Traveling tips with kids

Gone are the days when I used to go on unplanned trips. I was an impulsive backpacker, traveling with bare minimum essentials. Weekend trips to home started immediately after office hours on Friday evenings. Now everything is different. Traveling with a kid requires lot of planning and patience. It also depends on how your kid reacts to traveling, if he likes it he will be lot easy to manage, if not you may have a hard time to engage him.

Our first trip with my son was to Mahabaleshwar in a car. He was 9 months old. I had piled up all flours, cereals, whole grains and on the day of journey I had prepared 3-4 meals and put them in small tiffin boxes. I had stocked up on his diapers, clothes and also few medicines for emergency. On the second day, we used to stop at roadside stalls and requested them to use their kitchen and cook small amounts of food for my son, feed him and then move on. I must say that roadside vendors are so supportive when it comes for kids. Nobody charged me for using their stove, everyone offered me milk and other required spices which you usually don't carry. I was really touched by their gestures. Even the hotel in which we were staying let us use the kitchen. I made sure that my son's feeding and sleeping routine was not affected by any means.

However, I had to skip few sightseeings as they collided with my son's sleeping time. At one spot, he felt cold even after all layering of woolen clothes so I stayed back in car and kept him warm. As a traveler, I dont think I have explored anything much as I was more a mom than a traveler. But I truly feel that kids should be exposed to traveling as they are open to new cultures, new people. One may say that they are small and they wont understand anything, but let them accompany you.

Traveling tips for parents:

1)Make sure your child is fit and can cope up with traveling.
2)Stock up with as many food items as possible.
3)Carry small utensils and spoon if you are traveling for a considerable time and you may need take a halt on road and cook for you kid.
4)Cough/cold medicines can be handy when you dont have any medical around
5)If your travel involves lot of walking, carry baby carriers, carry cot, strollers.
6)Your diaper bag must contain
       a)Feeding bottle/food
       b)some toys to engage your kid
       c)diapers and wipes
       d)set of clothes
       e)water bottle
       f)bedsheet/fleece blanket
       h)emergency medicine


Before starting for the trip, google some doctors or hospitals from the place you are visiting. If you are going on a bike road trip or any adventure trip try to avoid going with your kid. Ultimately, it depends of how your kids cooperate while traveling. I have read that some parents have even traveled the world with their 10 week old baby, but it all depends on how the baby adjusts.


Happy traveling!!!



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