My Top 10 Essentials when Traveling with Kids (3 and 5 year olds)

We just got back from a 15-day travel to Europe and here are the list of my top 10 Essentials when traveling with your kids. 

1. Stroller and Baby Carrier. You will need a stroller until when they are around 8-9 years old. Traveling means walking a lot and it will be very helpful for your kids, they can get to rest without interrupting your itinerary. They can have their naps while you go shopping and sightseeing. Carrier for when your small child doesn't want to walk and doesn't want to ride the stroller as well, this will make carrying a big heavy baby 😅 easier and you can have your hands free. 

 

2. Kids Medicine Kit. In my list are Paracetamol, Rash Creams and Ointment & Bandaids for minor cuts and bruises. You do not know when the kids will catch a fever or get cuts while playing, walking, or running. It is better to have it and not need it than don't have and need it. <this is my reminder to myself whenever we are traveling. 

3. Laundry Soap. You may feel you have packed enough, but there will be times that what you have is still not enough, kahit na you have packed your whole closet na. 😆 So better bring laundry soap so you can wash their clothes and yours as well, para you can still try to pack light. They do not have sachets in there, so if you don't bring your own you will end up lugging around a liter of laundry soap and it is not going to be easy. In your travels to Europe it is better to have a small suitcase and a backpack - will have another entry for this, this story calls for another one. 😅 

4. Small Toys. My boys have sleeping buddies and they cannot sleep without them, better ask your kids which ones they want to bring, consider bringing toys that can help them to sleep because the jetlag will be hard for them. 

5. Small Rice Cooker. If your kids cannot survive a day without rice, better bring a small rice cooker, we didn't plan for this, so we had a hard time looking for rice and not all hotels and air bnb's have kitchen that you can cook to, we were able to find rice in the grocery when we were in Paris, but we were not able to cook rice anymore after moving to Belgium, Switzerland, and Germany. So if you are Pinoy and loves rice, bring a small rice cooker. 

6. Snacks. Aside from the rice and rice cooker, you should also bring some of your kids' favorite snacks. I cannot even count how many times they have asked us if we have Bread Pan, we didn't bring, I honestly forgot to pack. But bring some of their favorite snacks, we brought some of their go to snacks, we just forgot the bread pan. 😅

7. Gadgets. Ipads and cellphones, you will need these to keep them entertained in the plane, trains, car rides, etc. Because if you do not give them the screen, you lose your sh*t. 😑

8. Adapters and Power Banks. You will need this as you transfer from one country to another. Because they will use your gadgets, be prepared for it to be drained in a few hours. 

9. Water. Always always bring water. You must always rehydrate and kids are almost always thirsty kasi daldal sila ng daldal. 

10. Lots of Patience. Bring all of your patience, as traveling on your own as an adult is already hard. Having kids travel with you will not only double it, I cannot even begin to describe the exhaustion. But having them with you and seeing them see different places and cultures is definitely priceless. 

 

Do not be scared to travel with your little ones, yes it is going to be very exhausting, but it will definitely make you stronger and patient. Your kids will be more resilient and will learn more than what they can learn inside their classrooms. The experiences and the things that they will see, smell, touch, and hear will forever be etched in their minds. It will broaden their perspectives and they will be hungry for more and other learnings.💖

Love, 

K