Travel Tuesdays: Top 10 Items to Pack When Traveling With Children.

I've blogged about travel with children before. One previous post focused on my Top 10 Tips while another more general post encouraged you to consider your family's travel needs before booking a trip.

Today I'll focus on the top items to pack.

1. Snacks. Nuts, dried fruit, and pretzels are portable, nutritious, and filling. If you have a long plane or train trip, fresh fruit or carrot sticks help keep kids hydrated and satiated.
2. Cooler back-pack. This is one of the best investments we've made. We pack it full of healthy snacks for the plane ride and carry it with us when we're out and about in our new location. It also helps us carry cold food back to our apartment/hotel when it's blazing hot out.
3. Small packs of travel tissues. They can serve as napkins, tissues or toilet paper. Many parts of the world don't supply toilet paper as a matter of course. You'll be glad you have them!
4. Hand sanitizer/wipes. I'm not encouraging you to be obsessive about using these. Washing your hands with warm soap and water is always the best option. But, let's face it... when you're on the road and your kids are suddenly, "starving," a sink may not be available.
5. Sleep masks/ear plugs. This helps with sleeping on planes and trains. It also helps when changing time zones- you may need to catch a few zzzz's during the day when a city is noisy.
6. Ziploc bags. They are infinitely useful for storing leftovers, packing snacks, packing leaky items, etc. 
7. Items to help with popping ears on airplanes- gum or chewy foods for older kids, bottles, pacifiers, or lollipops for younger ones. (Breastfeeding is also helpful, but is often not possible because airlines require babies to be in a car seat or otherwise belted to an adult in an inconvenient position during take-offs/landings).
8. First aid kit/ typical medicines children often need: acetaminophen, antibiotic cream, bandages, antihistamine, hydro cortisone. On our most recent trip, we brought quick dissolve Benadryl, and boy were we glad we had it when a need arose!
9. Small flashlights/headlamps. These come in handy for so many reasons. There are lots of small, portable models available.
10. A small journal, colored pencils, and double-sided tape. Have the kids record their experiences and tape in ticket stubs, etc. This isn't necessary, of course, but I encourage you to consider making journals part of all of your trips.

Clearly this list is not for folks planning to back-pack through Africa. This is a list for parents traveling with their children (though many of the items such as Ziploc bags are handy for back-packers, too!) But none of these items takes up much space and each of them will make your trip go more smoothly. 

I encourage you to carefully evaluate what you really need to pack and what you can leave behind. Most people pack way more clothing than they need. Leave some of the clothes behind and pack these items. You can always wash your clothes while you're away. (Quick tip: to easily wash undergarments... wear them in the shower, wash them, and hang them to dry). Or, if you find you really need an item you didn't pack, you can always buy one. In all of my travels, however, I've never had to buy a piece of clothing I "should" have packed.

For our last trip, my family of four went to Italy for 3 weeks. We checked a total of three bags, the heaviest weighing 43.21 lbs (19.6 kg). We carried 4 small carry-ons. One was the cooler back-pack full of snacks. The others held our cameras/electronics and items to occupy the kids (and us) during the flight. Oh, yes, and the carry-ons included toothbrushes/toothpaste and a change of undergarments for each of us....just in case! 

Despite our careful packing, I still could have left one or two of my shirts behind.

What items have you found invaluable when packing for family travel?

Related Posts:

Travel Tuesdays: Top 10 Tips for Traveling with Children

Travel Tuesdays: Affording to Travel

Travel Tuesdays: Keep a Journal

Travel Tuesdays: Pack Your Sense of Humor

Travel Tuesdays: Identify your Family's Travel Needs

Travel Tuesdays: Identify Your Family's Travel Needs

My husband and I are admittedly fly-by-the-seat-of-our pants kind of travelers. We don't generally go completely unscheduled, but we do leave lots of unplanned time. For example, on our trip to Morocco, the beginning of our trip was scheduled but we left time at the end to just "wing it" and  see where our journey took us. For our trip to Italy, we knew where we were sleeping, but had no other plans- not even a  rental car. We relied entirely on public transportation that we figured out once we arrived.

We are especially good at procrastinating when it comes to planning a trip in the first place. That trip to Morocco was booked less than a month in advance. We only decided we would take a trip about 6 weeks beforehand and spent a few weeks figuring it all out with our traveling companions. You'd think we'd get more organized once we had kids but our trip to India was even more last minute. We didn't decide to go until five weeks before the wedding. Our kids needed vaccinations and we all needed visas. I'm certainly not suggesting this is an ideal way to travel. That's just kind of how we roll around here. And that's my point... figure out what you, your partner/spouse, kids, traveling companions, etc. need before you start planning.

I have one relative (who shall remain nameless) who literally packs his suitcases two months in advance- you know, to make sure everything fits. We, on the other hand, might casually toss things into suitcases  during the week before a trip, but we're frequently still shoving a last few things into a suitcase hours before leaving. Neither way is the right way. The key is to figure out what works for you and do all you can to make sure your needs are met. If you're anxious about traveling without having accommodations booked in advance, be sure you book them. If you're comfortable finding a youth hostel once you arrive, do that. If there are multiple people in your party, be sure to discuss all of this up front.

One shift that happens once you have kids is that you really need to stop and think about what your kids need. We know our kids need a schedule- that is, a clear and consistent time to eat and go to bed at night. So once we're on local time, we do our best to stick to a reasonable schedule. We also carry more snacks than we would at home in case we are delayed or find ourselves somewhere without food.

It's not that we never veer off the usual schedule, but we are thoughtful about when and why we choose to alter it. And, if our kids go to bed late one night, you can be sure they'll be going to bed on time (or even early) the next night. If not, we ALL pay the price. I can't very well get upset with my kids for misbehavior if they've been up late for several nights in a row or are melting down because they're hungry. Its my job as a parent to make sure their needs are met.

So while we are kind of loosey goosey in trip planning, once we reach our destination, we do our best to work within our kids' needs. That's the system we've found that works for us.

How about you? Have you thought about how different members in your family can get their needs met while traveling? What's your system?


Related Posts:
Travel Tuesdays: Pushing Outside Your Comfort Zone
Travel Tuesdays: Take the City Bus, Not the Tour Bus
Travel Tuesdays: Top 10 Tips for Traveling With Children
Travel Tuesdays: Pack Your Sense of Humor

Travel Tuesdays: Take the City Bus, Not the Tour Bus

When our son was two and a half, we took a family trip to a village outside of Florence, Italy. Instead of renting a car, each day we walked to a local bus stop and took a bus to the market or into Florence.

Taken from my journal:
Our son (name left out for privacy) was excited to take his first bus ride and we loved interacting with the locals. One morning, a nice, older couple boarded the bus and immediately began smiling at our son and talking to him in Italian. The woman motioned to ask if she could see his Pinocchio. Our son handed it to her. She smiled, pretended to make Pinocchio walk on her leg, then gave him back to our son. Then she asked to see his Tony the Tiger and was surprised he shared it, too. She called him "generous." She smiled, pointed at Pinocchio and said, "beautiful." Then she pointed at Tony and made a face to indicate he's not. (Note: Pinocchio is an Italian character).

Then she asked our son's name.
We told her and she got excited. Then she asked for his name in English. (He has a very Italian name). When we repeated his name she got really animated. (I guess she thought we had translated it to an Italian name for her benefit). She talked animatedly with her husband for a few minutes before turning to us again. She spoke limited English, so we varied between the little English she knew, the little Italian we knew, and a variety of gestures and facial expressions.

Essentially, this was the conversation:


Woman: Why (his Italian name) for an American?
Rick (my husband): Mi Italiano-Americano.
The woman turned to her husband and told him Rick is Italian. "Italiano! Italiano!"
Woman: Grandmother? Grandfather?
Rick: Grandmother, Napolitano (from Naples). Grandfather, Siciliano (from Sicily).
The woman smiled and clapped as she repeated it for the whole bus in Italian.
More people joined in.
A woman leaned in from behind me, waved her arms in the air and said, "Mi Siciliano!" and tapped her chest with both hands.
Arms waved as the story was repeated toward the back of the bus.
I looked up the word for "surname" then told them ours is Cusolito. The Sicilian woman smiled and gestured happily. By now, everyone around us was smiling.

It was such a wonderful conversation. They didn't care that Rick didn't speak Italian. To them, Rick is Italian.They were just as thrilled to talk to us as we were to talk to them.

We felt so welcomed by that friendly bunch of strangers.

For me, this story perfectly demonstrates why we don't take tour buses. What we experienced on that day was far more interesting and exciting than pressing our noses up to a window to see what a guide determined we should see.

How about you...Have you ever taken the local bus, tuk-tuk, jeepney, etc. in a foreign country? How was it for you?


Related Posts:
Travel Tuesdays: Keep A Journal
Travel Tuesdays: Top 10 Tips for Traveling with Children
Travel Tuesdays: Balleyara Market, Niger

Travel Tuesdays: Trip Planning, Part 2

Once we choose a location for a trip, I begin doing a little research with our kids. I start at our local library's on-line catalog. After arriving at the website, I simply enter one of our library card numbers (or our alternate ID) and pin number. Then I can search for books, CDs, magazines, etc. to my heart's content. If you live in the US, you likely have the same service at your library. If you haven't used it, you're really missing out!

From the comfort of my own home, I can search my local library's complete catalog and the catalogs of the other libraries in our library system (Which is somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 libraries). If I find a book I want in another library, I simply click the "Place Hold" button. That book will usually arrive at my local library in a matter of days (Some take longer).

Here are a few titles I reserved for the kids last night:

A crafty one especially for my crafty daughter

A graphic style that will appeal to my son

A shorter non-fiction for my Kindergarten daughter

And a longer one to appeal to my 4th grade son.

Of course, globes and atlases will also feature heavily in our reading. We own several we like, though I recently read about this one from Barefoot Books that looks wonderful. 

(An aside: If you're not familiar with Barefoot Books, please visit their website. They produce lovely books).

What children's books about Italy have you enjoyed? Do you have any titles to recommend to us? How do you help your children learn about the places they'll visit?

Related posts:
Travel Tuesdays: Trip Planning
Travel Tuesdays: Top 10 Tips for Traveling with Children
Travel Tuesdays: Affording to Travel

Travel Tuesdays: Trip Planning

"Travel, undertaken with mindfulness, can be a powerful vehicle for transformation."

~ Joseph Dispenza, The Way of the Traveler

My family is in the early stages of planning a trip to Sicily and Lipari to trace my husband's family roots. We had planned to go last year, but skyrocketing airfare due, in part, to the Arab Spring, led us to postpone. We scaled back travel plans last year, saved up our travel money, and now we're ready to plan in earnest.

I love this early dreaming phase. We've been pouring over guide books, perusing sites that rent villas, and agonizing over airfare. I love the dreaming, the endless possibilities, that excited feeling in the base of my stomach. It's exhilarating.

And maybe a little bit tiring. Where should we stay? Is this other place better? Will that place meet our needs? Should we fly to the islands or take a ferry?

But here's what I've learned from previous trips: No matter what decisions we make, it will all work out in the end. The trip may not be what we expected, but it will provide a life-changing adventure. Travel is just like that. It's impossible for me to travel, particularly to another country, and not be changed in some way.

And, hey...there's a hotel on Lipari with Cusolito in its name, so that's pretty exciting! Maybe we'll find distant relatives.

What life-changing trips have you taken? What changed? What did you learn?


Related Posts:
Travel Tuesdays: Top 10 Tips for Traveling with Children
Travel Tuesdays: India
Travel Tuesdays: Morocco

Travel Tuesdays: Keep a Journal

You've heard it before-keep a journal when you travel. It seems a simple enough idea but most of us don't manage to do it. Or if you're like me, you start out well and fizzle out as the trip goes on. Over the years I've forced myself to make time for my journal and I'm always glad I did.

I took a journal to the Philippines when I was 16. I wrote in it sporadically but never captured the really important details I wish I had now. My next big trip after that was to Ecuador and I did keep a daily journal.  I even managed to include a few sketches of local plants. It was easier on that trip because I was in a remote field station with lots of down time in the afternoons/evenings.

I pride myself on having a good memory but even I forget the important details over time. I realized this recently when I wrote a non-fiction story about my encounter with a poisonous snake in the rain forest of Ecuador. I recounted that first meeting, which, frankly, is emblazoned in my mind. But, by the time I related my meeting with the 4th poisonous snake, I got some details wrong. Luckily, I had my trusty journal to reference and I corrected the details. Now, maybe you're not a writer, so you think these details don't matter so much. I'd say they do.


At some point in the future when you go back and meet your former self in a journal you'll be glad you recorded the details.

Here's a tidbit from my Ecuador journal:
 "I'm amazed by the clothes I now consider clean. If they're not totally covered with mud...they're wearable! Things take so long to dry (and even then they're not dry- they're still damp) that it's not worth washing anything. I keep wearing the same yucky clothes over and over again and keep everything else closed up tight in my bag."

Another important result of keeping a journal is you get to know yourself better as you learn and grow from your travels. My early journals are more record keeping of my trips- you know... what I did, saw, ate. That sort of thing. Over time, though, they've become more important records of me as a person. My last travel journal from India is rich with personal expressions of my feelings and responses to the trip.

Here's one excerpt I'm willing to share publicly:
 (For context, our friend Lisa was marrying Aravind in Hyderabad India. Lisa's parents couldn't make the trip so my husband, Rick, and I stood in for them during the ceremony).

"...I was seated on the stage with Rick facing Aravind and his parents. I was so overcome with emotion at the enormity of what was happening that I welled up. Was I really part of a Hindu wedding? Was I really playing such a significant role in this rite of passage for Lisa? I was glad I was seated with my back to the guests so they couldn't see my face. (It was only later when we switched sides that I realized a video camera was facing us and projecting everything onto a large screen for everyone to see).


I was in the moment. I was overwhelmed. I was happy and excited and awestruck. Rick and I looked at each other and acknowledged that this moment made all of the challenges of traveling with young children in India worthwhile."

There are many more personal and thoughtful entries in that particular journal. I developed as a journal keeper and moved from record keeping into being more reflective.

If you haven't kept a journal during travel, I encourage you to do so. It can be on paper, in your computer, or on a blog. The sky's the limit nowadays. (Just make sure you back up digital journals). Ask your children to keep one, too. Our son kept a journal when we were in India. He was only 5 at the time, so his journal consists of roughly one page per day. In typical Kindergarten fashion, he drew a picture and wrote a sentence below the picture. He wrote about whatever was important to him at the time so it's a wonderful record of who he was then. He focused on the plane ride, playing with Aravind's nephew and the henna that decorated my hands.

Have you kept a journal during travel. How have you benefited from it?

Travel Tuesdays: Top 10 Tips for Traveling With Children

Traveling with children is a very different experience than traveling alone. Advance planning will make the trip easier and more enjoyable.

Here's my top ten list of ways to make things go as smoothly as possible (in no particular order):

1. If you're not staying with friends or family, try to book a hotel room with a small kitchenette or at least a fridge. You'll be better able to accommodate early morning hunger or mid-afternoon snacks. If your budget allows, a small efficiency or cottage will be even better. The extra cost may be worth it if you can save money by cooking in.
2. Plan your travel based on your kids needs, not yours. (Ultimately, they are the same, after all. If they're miserable, so are you). If you have to take a long journey and your kids are very physical kids, plan a layover to allow them to move around. Or, maybe getting there as fast as possible is best, so book a direct flight. Also consider the best time of day to travel. My son can sleep anywhere, so red-eyes work well for him. If your kids won't sleep on a plane, avoid red-eyes at all costs!
3. Set clear expectations for the journey (Your own expectations, that is). Do not expect the travel time to be relaxing. Sure, you may have slept on previous plane trips, but don't expect that to happen now. If you go in expecting no sleep and end up getting some, you'll be pleasantly surprised.
4. If traveling by plane or train, book seats for your infants/toddlers if you can possibly afford it (even though they're usually allowed on your lap until age 2).  This is particularly true for long trips. Seriously, spend the money. You'll be glad you did. Many airlines offer discounted seats for children, especially infants. Bring your car seats and install them in the plane (make sure they are plane approved). The kids will be more comfortable and also be more likely to sleep in their familiar, supportive seat than in an adult-sized seat. We took our daughter's car seat to India solely for the plane ride, since there are no seat belts in most cars in India. But that plane ride was LONG and we wanted her to be as comfortable as possible. Caveat: One airline we flew with (I believe it was Alitalia) did not allow us to install the car seat. Check with your airline first.
5. Plan and pack well for entertainment while traveling. Packing your carry-on is the most important part of successful airline (train) travel with kids. Remember to bring books, activity books, travel games or other items that your children enjoy. If appropriate for your children, have them pack a favorite stuffed animal or snugly toy for comfort. They also substitute for pillows.
6. Related to #4, if you have an iPod or similar device, download audio books for your kids. Bring along headphones (and a splitter if you have more than one child). My kids will listen to the same audio books over and over again. It's educational and keeps them occupied for hours. If you're driving, you can play them through your car speakers, or choose to use the headphones and splitter so you can listen to what you want while they listen to their audio book. (Trust me... after hearing The Absent Author several times, you'll be sick of it!) You can probably download books free through your library.  If you don't have an iPod, check your local library for a "play away." The device comes with the book already loaded. You just provide ear buds/headphones.
7. If traveling by plane, pack something to help with pressure in their little ears. For babies, nursing or sucking on a bottle, or pacifier helps. For older kids, gum works well but isn't the only option. Try chewy foods like raisins or dried cranberries. 
8. Pack snacks for the trip. There's nothing worse than a hungry kid and the plane has no food left. Trust me, I've seen it happen, especially now that most airlines charge for food. You may try to order and find they only have the cheese box left which is filled with artisanal cheeses your kid won't eat. Fruit is always a good choice since it fills bellies and helps them stay hydrated. (If you're traveling to another country, pack a few familiar foods that your kids like- a box of mac-n-cheese, some dry cereal or granola bars. My kids loved the food in India but were ready for a break from the spiciness now and then. They also woke up hungry at random times due to the time change. Having familiar foods on hand for 3 am snacks provided some comfort to them and us. You can always purchase things like eggs, fruit, peanut butter, or bread once you arrive).
9. Drink loads of water. Make sure your kids drink loads of water. You cannot be happy, patient people if you aren't hydrated. We bring our empty stainless steel bottles through security and refill them inside.
10. Plan to relax when you arrive at your destination. For kids, that may mean running around outside or playing quietly with their LEGOs. Allow them to guide your relaxation. Don't try to rush off and go sightseeing.

Finally, as I've mentioned before... remember to pack patience and your sense of humor. You'll enjoy your children and have a much better time.

Do you have any tips to add to this list? Please leave them in the comments. 

Related Posts:
Travel Tuesdays: Pack your Sense of Humor
Travel Tuesdays: Holiday Travel
Travel Tuesdays: Affording to Travel

Travel Tuesdays

For Earth Day, I posted some favorite photos I've taken of natural places around world. Response to that post was positive and several people asked me to share more of my travel experiences.

I initially liked the idea, but upon thinking about it more, I couldn't see how sharing my experiences would fit with my blog's mission. Sure, I enjoy sharing my travel experiences, (Who doesn't?) but I don't want this blog to be about me. Rather, I want it to be a place for you to get ideas for things to do with your kids or students. I also don't want to send a message that you need to travel to all kinds of far away places to apply some of the lessons I've learned through my travels. I strongly encourage you to travel outside your home country to gain a broader perspective, but that may not be possible. You can be a traveler in your own state or region. That's the kind of traveler I was this summer.

After much contemplation and reading over the summer, I finally found a focus. This quotation clinched it for me:

 "Remember that many would love to travel to gain a broader perspective, but cannot. Find creative ways to bring home the value of travel by giving presentations to groups of curious people not likely to have passports."

~Rick Steeves, Travel as a Political Act p. 202 

This blog offers a nice forum for me to share. Next week will mark the official start of my new series, Travel Tuesdays. In this series, I'll share a photo, story, or anecdote about my travel experience.  I'll also share a lesson I learned from that experience and offer ways it might inform your work (and play) with children.

I hope you'll join in the conversation. Share your thoughts about travel. Ask me questions. Suggest future topic ideas. If you've traveled and have a story to share, let me know. I'd love to welcome you as as guest blogger.