7 tips for traveling with kids

well, we did it. and can you believe we even had fun? i will also say that i was more relaxed there than i am at home. which is crazy considering we were traveling with 2 toddlers and all of us were extremely sleep deprived. but we did it. 

i'm not going to give a trip recap, because everyone has been asking for one, but seriously we didn't do anything out of our normal routine. we wandered, sat in parks and snacked. just like at home! but i will share some of our trip hacks to make things easier traveling with kids.

1. take a red-eye when possible. i would even do it both ways. my kids aren't the best sleepers, so i was VERY worried about this. BUT we boarded at 7:30pm, i gave them some milk with melatonin and 1 hour later they were out cold. my only mistake was not getting a seat for sam, because they both kept moving between the floor and seat because there wasn't enough room for both on the seat.

but miracle of miracles, they slept the entire flight and woke up 20 minutes before we landed. it was bomb. i on the other hand did not sleep at all, hence my red eyes.

2. when you arrive, get people settled, take a small nap, get some food and get out. i think the key to having a good time with everyone is letting the kids get out of the strollers and walk when they can. no one likes to be in a stroller forever. so any chance we got, we let them out. they were much happier exploring this way and it forced us to slow down.

montparnasse, paris.

giverny, france - monet's gardens.

3. get treats often:) it's easier to spend 2 hours walking throughout a garden if you have an ice cream in your hand.

4. do lots of kids stuff.  in fact, do all the kids stuff. carousels, museums, playgrounds, etc. do them all. it's not fun for them to do adult stuff, although they need to learn to share their time like we share ours. so split the day into equal parts "kids stuff/parent stuff."

honfleur, france

beauvoir, france

mont-saint-michel, france

omaha beach, normandy, france

5. don't worry about naps and schedules. let them sleep on-the-go, but then do a normal bedtime. it might take some training to "sleep on-the-go" but do it. you didn't travel around the world to sit in a hotel room and watch them nap.

LDS temple, paris, france

paris

6. pay for the things that will make it easier. these kids would've never made it walking through the gardens at versailles. so we got the golf cart, which we've never done, and it made a world of a difference. first of all, they loved it. second, we'd drive a bit, park, get out and explore. sam fell asleep half way and we just kept driving, no one was interrupted. it was amazing.

 

7. travel light. you really won't need all those little creams, food pouches, snuggies, tissues, umbrellas.... unless you're going to siberia, they'll have it there and you'll be happy you're not lugging all that around with you.

if nothing else, take away from this that YOU CAN TRAVEL WITH KIDS. i don't know why everyone say's it's impossible to take them anywhere. i imagine that for some kids that's true, but if that's the case, then traveling might be good for them. they might need a lesson or two in flexibility and behavior. but do it! don't be afraid. create memories. they'll talk about it forever. we've been home 2 months and still remie will say longingly "i miss paris..."

i've trained her well... (smirk...)