There’s traveling… peaceful, calm, happy… a chance to get away from it all. Leave the daily stressors of life and just. relax.
Then… there’s traveling with kids.
Stressful. Extra difficult. But completely unavoidable.
Once my friend and I flew with both of my boys when they were young toddlers. First of all, security was out of control and we almost missed our flight. Picture running with children and luggage, Home Alone style. And that wasn’t even the worst part. Lets just say there was LOTS of screaming. Luckily my friend got the “good twin” as the lady sitting next to her put it. {Even though they are 11 months apart.} It was rough. It is my travel horror story. Which brings me to my first tip of traveling with kids:
1) Everyone needs a horror story to compare the rest of the trips to. Sit back and laugh, and know that anything is going to seem awesome compared to this. Then on your next trip, just close your eyes and remember the running. Remember the screaming. This little bit of whining isn’t that bad…
2) It gets easier. Remember how I told you I had boys 11 months apart? When they were young traveling was tough. But our last road trip that we took to Kansas for thanksgiving was delightful. They are 4 and 5 now and we had great conversation, enjoyed each others company, joked about goofy things at the gas station, and best of all had fun and made memories together. JUST on the road! What a blessing. Someday you’ll get there.
3) Throw your house rules out the window. When the boys were little they LOVED traveling, because it meant they could watch movie after movie, enjoy snacks galore, and use those paci’s the whole time, where at home they only had it for nap and bed. They thought they were in heaven! Make traveling fun and special- a little too much sugar and screen time isn’t going to kill them.
4) Be grateful. When I am feeling especially stressed there is nothing that helps me more than being aggressively thankful. Squeeze your eyes shut for a moment. Be thankful for those sticky, whining messes because they are nothing short of a miracle. Write it on a post-it note and stick it in the car- whatever you have to do to remember. There are so many others out there who would love nothing more than to be in that car being driven crazy.
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