1. Snacks

There is nothing more fun and distracting to a 1 year old than snacks! Bring a variety of snacks, for the wait in the airport and the plane, so you can always have one handy for when the toddler starts to get bored and wiggly.

If you know you’ll be traveling in a few weeks, you can save 1 small snack pack from each type you buy over the next month, so that you have a good variety of options and all the snacks stay interesting and exciting.

2. Favorite Toys

It may seem obvious to bring their favorite toys, but if possible, begin to hide a few favorites 1-2 weeks before the flight. Then, not only will they have their favorite toys, but they will be twice as excited to see them again since they haven’t been played with in a couple weeks.

3. Interactive books

Choose books with texture, flaps and bright colors to keep your little one focused for as long as possible during the flight.

4. Finger Puppets

These are so fun for little ones to play with in their plane seat, they can use them like dolls for creative play, or you can take a turn and make fun stories for them to watch.

5. Stickers

Bring a small notebook and sheets of stickers and let them go wild! Just make sure stickers don’t get left behind on your seats. You can also try a fun sticker book like this pack of 3!

6. Water Coloring

These simple water coloring sets are perfect for planes because it’s a mess-free way to let their creativity shine!

7. Balloon

This is the best tip I can share from times traveling with my toddlers. Bring a deflated balloon through security and blow it up once you reach your gate. This is a great toy for your one year old to play with while waiting to get on the plane, and it’s easy to throw away before you get on the plane.

As we all know, the best thing you can bring is your own patience, and make sure you’re ready to switch gears any second that your toddler feels bored.

The post Airplane Toys & Activities for a One Year Old appeared first on Traveling Family Blog.

Yes, it was a little bit crazy. Throwing kids on an eleven hour flight and hoping all goes well is not necessarily the perfect starting point for traveling families, but it was worth it.

Traveling with kids isn’t nearly as easy as traveling solo, but it’s worth it.

If you are on the fence about traveling with your young kids, I encourage you to go for it!

Kids are flexible – If you are calm about travel, your kids likely will be chill about it as well. We weren’t stressed in transit, we just waited in line, played silly waiting games and got on the plane. I kept it as low key as possible so the kids didn’t worry, and it worked! They did a great job in all the airports and stayed right by me.

Seeing history – When you travel with preschoolers they are able to touch history and learn so much more about the world than they ever could from a book or show. Hearing about distant Kings and Queens and the way they lived is one thing, actually getting to tour palace gardens with your kids and walk through the oldest zoo in the world? There’s nothing quite like that!

This is the palace where Marie Antoinette grew up. We were able to visit the zoo that is located in the palace gardens and used to be private only for the royal family. It’s open to the public now, and the kids got to see new animals that they’d never seen before, like polar bears! 

Exploring cultures – There is nothing like letting your kids interact with other cultures in the world. I loved watching them learn about the different ways people do things in other countries, and why. Seeing other cultures adds so much to any traveler’s life. It makes you seem small, in the most beautiful way. I also love that it teaches my kids that different is just…different, and it certainly doesn’t mean bad! It’s really hard to keep any subliminal prejudices when you travel and meet people from all different cultures and walks of life, and it’s something that I love to do with my kids!

It’s family time – Travel can really bring you together as a family. I don’t know if it’s the unique shared experiences or just spending so much time exploring together, but I always feel closer to my kids after I’ve spent time traveling with them.

You find the coolest places – I try not to get too caught up in hitting every “must see” tourist spot. There are so many neat things to see if you just go at the kid’s pace and see what they want to do. Sure, there are some touristy things every one will want to hit, but there are also some amazing things you can find just exploring with the kids (it helps if you are friend with people who live there, but exploring on your own can be fun too!).

We ended up riding the oldest running ferris wheel in the world because it looked like fun on the way home from something else. It was an amazing and memorable experience for everyone… and let’s not forget the parks. 

The parks – If you ever take your kids to Europe go find a local park and let them run free. We played at four or five different parks and each was unique and the kids had a great time. In fact, it’s one of the biggest things they ask to go do again!

Not too young – A lot of people say not to waste a trip on such a young child and to wait until they are older. While I’ve never traveled with an older kiddo, I found that traveling with preschoolers was really fun. They already see the world differently than me, so it was neat to watch their views change and grow, and even to see how they were excited and in awe of even the simplest things in a new place. It was such an amazing experience!

If you are considering taking your kids on a trip, let me encourage you to take the plunge. There’s nothing quite like sharing the exploration with your little ones, it’s something neither of you will ever forget!

The post Why You Should Travel Internationally With Preschoolers appeared first on Traveling Family Blog.

While most of the time “lost” only lasts for a few seconds, it’s important to prepare your kids and teach them what they should do if they become truly lost and can’t see mommy or daddy.

I hope our family rules can help you in starting this conversation with your kids. Especially before traveling with them where they’d be in unfamiliar surroundings.

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Here are the rules about getting lost that we teach our kids.

Stay still – So often a child’s gut reaction is to go wandering around looking for mommy or daddy. The know they weren’t supposed to get lost, so they try to make up for it by finding you immediately. Make sure they know that as long as they are in a safe place to stay put so mommy and daddy can come back to them. If there is a bench to sit on or a chair to find we always make sure they don’t have to root themselves in the exact spot on the floor where they realized they were lost, but rather stay in the general area out of the way and somewhere that they can safely wait for help.

Find a mommy – We’ve taught our kids that the best person to help them is another mom. If they need help, they should search for a nice lady with kids and ask for help. People with kids are oftentimes the best equipped to comfort a child, and get them back to their parent.

Not a uniform – I know some might be raising their eyebrows at the above advice. Shouldn’t kids go to police officers or firemen? Yes…but in most situations there isn’t a police officer handy. Unless you happen to be in the grocery store at the same time as one, your kid could be stuck searching for a cop for a long time. Uniforms can also be VERY confusing. At amusement parks the security officers aren’t dressed in familiar police uniforms and it can be hard for a kid to discern which uniforms are genuine and which ones are not. The same goes for traveling overseas. This is why we always tell our kids to look for a mommy if they are lost.

Name & Number – There are a few facts your kids need to know about YOU to help them be prepared if they are ever lost. Most important is you real name. Have them practice saying your full name several times. This way when some one asks what their mommy’s name is they won’t be stuck paging “mama” on the store intercom. Once your child is old enough, teach them your phone number too so they can clearly communicate to the person helping them and give you a phone call with their exact location instead of waiting with your child until you are found or needing to page you through a store.  Here are a few tips to help you teach your child your phone number. 

tip: If your child isn’t old enough to learn your number but you will be in a large open area with them, get these temporary tattoos. We’ve done them with our kids at the beach and other places with great success! I was super impressed with how long they stay on! These also come in handy if your child will be traveling with a grandparent or friend. You kid might not have had the chance to memorize grandma’s phone number yet, so this is a quick way for a helper to be able to get your child back to their guardian without any extra steps.

While being lost is a scary event for kids and moms alike, we hope these tips help you all feel more safe on vacations and even in your every day adventures with your kids!

The post Teaching kids what to do when they are lost appeared first on Traveling Family Blog.

I love the character descriptions given by Pull Ups® for little potty trainers. My daughter was definitely the turtle: Content with not being potty trained, slow to warm up to the idea and stubborn.

Yep, that would be my kid. There are squirrels (always on the go, won’t slow down, love games), puppies (ready and willing, work well with habits), owls (determined, want to understand boundaries, need to be clean), and bears (floaters, predictable but flexible, relaxed). Each potty training character comes with their own struggles. But if you have a turtle like me chances are it might take the majority of the Summer to finish up potty training.

So what can you do if Potty Training bleeds over into vacation time? Do you abandon it altogether or keep trucking along and try to figure it out as you go? We have some ideas that can help you conquer potty training, even in the midst of traveling, extended stays out of town and vacations!

To get you ready for a potty training on vacation adventure, we’ve created a list of everything you’ll need!

First off, you’ll definitely want to run by your local Walmart to pick up some Pull-Ups® Learning Designs®. These are essential for your child during a potty training vacation. The packages can cost as little as $8.97!  They will help your child build confidence while working on potty training in the car or on the plane, but also keep you from having to deal with too many messes on the go.

They also make the Pull-Ups® with coverage exactly where boys and girls need it the most, which is crazy helpful especially since they are more absorbent than Pull-Ups were before! They have 10% more stretch which is perfect for active kiddos as they are on-the-go plus 10% more coverage for fit and protection.

These Pull-Ups® also have no-tear sides which makes life so much easier when traveling AND the wetness indicator helps too on the cute Disney character like Lightning McQueen or Doc McStuffins!

We also suggest getting a portable toilet seat for the kiddo. These are so great because they can easily be tossed in a bag right along with the Pull-Ups®. Since you won’t be able to bring their potty training chair that they might have gotten used to at home, this is the next best thing. It will give them a familiar feeling wherever you’re taking them potty and help them not be afraid of falling in the “big hole” in a strange restroom.

Flushable wipes can also come in handy. Pull-Ups® have their own line of these and I highly recommend them! I’ve found that sometimes toddlers really need that extra wet-wipe “down there”, that toilet paper won’t quite do the job for them, especially if they’ve had to sit in a carseat for a few extra minutes while you hunted down a gas station on an empty stretch of road. Keeping these in your potty training bag is an absolute must!

Antibacterial gel or wipes can also be extremely helpful when potty training on the go. You’d never believe how many gas station bathrooms don’t even keep soap in the restroom at all. And don’t get me started on having to grab that nasty handle after you’ve already washed your hands…kinda defeats the purpose! And then, there’s always the change-the-kid on the side of the road adventure because there’s literally no other option. You’ll want to be able to get yours and your child’s hands sanitized afterwards for sure!

Lastly, make sure you pack a couple of changes of clothes in case any accidents occur along the way. This includes everything from underwear (obvious) to socks (often forgotten) because you NEVER know what might happen.

The easiest way to pack all of this is in a fun tote bag. That gives your child and the people around you, some sense of privacy about their potty training, especially if you are carrying a training seat in and out of a restaurant or other public place. This also affords you the opportunity to make a big deal out of transitioning AWAY from the diaper bag. “All we have is a potty training bag now, and soon that will be gone too!”

Alternatively, this would also work great if you are just dropping your child off to spend a few days with grandma and grandpa. Giving them all the tools they need to get through a successful couple of days potty training can mean the difference between your child regressing back into diapers or pushing through and staying the course with potty training while with grandma and grandpa. In that case, we put it all in a clear bin so it’s easy to see everything they need, right there in their bathroom so they don’t forget!

Learn more about Pull-Ups® Learning Designs® available at Walmart! You can even take your child with you so they can choose which favorite character they’d like to travel and potty train with! Our kids LOVED seeing Lighting McQueen on their Pull-Ups® Learning Designs®!

The post When You’re {Still} Potty Training On A Trip appeared first on Traveling Family Blog.