Is there such thing as overpacking when traveling with a toddler? Absolutely NOT. It is essential to maximize your sanity and those around you with all these essentials when traveling on both short and long journeys with your toddler. This post is short for a reason, and it is to lend you a straightforward way to navigate what you can get to ease your travel with a difficult toddler.
I have travelled numerous times with both my children as babies, toddlers, and a big kid. I have always regretted not bringing enough, but have NEVER regretted bringing too much. Even though I say you can never overpack, I still don’t mean “lets stuff a duffel bag full of things”. This list is meant to maximize your toddler’s entertainment while still keeping things compact and travel friendly.
THE ESSENTIALS
- Snack Spinner: a fun way to snack without spilling all over the plane.
- Magnet men: like monkey in a barrel but magnetic so harder to lose and drop
- Sticker wow book: what feels like an unlimited sticker dispenser
- Tray table cover: Nothing is worse than all these toys dropping and this stops that
- Wax sticks: a tidier craft than play doh
- Kids headphones: some airlines can stop your kid from watching if its too loud and disrupting
- Amazon kids tablet: Traveling is our one non restrictive screen time exception
- Colorful painters tape: Easily removable tape for hours of entertainment
- Busy book: Surprisingly more popular than a tablet for my kids
All these can fit in a small lightweight carry on bag to entertain even the most difficult toddlers who throw the most intense tantrums… Trust me, we’ve experienced many tantrums on an airport and airplane floor.