Toddler Travel Essentials

Traveling with toddlers can be frustrating at times, but a little pre-planning can help ensure your next family vacation goes smoothly.  You won't realize you'll need a particular item until the moment comes and the next thing you know your toddler is having a major meltdown.

I've learned from personal experience on what items can help make or break a trip and can help prevent that next meltdown, whether it's your kid or significant other!

Toddler Travel Book: My First Airplane Ride

Based on my experience, here are the items I recommend when traveling with a toddler, ages ranging from ~18 months to 3 years old, broken down into a few categories shown below.

Diaper Bag Items
The following items are essentials that you will need in your diaper bag when traveling:

• Diapers
• Wipes 
• Wipes Dispenser
• Diaper changing mat
• Diaper Bag dispenser and refills
• Sanitizing wipes
• Hand & Face Wipes
• Water bottle (Temperature retention thermos)
• Travel friendly food
• Healthy snacks
• Candy (for when your toddler throws that inevitable tantrum)
• Milk (I prefer the chocolate milk to-go packs)
• Snack Cup
• Travel utensils 
• Table topper (for when eating out)
• Change of clothes
• Pacifiers
• Bib
• Small blanket
• Plastic bags
• Travel first aid kit

You are going to need a good bag to carry around all those items and keeping it organized can be tough, so I recommend the DadGear backpack diaper bag.  It has lots of compartments for all the essentials and keeps everything nicely organized.  And once your toddler gets a little bigger and you don't need to carry as many items, the backpack is stylish enough to still use everyday.  This is one of my must-haves for every trip we go on.

• DadGear Backpack Diaper Bag

Toddler Friendly Transportation Options
There are lots of great car seats out there for toddlers and picking one will come down to your budget and what you exactly want for your car seat in terms of features.  I personally use a Britax car seat and prefer the safety of it and don't mind the the size and weight of the car seat when using it for travel.

• Britax Car Seat                                                       

              

•   Car Seat Travel Bag          

     

 
You might think you'll be able to carry your kid wherever you go, but believe me, sooner or later your arms will get tired no matter how strong you are and a good stroller will be needed to give yourself a break.  I would recommend either a BOB  Stroller or an umbrella stroller depending on your travel preference and if you'd want to carry around a more robust BOB stroller or a lightweight umbrella stroller.

• BOB Stroller & Bob Stroller Console                        

                 

•  BOB Stroller Travel Bag

  

• Umbrella Stroller from Chicco                        

          

•    Travel Stroller Bag

           

Two other good travel accessories for transporting your toddler around include:

• The Cares Restraint System is a good option when flying with a toddler if not planning on using a car seat and the child will be sitting in their own seat.

• A Child Carrier / Backpack is a good option when hiking or visiting a zoo for example

Kid Friendly Entertainment

It is always a good idea to have kid-friendly entertainment options ready whether you are traveling by plane, car or when lounging around in a hotel room.

• Tablet (I personally use a Nexus 7)
• External battery pack
• Headphones (Kidz Gear Wired Headphones)
• Toys
• Books
• Stickers
• Crayons and a coloring book

Miscellaneous Items
Other miscellaneous items you may need depending on the nature of your trip may include some of the following items:

• Baby soap and shampoo
• Monkeymat 
• Birth Certificate (for proving a child is less than 2 years old and can sit in your lap on a flight)
• Nose aspirator
• Bathing suits
• Sun hat
• Baby sunscreen
• Portable crib or play yard
• Camera (I personally use a Sony NEX camera)
• GoPro 
• Travel packing cubes (I personally use eBags and like using them to organize the contents of my luggage)
• Travel Pillow for Kids

You may not need all of the items listed here and I don't carry every single item mentioned above all the time, but do grab the things I think I'll need depending on the type of trip we will be on.  

The toddler travel essentials list I've created is always a work in progress and I hope these items can help you plan your next family vacation getaway.

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