WFMW- Traveling with SMALL Children
July 11, 2007 by Mommy Zabs
Filed under Children, Family, Motherhood, Uncategorized, Weather, Works for Me Wednesday
I figured that for this Works for Me Wednesday it would be appropriate for me to discuss traveling with small children for 2 reasons:
1. We just returned from vacation. (you are saw most of the beginning of last weeks posts via FUTURE POST!)
2. Many of you are taking vacations as well.
Here are my must have’s for traveling with my little ones:
1. The LIST. Yes, a grand little packing list saved on my computer that reminds me of every must have to make Owen and Lukas’s lives livable while we are away. With every trip this can be easily tweaked and printed out. Never leave with out the list. The list also comes in handy for re-packing on the return home. Mother’s know it is almost impossible to go home without leaving something behind- with the list it is closer to possibility!
2. The DISTRACTION. Long, long hours on the road or in flight and baby/toddler/child must have plenty of distractions! This time is the exception to the rule. Spoil your child. Especially if you are in flight. It is more important to value the space of those around you than to teach your child the value of limited TV time.
Useful distractions (may change with age, situation, or method of travel) include but are not limited to:
breastfeeding (under cover of course), pacifiers, favorite stuffed animal or blanket, bottle, hand held toys, dvd player (headphones in flight!), dvd’s, computer, hand held video game, puzzles, magna-doodle, games, playdoh, snacks, drinks, conversation, quiet singing and rocking, books, homework (for you home schoolers out there!), guessing games, etc…
It is important in choosing the distraction that you consider your own child and situation. No need to pack too many distractions. Limit yourself to the top 3-5.
3. FOOD. Traveling is not a time to worry too much about feeding schedules or your typical snacking rules. One round trip will not be enough to create an obese child. Food provides and excellent way to keep your child content.
4. Don’t Over-pack, Don’t Under-pack. This is an art. While difficult, beginner take heart, you will get used to it. Over-packing drives me crazy. I could hardly contain myself on a plane as I watched a first time traveling mom with her 6 month old, husband, and a couple bags full of EVERYTHING YOU CAN IMAGINE YOU WOULD NEED IN 12 MONTHS WITH A CHILD! I know she was being a good mom and preparing for everything… but she was in for a long tiring trip. When her 2nd comes along I know she will chuckle when she thinks of her first time in flight with a baby.
Under-packing is an obvious danger, this is where the list comes back into play.
5. Allow Extra Time. For EVERYTHING. With children everything takes longer. Traveling is no different. If you have absolute deadlines, as with flight departures and important arrival times, plan for everything to take extra time. Better to be early than late in these cases. If you plan for extra time you are less likely to get impatient and irritated with those precious little slow-pokes.
6. Expect Constant Questions. The annoying kind. Like “are we there yet?”. You did it to your parents, now you pay penance. Anticipating this also increases your chance of maintaining a sane patience level.
7. Enlist help of Older Children- Once children are capeable of anything they love to be included in the process. It gives them great pride to feel part of “the team”. Even with my 3-year-old Owen I notice a big difference in his behavior when I include him by letting him help. While flying he can carry a small bag or item. While driving he can talk to his brother and tell him stories (he loves to tell stories). If I explain how helpful this is, he is more likely to behave. Think of ways to get your kiddos to help.
8. LAUGH! Things most likely will not go exactly as planned. Expect it and choose to laugh in advance. Make light of the exit you missed as you were stopping one from making the other scream, Make light of the poopy diaper JR decided to let go as soon as your flight reached cruising altitude. Laugh at that person next to you that hates children. Laugh that you left favorite stuffed animals back at the Cracker Barrell and have to turn around to get it. Laugh, Laugh, Laugh- after all, you are on vacation.
Related Posts:
WFMW- Easy Cooking
John Kaiser on Wed, 11th Jul 2007 7:35 am
“With children everything takes longer.”
Except for sleep, that gets much shorter.
You are always quick with the wit john
You are right, sleep is less.
misi on Wed, 11th Jul 2007 7:53 am
E,
Thanks for the tips, I am planning on flying to see Kristy soon and I am super worried about the way Josh will act on the plane….EEEKKK. If you have any specific flying suggestions I would appreciate them cuz Lu and Josh are pretty much the same age.
Lukas and Josh’s age is the hardest. I do recommend a portable dvd player though. He may be ready to do that by now. Also a lot of snacks! If he still uses a pacie- let him use it while ascending and descending. If he doesn’t get a lolly for him or if you think he can handle gum use that. do your best to explain over and over what you are doing. Maybe even draw a picture to help him understand about how you will be flying. The fortunate thing about flying from where you are (that i won’t mention online) is you will have a lot of children on your flight. It is always easier when many other people are in the same situation. Kids love having other kids to look at too!
Defiant_Infidel on Wed, 11th Jul 2007 8:57 am
Great post, E… what a cool mom you are. Me and the super wife never had children, but we love being around them. Your lists remind me of my own mother’s prep habits, although I operate with them in play for everything, too.
Oh, I’m glad you clarified the acronym “WFMW” as I cringed trying to imagine what a Christian mother like yourself might be trying to convey with that… HA!
matt on Wed, 11th Jul 2007 9:21 am
just wanted to say that this is an excellent post. my wife and i have yet to have little ones, but i will file this in the memomy for later use.
also, need to say that if some are offended on honest dialog about social mores, please stop reading. i am just a guy trying to understand women better…
you mention the breastfeeding thing under-cover. i appreciate modesty and all, but i really believe that too much is made over this topic. not to say that you have, but society here gets all worked up over something natural.
granted there are weirdo’s and others who have an adolescent fascination with breasts, but in all honesty, i think american mores is out of whack on breastfeeding in general.
personally, i think modesty and discretion is relevant, but every woman i have met, spoken to or seen breastfeed (even in public) has been modest. my mom told me once that the woman’s perception of her attractiveness of her breast is not very high around and during lactation. do women hold this value top be true, or is it made up?
on those lines, do you think that christian women are super sensitive so that men dont get concerned… “oh no, cover the breast, no breast or femanine display allowed… men might get a lustful thought…”. i have heard those things siad by men and women and just wondered.
by the way, since this is a mommy blog, please all who have something to say dotn worry, you wont offend me. i really want to understand women and show concern because i want my wife and the ladies i know to be honored as well.
Well, I do believe women have every right to breastfeed in public. However, I have always had very wiggly little boys and it has been impossible for me to feed discreetly without covering them up. While I realize that some people are comfortable with women breastfeeding, to some it is absolutely foriegn. And as long as I’m not denied the right to breast feed in public, I am fine with being cautious for those people and use a blanket. Owen was huge for his age and got to be such a kicker I did eventually reach a point where I literally could not breastfeed in public and maintain any sense of modesty… so I had to go away to do it. You just have to judge your situation and always keep other’s in mind. I think it is a balance. Thanks Matt for your input, i hope you always feel free to do so.
SAH on Wed, 11th Jul 2007 9:23 am
Loved your tips! When we go on vacation, we bring cool treats and never worry about how much they are eating. My kids get things like dunkaroos and other packaged snacks not ordinarily on the menu. They love it! Great list.
Kristy C on Wed, 11th Jul 2007 3:26 pm
I’ll definitely be filing this one away in my memory bank. I have friends that just don’t travel because it’s too hard with kids. When we have kids, we hope to continue to be a family that travels. I know it will be more challenging, but its always encouraging to see that it can be done.
Traveling with the kids is not always easy, but definitely can be done! You just have to enter it with a realistic perception. I think going from traveling with out them to with them is a shock at first. You wonder if life will ever be that easy again- and it won’t for awhile. But as with all things in parenting, it’s worth it. The memories made on family vacations are priceless. They are only young once.
Amber on Wed, 11th Jul 2007 10:59 pm
Mommy Zabs…These are some keepers. One of my tips is to have gum with you at all times. Helps the little ones with the flying and then after their ears clear, it keeps them occupied. I am also tagging you for my Top 8 habits/facts about yourself. Hope you will play along.
Yes Gum at the right age is perfect!!! Owen just started doing the gum. I will try to get to that MeMe tonight
Next Stop Lauderdale on Thu, 12th Jul 2007 1:13 am
Mz…….ah, sweet revenge……….dad
Yeah Yeah.
Mark A on Thu, 12th Jul 2007 2:08 am
Great post, one of the best I’ve read on here so far MZ!
Thanks for the concern about my job situation, it couldn’t have worked out better actually with the extra pay I’m getting and getting my old job back, I’ll actually be making 60 hours pay for 19 hours work next week
Shucks, thanks, I hope my writing gets better and better! So glad about your job, what a blessing!
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Breastfeeding on Tue, 13th May 2008 8:28 pm
Breastfeeding on vacation is quite nice actually. Except for the breastpump, everything is always ready to go. No bottles to worry about when baby is hungry. I do try to cover in public, this is a private moment between me and my baby. No one else is invited.