How to Choose the Best Travel Accessories for Kids
Introduction:
Taking a trip with children is thrilling but requires a lot of planning and special equipment. You would not attempt a journey with a newborn without a car seat, for example. And if you were about to take an 8-month-old overseas, as we did, you might want a special travel cot. But it’s not just about safety gear. You may also want something in which to feed or change the baby, entertain or calm the child, or allow the child to entertain herself, at least for a few minutes. In fact, when my husband and I sat down to make a list of everything we might have taken with us when our kids were little, we had to ask ourselves, “Is that a travel accessory or a survival tool?”
Essential Travel Accessories for Every Age:
- When you travel with very young children, safety is a prime concern. There are a few choices for keeping a child safe in a car: a rear-facing only seat for newborns, a 2-in-1 or a 3-in-1 seat with a convertible base that can keep your child rear-facing until they are at least 2 years old (referred to as “extended rear-facing”), and, finally, a forward-facing seat for when your child is no longer able to stay in a rear-facing position. Whichever seat you pick, be sure to install it the right way. And make sure it promises to keep your child both safe and happy.
- When traveling with preschoolers and young children, it is important to bring a handful of travel-friendly items that can help maintain comfort, security, and entertainment. Who couldn’t use a good neck pillow and cozy blanket when they’re trying to get some sleep during a long flight or car ride? A sleeping child is a content child; a content child is a quiet child; a quiet child is a peaceful travel companion! But it’s not just about ensuring individual comfort—that’s where the selection of activities comes into play. Travel bags should always be packed with a variety of forms of entertainment, such as crayons and coloring books, small toys, and tablets loaded with games and movies—anything to keep your little one engaged and your travel experience moving along smoothly. And don’t forget the healthy snacks and noise-canceling headphones either.
- Older Children and Teens: Kids in this age range can handle more mature types of travel gear.
- They can carry their own travel essentials—with snacks and even electronics in their backpacks. The increased independence and responsibility are particularly notable here.
- As I’ve said, keeping the devices charged is a constant and critical goal. Since we all spend a lot of time on our devices, we need to make sure they can accompany us on our travel journeys.
- We adults are not the only people who can and should keep travel journals. Kids and even teens can (and should) also record their authentic experiences. It’s just that they might not have the same skill set of writing and analyzing what they’re doing (a skill set that they need to work on, too). And that can happen as they prepare their journal entries.
Additional Tips for Choosing Travel Accessories:
- When it comes to picking travel accessories, it is really important to think about your reason for traveling. Will you be going someplace cold, warm, or temperate? Will you be going to the beach or the mountains, or someplace in between? What do you have planned once you get to your destination? Ponder these things, and you will be well on your way to selecting the right travel accessories for you and your child.
- And when you go to select travel accessories, you should consider items that will not only be safe and comfortable for your child to use, but also those that are versatile and will provide you with the most bang for your buck in terms of what you can do with them. The last thing to consider is to think about involving your child in the process of selecting the travel accessories. You could end up with a somewhat more helpful traveling companion.
Conclusion:
Going on a trip with children can be quite an experience. Still, the gratifying aspect of that trip will mostly relate to the kind of travel accessories one has at hand for the benefit of the children. Carrying the basic car seat for the infant, for instance, is what every parent will do to assure the safety of such a young life. But beyond that, the prerogative of selecting the appropriate gear at a store to take on the trip is a bonus. That goes for entertaining the other older children. This can make the trip fully glad, leading to the destination, which for the children can also be an experience to remember.
For me, selecting the right travel accessories is what makes the trip more comfortable. Half the battle is won with the basic selection of you, the parent, demanding comfort for yourself in terms of power-sharing; with the kids, demanding comfort in terms of keeping your child safe and well-entertained. That power-sharing choice is wholly determined by you.
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