Traveling with toddlers can at best be draining, and a downright nightmare at its worst. We talked with a mom who travels extensively with her two year old toddler.
Distraction
Our mom’s(Erika) first tip was to distract the toddler as much as possible. Erika finds it best to travel at night. Children do not understand why they are not allowed to get up and move around. Traveling at night allows her toddler to sleep through the trip.
If night time traveling is not an option, then Erika recommends carrying a new or favorite toy for her son. The key is to bring several toys, and to take them out one at a time to keep them interested.
Another one of her tricks is to bring fun, yummie snacks. Erika will not fly unless she has brought a nice supply of lollipops for the take offs and landings. The sucking helps pop her son’s ears.
Comfort
It is also important for both the mom and child to be comfortable on trips. Wearing comfortable clothes, shoes are key for both mother and toddler.
While it is not always easy, Erika always travels as light as possible. She checks in as much luggage at the airport so that she has her hands free, and is not weighed down for her toddler.
No matter how comfortable she makes her son, he always ends up wanting to stand up and walk around. The solution she came up with for this problem is to request the middle and window seats on a plane. She takes the middle seat for herself, and allows her son to sit by the window seat. “He’s good if he can look out the window, and just stand for a while in front of the seat!”
