Travel tips and Mom Hacks
Use your parenting skills to travel like a BOSS!! By boss, I mean Mom!
Travel Tips and Mom Hacks – Mom planner is the glue.
Parents have an awesome list of responsibilities:
*We keep children safe.
*Parents teach children to stay safe as they get older and take on more responsibility.
*Moms and Dads provide kids with skills to lead a happy and successful life.
All those parent responsibilities have one goal: to prepare kids to be healthy and independent adults.
So, plan your family vacation as only a mom can. You know which child is afraid of heights and which child is in love with dragons. You know which kid is secretly still interested in ‘baby’ things he doesn’t want his friends to know about and which child thinks gelato is truly the nectar of the gods.
Use your secret mom knowledge to plan the best trip ever!
Travel Tips and Mom Hacks – Mom planner is the keeper of the stuff.
It isn’t lost till mom can’t find it! No truer words have ever been said! Use packing lists and zip-loc baggies to stay organized!
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket by packing each person’s stuff in a separate suitcase.
What if one suitcase gets lost?
Put a little for each person in EACH suitcase. Then, if one piece of luggage gets lost you still have clothes for each person. Thankfully, luggage doesn’t get lost that often, but you don’t want to be even that one person who has lost luggage! Read here for tips on how to avoid lost luggage.
Here is a great product – the Demi Hugger! How many times have you wished you had another hand? This cool fuzzy sleeve slips over the handles of your suitcase – vertically or horizontally and wraps around the ‘stuff’ you need to carry. Just wrap, velcro and head off into the sunset. Everyone shed their coat inside? No worries – just stuff them all inside the Demi Hugger and wrap them up!
Travel Tips and Mom Hacks – Mom planner can make anything better.
Boring airplane flight? Not with mom along! Mom knows to read before the trip! She uses travel activities for kids and travel guide ebooks for kids to make the journeys educational and memorable.
Read about destinations (Click here for reading lists on these destinations: Italy, Hawaii, London, New York City, Paris) and watch movies that are set in the area you are going to explore. Try your hand at cooking food from that locale – all before you go. Your young travelers will love the trip, even MORE, when they can build upon a foundation you built.
My ebooks have kid-friendly information and activities for kid travelers on these amazing destinations:
New York Vatican City France London Austin The Prado museum The Louvre museum Nassau, Bahamas Canada Spain
Travel Tips and Mom Hacks – Mom planner of making people feel better.
A mom’s kiss can make usually make any boo-boo feel better. But, just in case your kiss needs back up, pack a first aid kit.
Unless you are going to rough it in the middle of the desert, there will be a pharmacy nearby so you only need enough to get through the night. All moms know that earaches and tummy aches only happen at the worst possible times… like at 3 in the morning. Do not be stuck with a sick kiddo waiting on the pharmacy to open!
Best options to pack:
pain relief
nausea medicine
diarrhea medicine
ear pain medicine
Chewable kids medicines are the best because any age can take them. Read the entire list of tips on packing first aid kits here.
Travel Tips and Mom Hacks – Mom planner of the food.
No one’s stomach growls when mom is around! Pack snacks for the road. Use a plastic carrier to have it within easy reach of your travelers. Don’t forget the trash bag!
Kids Travelers don’t like food that touches? No one will eat pasta with sauce or anything green? Mom plans ahead for picky traveling kids and food.
Research the area and find food that kiddos will eat and/or take backup food with you. Granola bars and goldfish crackers travel easily and most kids will eat them. If all else fails peanut butter and chewable vitamins keep traveling kids going.
Travel Tips and Mom Hacks – Mom planner for keeping everyone on track!
Mom is the one who keeps a calendar like none other.
She knows the dates and times of…
PTO meetings
Your turn to take the snacks to the Boy Scouts meeting
Baseball practice
Volleyball games
well visits
dental cleanings
Dog vaccination schedules
Everyone relies on mom! Use your mom parenting skills to keep track of your travel plans! Itinerary, rental cars, airplane tickets – you’ve got this! If you need help, call upon The Educational Tourist who can help plan the trip of your dreams.
Happy Family Vacations,
Natalie, The Educational Tourist
*** This post was originally written for Hooray for Families!***
All good advice! I would add a wide assortment of band-aids (plasters) and also a package of ORT (oral rehydration therapy), which is a powder you add to water to replace minerals that are lost when a kid has diarrhea or throws up a lot.
GREAT ideas! The tip about bandaids reminds me of when my son was little. He thought they were fun and stuck them in a line all down his leg. A fellow traveler saw him and commented on this boo-boo. She thought he had a mighty big scratch! Thankfully, he was just using them for decoration. Thanks for stopping by!
Great Tips!
I´m not a mom yet, but I really admire moms that take the kids in a trip and make them have the time of their lives. Simple tricks like games, books and snacks can make the travel experience much better for the kids and for the parents!
Cheers,
Nat
It takes more planning when you have kiddos in tow, but you can continue to happily travel! Thanks for stopping by!
Moms are amazing! And this is so true: It isn’t lost till mom can’t find it! 😀 My mom does magic in finding lost things! Great post, keep up the good blog work ;D
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Seeing as I don’t travel with mum, I instead have my Sarah 😉
She’s great for remembering all those little things (such as the medications) which I’d so easily forget.
Must be the woman’s touch!
LOL! It must be in our DNA. Moms are part sherpa! I know Sarah is happy to help with the remembering. 🙂
Blimey – mums really are super heroes. I really do hope that one day I can be this organised – I’ve got A LOT to learn though… struggle to look after myself at the moment ;). Hats off to every travel loving mum – you are all awesome. Great post 🙂
Thanks! The super hero ability comes with the kiddo and every mom gets it! The funny thing is it really is self defense in a way. If you forget something and kiddo is unhappy – everyone is unhappy!!! LOL! Thanks for stopping by!
Moms do it all 🙂 I am def a fan of education on a trip!
LOL! Isn’t that the truth?? Moms are the glue. 🙂
Great tips! As a mom of five (all of whom are grown now), we traveled a lot together. Looking back, organization and preparation were keys to a happy trip.
A mom of 5? You must have been a organized ROCK STAR!!! I totally bow to you. 😉 What was your favorite trip together? I bet you have stories to tell. 🙂