan C ready to go too!) Once you accept that things can, and will, go wrong, you won’t be disappointed when they do!

4. Snacks, Snacks, Snacks. That’s it, that’s the tip. Oh and tablets!

5. Ask for Child Discounts. This one is my ultimate life hack that works for any and every situation. I don’t care how well I’m doing financially, I will always  find discounts for children and family. All you have to do is ask - not all discounts are openly shared with the public but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist!

So no matter how you travel or who you travel with, remember the five tips above and you’ll be just fine. Follow our journey as we travel as a family of 5 (and 7 at times) for more traveling tips, Good luck parents!