Family vacations are a great way to spend the summer, building memories, having fun and educational experiences, expanding your own and your kids’ experience of the world — and, okay, getting stressed out and stretching your patience to the absolute limit. Honestly, traveling with kids can be really difficult and exasperating, and it’s fair to acknowledge that, which is why these TikTok moms have developed some toddler travel tactics that will make any trip a little easier.
Every type of travel has its own advantages and disadvantages, but both flying and long road trips can be especially difficult with toddlers and young kids. Kids get tired and antsy when they can’t get up and move around, and their brains constantly seek stimulation, too. Even packing for kids can be more complicated, since babies and toddlers tend to need more outfit changes and a never-ending flow of bottles, diapers or pull-ups, and snacks.
Below you’ll see tips and tricks that will get you through packing, plane rides, and even help you cut down on the number of times you’re answering, “Are we there yet?”
Packing For Toddlers
When you’re spending a week away from home with a toddler, you’re going to need a lot of clothes. The upside is that they’re pretty small clothes and don’t have to take up much space, but that means a bag loaded with umpteen tiny shirts and pairs of pants and little-bitty easily-lost socks. It’s exhausting just to think about it.
That’s why one TikTok packing trend is getting so much attention. Instead of piling uncountable heaps of clothing loose into a bag, these moms are prepping outfits in advance, folding the whole outfit together and then placing it in one pocket of an over-the-door shoe organizer. With one outfit per pocket, you can use this trick to pack for longer stays, multiple toddlers, or just use ‘leftover’ pockets for diapers, swimwear, and other necessities. Check it out below.
Dress Code: Loud & Matching
The next mom has several tips for traveling with kids, including remembering to bring lollipops for takeoff and landing when traveling by air to help with pressure changes; packing fun snacks; and bringing along the tablets and headphones. You’ll want to watch her full video for some ideas, but one travel tip she offers really stands out for any mode of travel.
She said she starts the trip with her kids in outfits that are matching and “loud.” It doesn’t necessarily have to be matching sweatsuits like in her video — you could stick with jeans and bright red shirts, or matching puffy coats, or any other option that’s highly visible from a distance. Not only does high visibility make your kid safer in parking lots and crowds, but it also makes him easier for you to spot if he runs ahead or you get slightly separated.
Are We There Yet? How Much Longer?
This hack is not only a useful trick to make the trip easier for parents, it’s also actually great for kids’ visual brains. It actually breaks the trip up into smaller portions, so they can see what’s coming next and set their expectations accordingly.
You can experiment with different visual styles and see what works best for you, but the mom below is using painter’s tape, and has written the trip itinerary out on it. This goes over the door, where a carseated child can see, and a paper car can be moved along it at each stop. Depending on your child’s age, you may want to use images instead of words.
Keep It Clean
Before you even get on the road, you’re looking at that nice clean backseat and imagining how it’s going to look when you reach your destination. Nobody wants to spend the first day at a vacation spot cleaning crumbs, toys, and spills off the seats.
That’s why so many moms are trying this trick for travel with toddlers — covering the seat in a fitted sheet, with holes cut out for seatbelt buckles. It helps keep spills off your seat, and may also prevent pacifiers, blocks, and other small objects from disappearing between the seats! As you can see below, you can even find workarounds when there’s not a perfect fit.
Plan For Fun!
A week before the trip you’re probably already mentally organizing suitcases and backpacks. You’re picturing what articles of clothing need to be washed, and what toys, comfort items, and other needs are a must inside the car.
The next step is organizing all of that into a pack or carrier of one kind or another, and there are so many options for this. Some parents are using plastic caddies designed for art or cleaning supplies, or tucking items into the pockets of a lap desk. This mom, though, had figured out an incredible trick that keeps everything within reach, but not in the lap. She uses a toiletry bag — the kind with a hanger.
Divide And Conquer
This tip, not just for toddlers, comes in handy once you’re actually on the road, and the kids are on, well, each others’ nerves. They can’t agree on where the backseat property line runs, and which space belongs to who. They keep engaging in such cruel and unusual behavior as looking at each other. And the parents are so over it.
It’s time to get them out of each other’s sight — and since you don’t have separate rooms to send them to, or even separate sofas to split them up, the answer is as simple as a piece of cardboard tucked between the seats. (Always make sure to put safety first and make sure you’re not disrupting the driver’s line of sight!)
Be sure to share your own tips and tricks for traveling with toddlers, and have a great vacation!