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Traveling with a Toddler

By Nick Greece

By KAVU

December 27^th, 2022

Every year… everywhere… there comes a "new normal" that creeps in for a variety of reasons. Whether it be for newfound passions that take over old ones and thus propel adventurers into uncharted ether, or in our case traveling with a toddler to experience culture and good times in far off lands.

This blog hopes to serve as an inspiration, style guide, and/or cautionary tale for those traveling with small humans. I was working in Oaxaca this year, guiding clients in the sky (stay tuned for that blog) and seized an opportunity to travel with family and friends the week before for Dia De Los Muertos. Traveling with a small child is both "All Time" and type 2 fun simultaneously.

As a seasoned traveler who spent decades exploring unencumbered, it was fascinating to travel and explore in a completely different manner than ever before. Sans child, I would spend time covering ground and seeing as much as possible. Now, we would wander to the main square and sit with locals and their kids while our toddler happily wondered around playing with the toy VW Bus I bought him at the news stand nearby. Scoping out local playgrounds and watching him play with the other kids was deeply satisfying and heartwarming though, and we marveled at the ease in which children relate. They have very few, if any, constructs surrounding class, race, or creed to stumble over… and at his age, communicate non verbally. Witnessing this brought that feeling of "oneness" we yearn for when we travel…watching children slip on that feeling of commonality in the face of our differences explodes my heart with warmth and reminds me of the early wonder-first travels frequently brought. Long of the short of it is: I’ve never traveled like this before and I can’t wait to do it again!

Things we've learned...

We started early in the day, leaving Reno, Nevada on our way to Oaxaca, Mexico, in hopes of keeping our kiddo's schedule somewhat regular. This seemed like a good first trip distance.

What we learned:

1) Bring lots of spare clothes. Beckett, our son, went through three changes of clothes from drinking bottles, spilling things, and a variety of other bodily fluids.

2) We splurged and used skymiles for a seat for our son as he has A LOT of energy, but if your child is a chiller and/or the cost is too prohibitive, sharing a seat would work well. We put Beckett in the window seat. That way, he was relatively contained. I think there's a lot of strategy to getting the window seat and boarding early to get them all set in their own space. If you need help getting "points", check out this guy’s website ,as he set the bar…. With a decent credit score, you might think about the extra space for your child for trips over three hours. To us, we learned it was very worthwhile.

3) Buy a few new books and/or quiet toys to reveal when the going gets tough during the travel.

4) Cocomelon, aka Baby Dope, is a "go-to" for us to smooth out rough patches if flights are delayed, and/or the little fella starts to go bananas. A tablet with more than 10 hours of content downloaded is critical, along with a set of headphones that fit a little noggin.

5) Empower kids to lead the charge and explore airports on layovers. Many airports have "kid zones", and/or exhibits that are worth running your munchkin around, if you have time. This is a golden opportunity for a perhaps much-needed change-of-routine for both parent and child alike.

6) Check a car seat for free with your luggage. We found a budget friendly option available at Walmart was, for us, a great first foray into travel car seats as it was light, cheap, and durable. Also, bring a large nylon over-bag to put the car seat in when you check it and you will also have a great laundry bag, which you will need if your kid goes though clothes like ours. I happened to use a paraglider bag but a quick search for “child seat airplane bag” on Amazon will reveal a plethora of options.

7) Bring a Bob-type stroller if there are cobblestone streets. It's also free to check at the gate. Depending on the size and age of your kiddo, this one is huge!

8) If you kid drains milk like ours, you will need to reup en-route if your trip is more than eight hours. We found "Chick-Fil-A" to have a good stock of solid whole milk. Upon arrival there are loads of shelf-stabilized whole milk options, as well as a decent selection of formulas. Don’t stress if you forgot something. They have toddlers in every country who thrive into youth. It may not be the brand you know, but it will get the job done.

9) Also, we bought an inflatable pillow to put in the foot bay of the seat but we forgot it and definitely regretted it. Search “inflatable toddler airplane bed”. Looking forward to trying that next time.

10) If you can, add an extra day to your vacation because the first day will be a reset for everyone. Getting kids back into a routine takes a bit, but will happen.

The Adventure

1) Bring lots of hand sanitizer! Kids are tactile and will touch everything... and then put their hands in their mouths.

2) Be flexible as the highs are in the clouds, and the lows are like dropping a fresh ice cream in the street before you get a bite;-)

3) If you have a must-hit list of things to do when on holiday, expect to get one done per day. The rest of the day will be a "win" by just enjoying watching your little nugget immerse themselves in local life.

4) Find a playground and go! As adults love museums and culture while traveling, toddlers love playgrounds, wherever they are, and often they get to interact with local kids.

5) And definitely..... Bring snacks!

Most of all, enjoy the time with your kids. They're seeing the world with fresh eyes and often, the way they view the world shapes who they become, and the ways they celebrate how alike and how different we all are. Both big and small, our world is a massive adventure and it's our privilege as parents to share that with our children.

The Result:

I’m really not sure what Beckett, our son, took away or will remember from his time in Oaxaca, but I think he liked it. It was hard. It was fun. It was frustrating at times. It was deeply rewarding. Successfully traveling with children means slowing down and experiencing life on the road in a totally new manner. And, for seasoned travelers, we get the excitement of traveling for the first time all over again!

If you have had some good trips with your little ones, please leave a comment with what tips and tricks you swear by!

KAVU Days!

Nick Greece

Footnotes

Nick has consistently been a top ranked pilot in the US and continues to not only push the highest levels in paragliding but also shares his knowledge freely with passionate pilots around the world.

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FootNotes

Nick has consistently been a top ranked pilot in the US and continues to not only push the highest levels in paragliding but also shares his knowledge freely with passionate pilots around the world.

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