Ready to embark on a fun family adventure? Traveling with kids can be a joyful experience that creates lifelong memories — but, let’s be honest… it’s not without its moments of mayhem.
Whether you’re packing up the car for a family reunion, flying to a faraway destination, or soaking up the sun, it’s helpful to know the best secrets to stress-free family travel!
Join us as we take you through different family destinations with some game-changing, tantrum-curbing travel tips for parents!
Theme Park Travel With Kids
With thrilling rides, beloved characters, and endless entertainment, theme parks offer something for everyone. No matter the park on your itinerary, we’ve got plenty of theme park tips for families that will help you achieve fun and stress-free family travel.
• Nap on the Go: You don’t have to sacrifice nap time when you visit a theme park, but you will have to get creative. See if the park you’re visiting has designated relaxation stations or baby care centers you can utilize to relax and recharge, and if they don’t provide family-friendly features, consider bringing soothing accessories like a portable sound machine or stroller shades and canopies to help your kids wind down when the occasion calls.
• Pack With Purpose: A successful day at a theme park with kids requires plenty of snacks and supplies. Write an essential packing list that details your family’s personal needs, but be sure to plan for all-day snacks, refillable water bottles, extra changes of clothes, sunscreen, UPF hats, as well as any necessary medications. Consider your own needs as well, whether that’s a wide brim hat, phone charger, or other mama must-haves.
• No Waiting Around: Consider using any apps or park guides to check ride and attraction wait times and plan your day accordingly to minimize tantrums and tears. You can arrive right when the park opens and visit the most popular destinations to avoid mile-long lines, or visit go-to destinations during peak meal times when lines tend to be shorter. If it's in your travel budget, you can also invest in any VIP/line-skipping passes!
• Prioritize Self Care: It’s easy to be so focused on your kids that you lose sight of yourself. So while you’re tending to children applying SPF galore and digging for snacks at the bottom of a cluttered baby bag, make sure to take care of yourself, too. Stop for water, go on a fun ride while your partner watches the kids, grab a coffee when you need a boost, and indulge in joy-sparking souvenirs!
Featured Style: Around The World Crescent Zippy
Road Trips With Kids
Embarking on road trips with kids is filled with equal parts excitement and stress, but with some creativity it can turn into a fun adventure for everyone involved. Whether you're driving across the country or just for a few hours, here are our top road trip hacks for families.
• Mess-Free Meal Hacks: Pack a cooler! Bring finger food-friendly bites, including pre-cut fruits like apples, oranges, berries, and grapes. You can also piece together store-bought or homemade selections like trail mix, pre-cut sandwiches, cheese sticks, squeezable fruit packs, and other family favorites.
• Screen-Free Scenery: A road trip is the ideal time to engage in unplugged activities that foster creativity, imagination, and bonding time. Create a playlist of your family’s favorite songs, with selections that everyone loves to belt out. Consider audiobooks from classics like The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Anne of Green Gables to more modern hits like Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Harry Potter. Should your ears need a break, try coloring books, sticker pads, puzzles, and any other reliable, familiar favorites!
• Games Galore: One of the great thrills of a road trip is playing classic road-trip games like "I Spy" and "20 Questions.” You can also creare your own "Road Trip Scavenger Hunt,” seeing who can spot the most quirky roadside attractions, like giant statues, weird museums, or offbeat landmarks. If you’d rather rely on physical media, pack a deck of cards, Uno, Trivia Pursuit, or travel-sized board games.
• Car Comfort: Sitting in a passenger seat or car seat for long periods of time is uncomfortable, so consider how best to keep your kids comfy and calm. If your kiddos are most comfortable in jammies, let them wear them on the road, and it never hurts to bring along a favorite Lovey to provide comfort during cartime naps. To help your kids fall asleep, schedule the drive around their natural sleep schedule, or play some soothing music to help them catch some ZZZs.
Long Flights With Kids
Flying with kids can present a range of emotions, including anxiety, dread, excitement, and everything in between. To help curb those don’t-stare-at-me tears and tantrums that can happen mid-air, we have some great flying with kids tips!
• Survival Kit and Reinforcements: You know your kids better than anyone, so pack a “survival kit” with a selection of their favorite snacks and noiseless toys and games. Toss in fail-safe favorites, but also delightful and engaging surprises, whether that’s new markers,, plane-themed activity books, seek-and-find-themed (i.e. Where’s Waldo & I Spy) books, or exciting treats like homemade cookies or Ring Pops. Consider letting your kids fly in their fave LS pajamas, too! There’s no shame in offering “good behavior” prizes to help incentivize your kids either.
• Flexibility for the Win: A few tears aren’t going to upset everyone, but if you sense your kid is melting down, consider a change of view. Be prepared to get up and walk around, take a bathroom break, or let your fellow travel companion or spouse take over for a period of time so you can take a break.
• Airport Security: Walk your kids through the security process ahead of time, clueing them into what’s in store: long lines, walking through weird machines, helping mom put belongings into trays, and other big-kid tasks. If they know what’s in store, they’re less likely to fret when called into action. Use TSA Precheck to speed up the process if it’s possible.
• New Time Zones: Jet lag is hard enough for adults, so it’s normal for kids to struggle with a sudden change to their time-honored routines. To help your little ones adjust to a new time zone, adjust their sleep schedules a few days ahead of time to reflect your ultimate destination’s schedule, and don’t be afraid to adjust your plans on the go if it seems like your kids need a nap instead of a museum tour.
Featured Styles: Around The World Family Matching Pajamas
Visiting Family With Kids
Visiting family with kids is hard to top. Whether you’re off to visit grandma and grandpa in another state or catch up with loved ones for a family reunion, family time is the best time to create lasting memories. To make the most of your family visit, consider these suggestions.
• Adjusting to New Places: Help your kids adjust before you ever step foot in the door. Explain what is expected in this unfamiliar environment, such as being extra polite, sensitive to elders’ disabilities or limitations, helpful with younger siblings, new sleeping arrangements, unfamiliar foods, etc. Tell them what they are going to encounter when you arrive, and let your kids take their time getting comfortable. They’ll come around!
• Routines for the Win: Family get-togethers tend to favor the needs of the group as opposed to the youngest, but don’t be afraid to be open about your children’s routines and needs so others can plan for bumps in the road. To help with familiar patterns, pack plenty of comfort items like pacifiers and Cloud Blankets® so your kids can drift off to sleep with ease.
• Kid-Centric Adventures: If plans allow for it, plan some solo kid-friendly adventures with your brood. Letting kids pick destinations, like a children’s museum or fun park, will make them feel important and loved, even if you aren’t able to give them your full attention throughout the trip.
• Right at Home: There’s no place like home, but let's make the best of it. Let your kids know that they can come to you if they feel anxious about new places and new experiences. Tell them that the unfamiliar takes some getting used to, and that that’s okay. If possible, designate a “home base” wherever you’re staying so your kids can unwind and relax if they need a break or breather.
Featured Style: Around The World Two-Piece Pajama Set
Beach Vacations With Kids
Of all the destinations we cherish most, there's few that top a beach vacation with kids. Sun and serenity are in store when you visit these sandy destinations, but it’s not without its hurdles. Here are our suggestions for stress-free beach vacations!
• Beach Bag Checklist: There are items you won’t want to forget when you hit the beach, including sunscreen, hats, water shoes, towels, water bottles, snacks, and extra clothes, but also consider unconventional things that help keep the chaos contained. Big items like a beach cart or wagon will help you tote all your gear, but maybe you could use items like a portable potty for potty training, first-aid kit for scrapes and cuts, or a portable phone charger!
• Sand and Sun: Exposure to unrelenting UV rays is no joke, which is why you should pack and apply plenty of baby and kid-friendly broad-spectrum sunscreen to protect your kids. A UPF hat works sun-protective wonders, and when you need to add a layer, remember that Little Sleepies naturally boasts UPF25. Make sure to pack an oversized beach blanket so your family can avoid sitting in gritty sand.
• Ocean of Entertainment: While we can’t imagine being bored at the beach, it does happen, which is why you’ll want to have extra entertainment ready. Create a beach scavenger hunt, listing out items for your kids to find, such as sea shells and seagulls, and pack sandcastle molds and shovels so your kids can show off their architectural muscles. Bring along beach balls, frisbees, and kites!
• Beach Time to Naptime: The beach tends to wear everyone out, and checking off nap time is much easier when your kids are sand-and-sea exhausted, but always come with a plan. Find a shady, quiet area where your kids can listen to soothing waves, and if it’s feasible, head back to your stay so everyone can catch some ZZZs whenever they need.
Adventure Is Out There
No matter what type of adventure is on the family itinerary, you can easily master how to travel with kids. Use this list as a guide for your next family destination. And remember — traveling with little ones can be challenging, but with the right mindset and strategies, it can make for lifelong joyful memories!
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