Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Traveling with Kids....Prepare...Alot!

I am a lucky girl! I will be heading off to beautiful Italy at the end of the month with the family for a 3 week vacation. Just imagine the great food and sights, the culture, spending time with family! Sounds great right? Well, it is, but there is one stinky catch....preparing for the vacation.

Traveling is not as easy as it used to be when it was just my hubby and myself. Back before children, we would just toss some items in a bag and off we'd go. We did not spend a great deal of time planning out itineraries, worrying about entertainment on the plane or about food. We just went with the flow.

However, when you travel with 2 young children, you need to be armed with too many clothes, first aid kits, bug spray, videos and games, coloring books, reading books, toys, portable potty seats (that is a whole other story).   I am fortunate that my kids are great travelers, but an 8 hour flight is difficult on an adult let alone a young child.

I am one of those parents who brings way too many things with me, but my attitude is that I'd rather be over prepared than miss something crucial to our vacation survival. We went to Italy last summer and things went very smoothly. But our concern is that as the kids get older they are often harder to please. The airplane does not hold the same excitement that it has in the past. They get uncomfortable in those horrible seats, they can't stand the food that is served, and just the fact that for an 8 hour period they are restricted to sitting or the tiny closet they call 'lavatories' can become unbearable to the kids.

So in planning this trip we find ourselves traveling extra heavy this year. We determined that for our own sanity (and for other passengers) that we would carry 2 DVD players, a stack of movies of course, the kids both have Leapster Video games which are rather bulky. We have stocked up on 2 new coloring books and crayons for each child and one book each. We are also carrying some card games like Uno and Old Maid with us. I even found a small magnetic checkers set. Then there is the food that we will bring. At least 2 sandwiches each, a container of pasta, some cookies, crackers, apples, candy (for those moments you need them to behave) and drink boxes. Then we  have to bring the kids car seats with us! That is all the stuff we will carry just for the kids!

My carry on is the drug store. I will have my Sudafed, Otrivin, the ever important Gravol and Benadryl! Wipes for filthy hands, hand sanitizer, tissues, a book, a change of clothes for the kids, blow up travel pillows...the kitchen sink. My husband won't leave home without his laptop! And I could not go on vacation without my camera which is big and bulky too. So just imagine how burdened we will be, but I guess that in the end it will all be worth it!

5 comments:

  1. Congrats! Trips are so much fun and althought he kids can be harder to please as they get older you are making amazing memories for them and you. Really like your blog...I’m a new follower and would sincerely appreciate if you’d visit my blog.

    You should find lots of useful info on traveling with kids. We are in the middle of an Expert Series but I also have packing tips & other good info for parents traveling. Follow if you like it: My Tot Travels
    You can also find me on Twitter and Facebook
    Happy Travels,
    Lilli
    http://www.mytotstravel.com/
    My Tot Travels...
     Learning to Parent on the Road of Life (and great tips for traveling with kids)

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  2. Oh and by the way don't know if you've heard of CARES (Child Aviation Restraint System) used for airplane travel.  If your kids are 4 and under this belt is heaven sent.  You check the carseat and use these on the plane.  It is GREAT.  You can see more about by clicking on the link. 
    Happy Travels!
    -Lilli

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  3. I use the Bucky Kids travel pillow for my little ones. They go to sleep without me worrying the about the state their heads are in.

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  4. Wow! What a wonderful trip to embark on. Something I always have trouble packing when I travel with young kids is travel-safe food. You know, stuff that won't spill or go bad quickly. Ziploc bags for snacks, and First Juice for drinks for me! First Juice is yummy/healthy juice that the kids love and it has spill-proof tops, which my car loves! You should look into it! http://www.firstjuice.com

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  5. Thanks for reading Lilli. We are looking forward to this trip to Italy. My kids have been twice before and have always handled being somewhere different well. I don't worry much about food once on solid ground...but that swill they serve on the planes is not fit to feed a pig!

    Thanks for the links!

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