Organize My Life: Tips for Traveling With Children

Traveling is always adventurous. However, one delay can derail your entire plan for the type of adventure you had prepared yourself for when you initially packed for vacation! Recently, my four year old and I left home with a 16 hour flight plan from Memphis, TN to Athens, Greece (not counting the hours of travel by car and bus from our home to my parent’s home). However, one weather delay on our first flight derailed our plans. Our 16+ trip became 36+ to our final destination. Luckily, I was semi-prepared with what I needed to help us reach our final destination in as much comfort as possible.

Here are a few mini travel tips to make note of if you are traveling with children:

Money: Make sure that you have enough cash for lunches, dinners, snacks, etc. at the airport. Additionally, keep smaller bills ones/fives/change in a coin purse to access easily when you are purchasing snacks. Allow extra cash and/or vacation money for unexpected hotel stays, etc.
Medicine: Keep a toiletry bag of medicine and a thermometer handy. You never know when children will spike a fever. Don’t second guess the medicine bag. My toddler started running fever on derailed flight (a 50 minute flight became a five hour flight). Keep a medical personnel’s number on you too. I needed to call our pediatrician while at the airport in regards to closed, breathing passages prior to flying. Luckily, Dr. P & I were thorough in packing an inhaler for an emergency situation.
Water Bottle: Although liquids are not allowed through security check points, make sure that you buy a bottle of water prior to boarding your plane or bring an empty water to fill up once through security. We were stranded on an aircraft with no air and very little water for its passengers—-and my toddler had a fever! I needed extra water!
Dress: Dress in layers. I always remember being cold on a plane but these flights had me second guessing my memory! We were rather warm on the stranded aircraft. Dress in clothing that breathes easily and layers that you and your child(ren) can take off and/or put on easily.
Hotel/Car Rental: If you have connecting flights in a particular city, have a list of two hotels and/or one/two car rental places that you may need to access if you are stranded between flights. I did not plan on missing our flight out of Atlanta- but we did! We were at the mercy of our airline carrier to book us a hotel which was not my standard choice. Thus, I’ll always have a hotel name and number on standby for added comfort and peace of mind.
Snacks: Pack snacks that add protein and substance to your diet. At the last minute, I tossed in 4 protein bars in my carry-on bag. I used our cash to buy snacks that my toddler wanted or requested. When she was tucked away hours passed her bedtime, I realized that I too needed to eat. My dinner was a protein bar and pecans/pistachios that I had packed. Since our hotel was not full service—-nor was it an interior hotel with an attached lobby, I was stranded again in having a choice of what to eat/drink.
Games/Toys: Stickers, coloring books, mini trinkets, books, etc. that my toddler had not seen recently were packed for her to enjoy on our aircrafts. One by one she discovered them and stayed in tune to the games I had packed. Additionally, we sang songs and played word/number games. Make sure that you arm yourself with age appropriate stories, songs, rhymes for hours of wait time in the airport and/or (like in our case) hours on an aircraft on a runway waiting out a storm to pass in Atlanta——for hours!
Travel Insurance: Buy travel insurance through the company you are purchasing tickets from and/or your credit card company. Familiarize yourself with the travel insurance policies prior to travel. Keep an envelope handy on your carryon bag to house all receipts and memos documenting any travel expenses that you incurred while delays and/or detours took place. Keep detailed information and all boarding passes showing times of delays, etc. Specific documentation will be expected to retrieve any money back.
Passports: When traveling out of the country, keep passports in a safe purse that stays with you at all times. Additionally, make copies of your passport (open faced with picture and passport number showing). Keep one in your luggage and leave one with a friend and/or a family member back home. You never know what might occur that you need the documentation.
Chargers: Keep chargers handy for all cell phones and/or electronic devices that you will need on the plane. While you are sitting at your gate waiting to board, take a few minutes to recharge cell phones, etc. Even just a few minutes of charge time make a difference when you unexpectedly find yourself on a plane that will not and cannot leave due to a medical emergency on board. Our cell phone was dwindling on one last power bar- enough to text my husband to let him know that we made it on the last flight in New York to Athens, Greece (first class——–a delightful unexpected turn in our travel adventure)!

Make sure to check out the other travel tips we have already posted!

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Renae Chiovaro

Renae is a married working mom of two handsome boys. She works as a registered dental hygienist by day and blogs here at How to Have it All by night. She enjoys cooking from scratch, working in her vegetable garden and functional training.