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Traveling With Small Children

By Patty Getz

So you are making a trip to see your Mother-in-law, you are all very excited, it has been a long time since you have made this trip and a break is just what you need. But you are a little apprehensive, it is a long trip, and you are taking your 2 year old. How to keep her happy for this amount of time? And to not lose your sanity? It is time to plan ahead, with a little planning this can be a pleasurable trip for all of you.

Make a list of things your child likes to do, pack a box or tub with all their favorites, and a couple of new things that your child has never had before. Nothing like a new activity to hold a young childs attention for a long period of time. Check below for a list of toys, activities and snacks to take traveling with you.

Make a list of snacks, that you can take with you,that are suitable for the car.Young kids cannot to go for long periods of time without food and drink so make sure you plan ahead. Pack a small cooler with drinks and snacks that need refrigeration, and fill a Tupperware container or Ziploc baggies with finger foods. Below this Article are some ideas, for finger foods you might include.

Plan to stop frequently, make that a part of your travel plan, expecting to drive 6 hours straight through with a two year old might be a bit unrealistic. Plan to stop every couple of hours, if you have a play yard and have room bring it along, stop at the rest stop and let your child run for a bit in the play yard. We once took a 6 hour trip and set a play pen up in the back of the mini van, we stopped half way thru and let our one year play for about an hour, she got to stretch and use up some of that energy and was ready to go back in her carseat when it was time to go.

Try to plan the trip during sleeping times, during naptimes, in the evening, it can cut 2 hours or more of time that you need to keep your child occupied.

Bring their favorite music tapes and books. Music is great for soothing a child that is getting restless or tired, and books can hold their attention for periods of time. Don’t forget their favorite doll or stuffed toy and a blanket for security and comfort.

The most important thing is to realize that you have to bring a variety of activities. Don’t expect to bring a couple of toys and have that keep your child busy for a long period of time. Vary the activities in small spurts and keep it fresh.This keeps them from getting bored and restless, and your child will learn to love traveling.

Traveling survival kit

activities and toys
favorite stuffed animal or doll
books
music
a few of their favorite toys (ie. legos or etcha sketch)
crayons or markers and paper
barbie dolls and clothes to dress them
cars
puzzles
travel games (for slightly old kids)
a couple of brand new items (inexpensive books or color books or items from a garage sale, it does not have to be new as long as it is new to the child.)
felt books (store bought or homemade)
stickers

Snacks

Some of these require an ice chest and others can be stored at regular temps, and some of them are appropriate for certain ages, this is only a list of ideas that you can use to create your own snack kits, please use discretion when packing yours:

cheerios (or other types of cereal)
fruit, cut up in containers (need ice chest for this) or whole pieces
chips
crackers (with or without fillings)
raisins
pbj sandwiches, quartered
granola
cheese
cut up veggies
handi snacks (my daughter loves the breadstick type, as it does not require much coordination)
fruit snacks
mini muffins
lunch meat cut up in finger size pieces
popcorn (prepopped and put in a ziplock baggy)
pretzels
koolaid or juice, and a cup with a lid and straw. (Be sure to choose pale colors, that cannot stain your car seats if spilled.)

Obviously the contents of this kit will highly depend on the age of the child. But this gives you a few Ideas of what you can do to keep a child occupied while traveling.