What are your must-have items for traveling with kids and why?
Traveling with kids can be so much fun, but it isn’t always easy. Many of us have a go-to list of gadgets, gear, and other activities that keep the kids happy when they’re stuck in a seat for hours, dealing with jet lag, or just navigating an unfamiliar place.
What are the things you’d never leave home without? Tell us why they’re so great, and include links please!
10 answers
We’ve always been a travel-loving family. Before we had kids, we loved to travel super light, carry-ons only, and went all over the world with itty little roller bags - I hadn’t seen a baggage claim conveyer belt in years! Once we had littles in tow though, we realized pretty quickly that you need to lug a LOT more stuff along. I don’t like lugging stuff that isn’t going to be useful, so I did mad amounts of research on gear. Here’s my list of essentials that earned their place on the road with us. Some of these are to keep the kids happy. A lot are to keep us parents sane (which, I suppose, also keeps the kids happy.)
Babies, <2 year old
The Doona Stroller: ohh how we loved our Doona! It’s so convenient, switching from an infant car seat to a stroller and back in a flash and it was so easy to load it in and out of airplane seats, taxis, and rental cars. The only downside is that kids tend to outgrow it quickly, at around a year old, but before that it’s a game changer! https://www.amazon.com/Doona-Infant-Seat-Latch-Base/dp/B08VWWQ96T
Melissa and Doug Water Wow: I always had several of these in my carry-on while traveling. They keep kids entertained and they don’t make a mess. We also loved Melissa and Doug’s reusable puffy stickers. Pretty sure we’ve left a few small puffy animals stuck to unreachable-except-by-tiny-baby-fingers corners in planes. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N4984OL and https://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Reusable-Adventures-Stickers
Waterproof wet bag: Very useful for wet clothes, swimsuits, or anything else that you don’t want leaking all over the place. You could always use ziplocks, but reusable is nice. I like the Bumkins bags because they also look pretty cute! One might be an exhausted parent running pell mell through an airport with a poopy diaper in one hand, but one still has standards, dagnabbit! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019EGMK4E
Squeezy Snacker baby food pouch: I really love this reusable baby food pouch. It’s very easy for a baby to eat from it, but no matter how much they squish it with their ultra strong baby hands, it simply will not spill. On the flip side, I did have to open it up repeatedly to reassure curious TSA officers that this was just a smoothie. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A0X9W78
Preschoolers: 2-4 years
WayB Pico travel carseat: There was one painful year after we outgrew the Doona when we had to lug a big carseat along and that was annoying, but once we aged into the WayB, things got a lot easier again. It’s lightweight, packs into a backpack, and takes about 5 minutes to install in a rental car or (hopefully patient) taxi. https://www.amazon.com/WAYB-Carrying-Lightweight-Portable-Foldable/dp/B0C1P2YZ5S
Flyaway Kids Bed: This is amazing for longer international flights! It turns the seat into a comfy lie flat bed. It’s a little unwieldy to inflate/deflate on the plane, but so worth it when half the family is happy and well rested at touchdown. https://www.flyawaydesigns.com/products/flyaway-kids-bed
Puro Kids Headphones: I love that these are volume limited to safe levels. They’re also easily adjustable, very comfortable, and have amazing battery life. And they come in fun colors. https://www.amazon.com/Puro-Sound-Labs-Plus-Headphones/dp/B0C3TJDLW5
Activity books, lift-the-flap books, drawing pads, seek-and-find books:
- Playtown Lift the Flap - it’s a bit large, but provided hours of entertainment - https://www.amazon.com/dp/0312517378) \
- All Around Bustletown - these books are beautifully illustrated and full of tiny little details. https://www.amazon.com/Around-Bustletown-Rotraut-Susanne-Berner\
- Pretty much anything else that will hold a crayon mark.
Hiccapop Inflatable Toddler Bed: These worked great for that in-between stage after the kids had outgrown hotel cribs and pack-and-plays but before they could comfortably claim a grown up bed without rolling off the side at night. https://www.amazon.com/hiccapop-Inflatable-Toddler-Portable-Mattress
Kindergartners: 5+ years
Ride Safer Travel vest: Ultra light and very portable, these still feel very secure and it’s easy to get in and out of them. There’s also a tether attachment for extra safety - we use that when we have a rental car or expect a longer drive, but it isn’t needed for short taxi rides. https://www.amazon.com/Backpack-Wearable-Lightweight-Portable-Everyday-Rideshare/dp/B07WMTQHCL
Educational books and learning materials… yeah, who am I kidding. Screen time rules go out the window as soon as we step into the airport. https://www.apple.com/ipad/
- ale—Oh, the Fly Away. GAME changer for sure! we love it as well.
- rachel—Thus is amazing! I love your detailed comments on each item. Putting the headphones in my cart!
- jon—@rachel then the question is which color??? :)
- rachel—@jon blue, teal, purple, respectively. ;)
- perla—Love this response with all the age categories and product links
- JackieR60
I’m heading to India on Saturday with my nearly 2 year old, so this is a well timed question
• The basics: 2x the diapers & wipes you need (you never know what will happen!), and a change of clothes for everyone as a carry on - caregivers included. I also bring a few ziplock and garbage bags, as well as a changing pad.• Toys: With long hauls I bring out a bunch of new gear. A few of our favorites:
Crayola Color Wonder Mess Free Coloring Activity Set, stickers, busy boards like the
HABA Busy Board for Toddlers, and small book sets like Thomas & Friends - My First Library Book Block 12-Book Set• Snacks! We bring all of his favorites and all of the treats he wants at home. Goldfish, cheerios, whatever he can easily eat (and it can be entertaining)
++ To the comment for the Doona stroller above, esp if your kiddo is <1 year old. That was a life saver! Highly recommend
- jon—the change of clothes is SO IMPORTANT. you def don’t need it on every trip, but when you do…
EMucha3853
+1 on the WayB Pivo seat. And agree on all the snacks. My biggest travel hack is novelty — something they haven’t done before along with a few things that pretty much only come out on trips. We love Melissa and Doug Search and Find sticker pads, which have worked well for ages 3-7, magnetic travel games (Bingo, puzzles, connect 4), maze books. My kids are obsessed with these letter transformers and it’s easy to throw a few in a bag: https://a.co/d/2rnPdip\ Last thing, we’ve gotten more use from this travel high chair than I could have imagined when we bought it: https://a.co/d/0Qz32qo
- jon—@EMucha love the “novelty” idea of something they haven’t done before. a “special activity book” just for this trip seems like such a fun idea. is that the sort of thing you have in mind?
- ritu—oh that’s brilliant! something that only comes out for trips is a fantastic idea!
- ritu—heyyy how did
- ritu—sigh. how did @jon do an @ in his comment?
- jon—@ritu it doesn’t work for you to just type ‘@’? that’s how i do it…
rachel8302
Finding the right travel activities has always been tricky for us! My oldest loves to build and solve puzzles. He doesn’t love coloring or little world stuff. My middle child loves all things art/coloring, and likes building toys and little world toys. My youngest loves little world stuff and building toys, and is ok with art/coloring. So I’m going to provide our favorites from various activity types — the ones that have had the best staying power, so you can match what your kiddo likes!
Entertainment and Toys
Great for All Ages
Colored pencils (because they don’t melt or color easily on other stuff) with a small notebook.
Reuseable writing pad. https://www.amazon.com/Boogie-Board-8-5-Inch-Writing-PT01085CYAA0002/dp/B00AFPR68E
Make a face stickers: https://www.amazon.com/JOYIN-Sticker-Safaris-Fantasy-Supplies/dp/B07R4PMWHF
Suction toys. These are seriously the best. Great for car windows or airplane windows. Even my kid who doesn’t like little world stuff will still play with these. https://www.amazon.com/ArtCreativity-Suction-Creatures/dp/B0CFBXCY4B
Look and find books, like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Disney-Princess-Look-Find-Kids/dp/1450881882
Hidden picture books like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Jumbo-Hidden-Pictures®-HighlightsTM-Books/dp/1629798266
Good for Toddlers and Preschoolers
Water wow: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088XSSYJZRoger Priddy maze books. When my kids were little these were gold. https://www.amazon.com/Maze-Book-Follow-Fairy-Finger/dp/0312530188
Anything Richard Scarry
Good for Kids 4+
Ball puzzle: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077JLT82G
Polly pocket. My kids especially love the mermaids in this one: https://www.amazon.com/Polly-Pocket-Seashell-Wearable-Accessories/dp/B084L265YC. We also love the Lakeshore Carry Around Town set (https://www.lakeshorelearning.com/products/ca/p/HH587). It’s a little bigger than the Polly Pocket though.
Magnetic people. Work by themselves, in cars, airplanes, restaurants. Seriously magical. https://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Colorful-Humanoid-Refrigerator-Whiteboard/dp/B0CYLH7VP9
Kindle fire. Disney+. Books for the older kids. And a few games. https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Official-Site-Fire-HD-Kids-8-Pro-Tablet-8-inch-Display-2022-release/dp/B09BG6DSBY
Maze booksOther Critical Items
Snack boxes (I love these because once emptied I can stack them to take up less space): https://www.amazon.com/EasyLunchboxes-4-Compartment-Snack-Containers-Classic/dp/B07BB1YDMLSmall first aid kit.
Claritin for kids. I’ve got kids with allergies and you always need to be prepared.
Wet wipes. These are my favorite because no extra chemicals: https://www.amazon.com/WaterWipes-Sensitive-Wipes-Count-Packs/dp/B008KJEYLO
Portable black out curtain: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071YVLK63
- ritu—we love Hidden Pictures books too! That ball puzzle looks super fun - just added that to my cart!
- rachel—@ritu❤️
- perla—Love the portable black out curtains!!
ale2451
+1 to bringing activity books, sticker pads the likes. But we also allow tons (unlimited? :) screen time once in the plane! We’ve found the Amazon Fire Kids tablets to be very sturdy and have this great case with good grip that’s basically part of the device. And they are cheaper at <$100 for the non-Pro version (which is not needed for kids). With the basic version you can download plenty Netflix or Disney series and movies as well as games (Amazon Kids has a surprisingly good selection of age appropriate games that our kids love).
https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Fire-Kids-tablet-Top-selling/dp/B0C8C2NZMQ/