Frugal Friday: Traveling with Children

I have done my fair share of traveling with young children. It started with my oldest son, when he was 3 we moved from Illinois to Arizona. We then a year later moved from Arizona to Texas. Once in Texas, we stayed for almost 7 years, but our families still lived in Illinois, so we took many car trips back up to see them. We then moved from Texas to Wisconsin and then after a year and a half, back to Illinois. But my experience doesn't end with car trips alone. My husband is a pilot, so we fly quite a bit, so I will cover flying with children as well. We have taken one train ride with 2 of our children, so I don't have a lot of experience there, but will cover what I do know. So here goes....

Car travel....
If you are taking a long car trip... say 8 hours or more... you will want to have age appropriate activities for the kids. I have car traveled with my kids from ages newborn all the way up (my oldest is 16). And trust me the whole "Are we there yet?" thing is real! But if you plan correctly you should arrive at your destination with your sanity intact!

• For newborns and young infants (up to about age 3-4 months) you really don't need much beyond the basics of care... food, diapers, changes of clothes, blankets. Just remember to stop and feed them on time and change their diaper at every stop. Even if you don't feel they need it, it just gives their little bum a change of scenery so to speak. If it is an especially long car trip, change their clothes a few times for the same reason. They have to sit in a car seat and at that young age they really can't do a lot of moving around to relieve discomfort, so the more you do for them, the happier they will stay. Also remember to keep them a comfortable temperature, they don't necessarily need to stay bundled in their blankets the entire time.
• For active infants up through say age 2, it will be trickier. Now sometimes when you get into a car, the kids will fall right to sleep and sleep for hours and hours, but not all of my kids were that way, so you need to be prepared for some entertainment. Books to read, crayons or colored pencils and paper and/or coloring books. Small toys. If you have access to a portable DVD player, this proved to be invaluable to travel with my daughter, who absolutely hated being in the car for any length of time. I don't recommend too much in the way of tv, but it is a good change of pace.
• For toddlers again, books, coloring, small toys, and DVD's.
• When the kids get old enough, around age 3-5 you can start to play car games with them, such as, see how many red cars you can count before we get to the next stop. Also the above mentioned items work for this age.
• School aged children can start to do puzzle books, and more car games, finding license plates from different states, different makes of cars, etc... They can also pick out their own books to read and some car activities. We also have the portable gaming systems, which, if is an option for your family...go for it!
• For all ages.... packing the right snacks. You have to have the right mix of salty and sweet. I try and pack easy snacking, buy the larger packages and individually package them myself (much cheaper this way). I pack trail mix, mixed nuts, dried fruits, granola bars, protein bars, cereal, cheese sticks, homemade cookies (peanut butter or oatmeal cookies are great for this), yogurt covered raisins, etc. If you will notice the trend of not too sweet, I also try and pack somewhat healthy. You will feel much better at the end of your trip if you all don't have indigestion from too many sweets and grease (potato chips, donuts, twinkies, etc).

For airplane travel the tips are much the same, but with some alterations to comply with National Safety Regulations. Snacks and beverages at an airport are outrageously priced, so unless you want to spend a fortune in buying snack foods at the airport, plan ahead.

• The TSA will allow baby formula and medications to exceed the 3 ounce limit on liquids and gels, however, don't press your luck with juice boxes and drinks, these are not allowed and will be disposed of at security.
  
• What I do for drinks is purchase a plastic drinking bottle or cup that is either 10 or 20 ounces, and pack it dry (generally the drink packets are for a 20 ounce bottle, so you can half it between kids or mix all in one). I also purchase the little individual drink packets of lemonade or sugar free drinks such as Crystal Light to mix into the bottles with water from either a drinking fountain or from a bathroom sink on the other side of security. You can also opt to just allow them water to drink, which is perfectly fine!
• For snacks, you will pay about $4 for an apple inside security at an airport, or you can pack your own snack food! I pack dry cereal, cheese sticks, trail mix, crackers, granola bars, etc. Just be sure not to pack anything liquid or gel. You can also make sandwiches, though packing them without them crushing is a little tougher.
  
• I will usually make up a gallon sized baggie of some snack foods for each child and they can choose when they will eat which snack. However, I control when the snacks are gotten out.
• Entertainment on an airplane is a little trickier due to the lack of space allowed, but you can still pack a few things. I pack a few small toys that will fit into a side pocket of a backpack, 1 0r 2 books, and if you decide to bring the crayons and coloring books, just choose a few of the basic colors (red, yellow, blue, green, brown, orange) so as not to have spilled crayons all over the floor!
• Don't underestimate the entertainment value of the flight attendant. My kids still love to follow along in the safety brochure as the flight attendant tells you how to put on your seatbelt, how to use the oxygen masks, that the seat bottom cushion can be used for a flotation device should we have to make an emergency water landing, and of course where the exits are! Don't forget that your flight attendant will also have a beverage service, so warn your kids ahead of time what they are allowed to drink, because kids and caffiene on an airplane don't mix! I let them know before they are offered, that they can choose one of the juices or a non-caffienated choice of soda, such as Sprite or 7-Up. And if you are lucky, some flights still serve a small snack such as peanuts or cookies.
• Also let your kids know ahead of time if they do have any electronic games that they will be required to turn them off until you are in flight.
• When traveling with an infant, I have found my sling baby carrier to be priceless. Especially if you have a walking child that needs to be kept in check and baggage to carry. It gives me a hands free way to carry my baby and allow me two hands to carry baggage and car seats.
• For my 3 year old I finally broke down and purchased a monkey leash. (As seen in yesterday's A Thousand Words Thursday). I attached the tail handle to the ring end of my sling and she couldn't run off! It was great! So I had hands free control of 2 of my kids!

For train travel, I don't have a lot of info. The same rules apply for entertainment and snacking. The snacks you purchase on the train will be pricey, so plan ahead and pack your own. We took a train on a 24 hour trip with a 9 year old and an 18 month old. What we didn't do and wish we had was to book a sleeping car. Not necessarily for the sleeping, though that would have been a benefit, but for an enclosed room for the little one to roam in. Once he found that he didn't have to be in his car seat while the train was in motion, he didn't want to be there and it was simply too dangerous for him to wander on the train, so he had to constantly be held onto. The kids will only take so much of looking at scenery, so plan activities on the train. You can plan some games that take a table, because you can play in the dining car or the observation car. Card games are great for this.

But in any case, take the time to plan ahead and pack wisely, but, don't pack too much, because you do have to keep track of everything along the way. But above all, have fun! And make memories with your kids!