The summer tends to be a time for travel for us. Either it’s cabin trips, weekend get-aways, or even overnights with friends. This summer it seems like we have stayed in hotels more than friends houses or cabins. Hotels have tended to be more difficult for us than friends houses or cabins, because often those places are already baby proofed and there is plenty for the little ones to do.
Here are my top 5 tips for traveling with a wild 1.5 year old (in no particular order):
- Baby proof as much as you can. It makes life in the hotel so much easier for Mom, Dad, and your Mr. Picky. We have found when we don’t baby proof, we spend most of our time in the room trying to divert his attention (which doesn’t work when he really just wants to slam the tv stand doors shut over and over).
- If possible- stay in hotel with multiple rooms. Places like the Residence Inn or Comfort Suites have been great for us. We try to rent a two bedroom (when the price is reasonable). This allows us to put the little one down to bed and still hang out and have a little vacation of our own.
- Bring enough snacks. When you have a picky toddler, you never know what they will or won’t eat so having snacks on hand is key.
- Find kid friendly places to take them during the day – helps wear them out! We usually try to find a park or open grass area to run around for awhile after site-seeing.
- Stay on Schedule as much as possible. I know this isn’t important for every kid, but for ours it is extremely important. We have found we can have a lot more fun on vacation if he stays on his regular schedule. Off Schedule = Crabby Toddler and Crabby Toddler = Crabby Parents.
- Bonus Tip- If traveling by car- pack all of your little ones stuff in a large plastic storage container (like the ones you store your Christmas decorations in). We have found this the easiest way to pack the most amount of stuff in the smallest amount of space, which is a good thing because we always tend to overpack!
I am always looking for tips to help make traveling with my little one easier! What are your favorite travel tips?
Stay tuned to hear about some of our favorite midwest adventures!