The Truth About Traveling With Small Children

I have a confession to make. Before I was a parent, I would see moms and dads traveling with little ones and I would silently judge them. I would see frazzled parents at the airport, lugging diaper bags and shoving Goldfish crackers into the mouths of screeching toddlers as they ran hurriedly toward their gate, and I would shudder. I imagined taking my well-behaved children on beautiful, educational vacations where we would tour museums and historical landmarks, eat at fantastic restaurants, and play on the beach for hours while always wearing the highest level SPF sunscreen on the market.

My how the tables have turned! Now I’m the mom of a 3-year-old and a 5-month-old. I remember some of our first family trips with my older son; things c349ould not have been more different than what I imagined! Situations like navigating a stroller through a crowded airport, dealing with car-sickness in the Colorado mountains, driving around for what seemed like hours to find the place with the correct chicken nuggets, and hiding in the bathroom of a hotel room until the baby fell asleep were just not in my repertoire.

Despite the inconveniences, the truth is that I would not trade these memories for anything! Because parenting doesn’t come with an instruction manual, I’m sharing some of the helpful tips I’ve learned about traveling with small children.

1) Let go of your expectations. This was tough for me in the beginning. I was used to setting my own schedule of activities and I did not like to depart from my itinerary. Well, those days are history! Now our schedule revolves around naps and what places have easily-accessible nursing stations. We have fun though, and I know we are making wonderful memories, even if we don’t make it to every landmark.

2) Be prepared for unexpected delays. Pack extra snacks, coloring books, stickers, or games for those times when the plane is late or the rental car has a flat tire. When my husband and I are flying with our three-year-old, I usually wrap up a small toy before we leave and allow him to open it on the plane. This helps to distract my son from any flying fears and keeps him occupied during the flight.

3) Call ahead. I always call the hotels or resorts where we are staying to ask about any kid-friendly amenities. Does the hotel have complimentary pack-n-plays or cribs? Is there a playground within walking distance? Maybe your picky toddler prefers only a certain brand of squeezable fruit pouch. Search online to find out which grocery stores sell those in the area whe10264053101020340866759592428073652813697382ore you will be staying. I recall one vacation when my husband was golfing for the day and a playground in close proximity to our condo saved me from a crabby toddler. Do your research! It could make or break your trip.

Summer’s just around the corner! As you consider your vacation plans and enviously flip through your single pal’s vacation album on Facebook, I would encourage you instead to embrace the family vacation. When I look back at our vacation photos from our trips to Colorado, Florida, New York, and Maine, instead of seeing sleep-deprived parents and a toddler at near-meltdown point, I see a real family making real memories. I hope you will do the same!

Lauren Davis
Lauren and her husband Dan live in El Dorado with their two boys (born 2011 and 2014). They have added a goldendoodle, a hedgehog and two cats to their family in recent years and are expecting a daughter to join their crew at the end of 2020! She is an elementary school secretary, a member of the Junior League of Wichita and the Tri-County CASA Board of Directors. Lauren spent much of her childhood in Lawrence, Kansas and moved to El Dorado about ten years ago after her husband graduated from pharmacy school. She gets by on a lot of coffee and loves all the messy, fun, wild and wonderful parts of being a mom.