I’ve written a lot about traveling as a family and most of the time, our trips go well. We’ve figured out how to make family travel easier and less stressful for our family even as we’ve added members along the way.
And part of the reasons we’ve become successful travelers is because we learned early on the importance of being flexible. We’ve learned that by letting go of our usual restrictions and rules while traveling, everyone is a lot happier and things go a lot more smoothly.
The kids are happier because they get to do things that we usually don’t allow and we are happier because the kids are better behaved. And when flying, the other passengers are happier because my kids are quiet!
These are the exceptions we usually make when traveling as a family:
When Flying
We let the kids have juice (if part of the free service)
While we always carry a water bottle/cup for each of us, during the beverage service we allow them each to have one juice of choice which is a big deal since the only other time juice touches their lips is at parties! It’s a special reward for being well-behaved in the airport and when boarding.
We let them have whatever snacks are available
If snacks are free on board, we let them have whatever they want (within reason) or they are allowed to have whatever snacks I’ve packed in our bags.
We allow unlimited screen time
Usually I don’t allow our kids any screen time aside from schoolwork related tasks and our weekly movie night but on the airplane, it’s free game. They can watch movies if available or play appropriate games on our phones/tablets/laptops. It keeps them quiet and entertained for nearly the whole time since it’s a rare privilege.
We give the babies pacifiers
We are not pacifier people (here’s why) but it is important to me that even our babies are secured in a car seat in their own seat when flying for my comfort but more importantly for their safety. I will take them out to nurse when they’re hungry if the seatbelt light is off, but during taxi, takeoff, landing and turbulence, I want them safe so I turn to a pacifier to help satiate their need to comfort suck.
We let our toddlers face forward
I keep my little ones rear-facing in the car until they outgrow their car seats (Sugarplum made it to over 4 years old and my super tall Doodle is still going strong at 2 1/2). And while rear-facing on the airplane is safer, just like in the car, and can make flying easier for everyone for many reasons, I do let my kids start facing forward when flying before they do in the car (but not before age 2). This allows them to use their tray table, see out the windows easier and is also usually quicker and easier for me to install (plus some larger seats won’t fit rear-facing on today’s squishy aircraft!)
When Driving
We allow eating in their carseats
Generally I don’t allow my kids to eat in the car as we try our best to keep e cars crumb free (I’m not the best about cleaning under the car seats and we live in Florida with billions of bugs!) But when on a long road trip, we make exceptions and allow them to eat small, non-messy snacks.
We let them control the radio (to a point)
So long as the driver isn’t drowsy and the kids have slept/rested if we asked them to, we let them decide what we listen to. Sometimes it’s books on tape (or CD as is the case today), sometimes it’s the Frozen soundtrack, sometimes it’s Kid’s Place on XM and sometimes it’s What Does the Fox Say on YouTube (which is often the only way we can get Doodle out from a tailspin hysterical fit when he wakes up too soon).
We bring toys
On a general day-to-day basis, I only allow soft cover books in the car. This is for safety reasons (projectile hazards in the event of an accident) as well as clutter control. But when we have a long drive, I do allow some toys. Usually small things that I know will keep them entertained, that they won’t fight over, and that don’t have a lot of pieces that will get lost or scattered.
