Member-only story
3 Tips So You Can Travel With Kids But Without The Tantrums, Tears, Or Whining (From You Or the Kids!)
We haven’t had a fight or any sulking while on vacations in years. The kids have been good, too.
I enjoyed reading Rocco Pendola’s story, “3 Reasons Why My Girlfriend and I Don’t Fight When We Travel.” He’s right that having the right attitude, preparation, and travel companion(s) makes all the difference. Yet there are a few more complicating factors when you have kids along for the trip.
Prior to having kids, my husband and I only took weekend road trips within 5 hours of our home. These are less stressful than week-long trips involving flights because there are fewer intervening factors. We pick a destination, arrange our lodging, he drives, I navigate, and I identify road stops with food options ahead of time. There are rarely surprises unless it’s an unexpected road closure or detour.
Yet once we had kids and started to bring them on our road trips, complications ensued. Packing lists needed to be far more detailed and thorough. We had to have multiple contingency plans in case a child got carsick, restless, or bored. Then once we decided to take kids on a plane (which increased our costs and put more pressure to “make the most of this vacation”), the…
