Top 10 Travel Tips from Parents of Tots

By: Colleen Lanin, The Travel Mama
June 30th, 2010

Last week I asked parents to share their favorite travel tips for a chance to win a Marriott Tots Travel Too gift pack of goodies. From sentimental to practical, here are my top 10 travel tip picks from among the 56 entries.

Sentimental Tip
• “Don’t get bummed because your child/children got cranky or didn’t want to take a picture with their favorite character. Because before you know it they are going to be bigger, older, and not want to do the pictures or vacations. So take lots of pictures with them cranky or not so you and them can remember the moment of when they were young, impressionable, little and still love vacations as long as it is with their parents!” – Chacoy

Generous Idea
• “We buy drinks (for) our fellow travelers in the seats in front and behind us as a thanks for putting up with baby’s ups and downs during the flight.”
- Mena

Timing Tip
“Always plan in an extra half hour or hour. It his hard with little kids to stick to a strict schedule, so take your time.”
- Louis

Impromptu Solution
• “When all else fails grab the airline magazine and search for pictures of dogs. If your toddler loves puppies it works every time.” – Gen

Eating Tip
• “My best travel tip is bring your own snacks and have plenty on water available for your kiddos at all times.” – Kerrie G

Think-Like-A-Kid Tactic
• “When my kids were too young to understand the concept of time, they still asked the question that all parents dread When will we get there? To give them an answer that they could understand, we would tell them in terms of their favorite TV shows. So one half-hour would be, We will be there in one Barney. The answer seemed to satisfy them because they understood how long the Barney show lasted.” – Annette D 

Packing Tips 
• ”My travelling tip: bring more diapers, wipes, and formula than you think you’ll need. And don’t forget to bring your patience and a sense of humor!” – Sarah V.

• “Lots and lots of baby wipes. You can use them to clean stick hands, clean off a table before lunch or clean up a mess in the car.” – Meredith

• “Make a list of what you need to pack. Make the list way in advance so you can review it several times. As you pack, cross each item off the list as it goes in the bag. Check the list as you walk out the door. That will help you from forgetting things that can only be packed last minute such as a favorite toy, or a sleep machine. You could get fancy and computerize/save the list!” – harmskills

(Hey! Travel Mamas makes this one a cinch! Print out one of our packing lists before your next trip. There are spaces for you to add extra items to meet your family’s needs and to suit your destination.)

Winning Tip
I had a very tough time choosing the best tip from the 56 entries but only one lucky Travel Mama (or Travel Daddy) could win. I tried to pick a tip that was practical and universal, yet unique. Here’s the winner…

• “Keep a stash of fun stuff to do (toys, activities, etc.) that only comes out on long trips, that way the items stay fun and exciting and hold the attention of little ones longer.” – Hattie

Travel Mama Hattie, a mom of two from Minnesota, will receive the Tots Travel Too gift pack from Marriott (pictured above). Congratulations!

Marriott’s Tots Travel Too Program
Marriott makes families comfortable and safe with its Tots Travel Too Program, which provides such amenities as a freshly laundered COVERPLAY travel crib slip cover, outlet covers, nightlights, tot-friendly toiletries, bath toys, and even disposable bibs.

For more travel tips from parents like you, including those submitted for the Travel Mamas contest, check out TheMotherhood!

 

You might also like:

• Do You Care about Keeping Your Child Safe when Flying?

• Marriott Loves Tots Who Travel

• Travel Tips from the Travel Mama

• Your Travel Questions Answered

A note from the Travel Mama: I am working in partnership with Marriott and Global Influence – a Resourceful Mommy Media network – to cover the Marriott Tots Travel Too program and have received a stipend.

Tags: marriott, tots travel too, travel tips

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Family Vacations, Travel Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.