Traveling With Kids

Spring Break is right around the corner and families are getting ready to hit the roads, highways and skyways. Do you dread traveling with your kids, or are you looking forward to it? That might depend on how prepared you are. There are a plenty of things you can do to get ready for your family adventure, but remember, nothing is more important than being prepared.

The Boy Scout's motto "Be Prepared" rings true here and is the key to making your trip a success. What does being prepared mean? It means having all your documents together before you leave, your airline tickets, hotel reservations, and passes for Disneyland all in one place, easily accessible and ready to go. Consider a document holder as a convenient way to keep everything handy. There are many document and passport holders to choose from. You may also consider traveling with ID cards or passports for your children. You may never be asked for these documents, but it is nice to know they are there if you need them.

Including your kids in the pre planning stage can be fun of the whole family. Involve your kids by looking at maps, brochures and books together. Talk about what you will be seeing and doing. Kids love to be involved and you can find out before yougo what appeals to them, ultimately shaping a vacation that works for everyone. There are many great kid's books on traveling that you might want to read with your kids before you even start packing. These are especially great for the new traveler as they will answer lots of questions and get your kids excited for your big family adventure.

Your vacation is planned, and your papers are together. You may wonder how you are going to get from the car to the plane, and back to the car. Check out the Sit N Stroll stroller. As a car seat, the Sit'n Stroll meets or exceeds all USA Department of Transportation safety standards. It is rated to 30 pounds in the rear-facing position, and 40 pounds in the forward-facing position. When removed from your car, the Sit'n Stroll converts easily to a full function stroller for children up to 40 pounds. Finally, the Sit'n Stroll is an FAA-certified flight seat and as a bonus, it serves as a booster seat for dining out. There are many travel systems to choose from, find one that works best for your family.

To make traveling with an infant smooth, be sure and have all your necessities in one place and easy to get to. You need diapers, wipes and a change of clothes. If you are bottle feeding, Avent bottles are very handy. The wide mouth makes it easy to mix formula on the go. Another handy item is a small thermos with hot water and several small bottles of drinking water. Pre-measure the formula, add water, finding the right temperature, and you are ready to go. Don't forget to invest in a good carry-all tote or backpack to hold all your goodies.

If you have toddlers, snacks and sippy cups are essential items for travel. Good snacks include fruit snacks, individual packages of crackers, pre measured goldfish and other favorite snacks. Make sure you are careful about juice and other liquids, they can get messy. If your kids are water drinkers you've got it made, if not, do the best you can and get a good leak proof cup. To add great fun to your trip, try wrapping small items like board books and travel toys and give them to your kids as needed.  For some great ideas check out these backseat books. There are a ton of activities, puzzles and games to keep your kids entertained while you are on the road or in the air.

For the actual travel part of the vacation, you might find that a portable DVD player  is a must for car and air travel. Kids don't have to be plugged in for the entire trip, but it certainly helps pass the time and breaks up the trip for them and for you. As your kids get older portable electronics will become more important. What pre-teen or teen won't enjoy tuning into her favorite music, movie, or video game while traveling with her parents and younger siblings? It might just make everyone's trip go that much more smoothly.

I still keep special little gifts tucked away for my daughter for times when she needs something different to do, or when I want to let her know how special she is and how much I appreciate her being such a good traveler.

Traveling can be fun, rewarding and memorable when you are prepared, get your kids involved and can pull a few rabbits out of your hat along the way.

Have a Great Trip!

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