3 Travel Tips for Families

(with young children)

I don’t have a lot of consumer suggestions to share for the shopping season. (Shopping isn’t really my thing.) But one area where I might have some useful info to share—thanks to Helen’s research into the matter—concerns the logistics of air travel with young children. I’d say the following three tips are almost guaranteed to make life at least a bit easier during what can be a stressful time:

• The Dream On Me travel stroller is small, lightweight, and convenient: it folds down to fit in the overhead bin of an airplane. (No more risk of your stroller getting lost or battered in the luggage compartment. Just be aware that it is very bare-bones—no suspension, etc.—so only works on smoothly-paved surfaces.)
  As your child grows, you can convert it into a simple “rider”, so even a kid too old for strollers can still sit and relax in a long airport security line. (Especially highly recommended for kids with sensory sensitivities, who might otherwise be easily overwhelmed by all the noise and bustle of the airport. Ours finds it much easier to block out external stimuli when he’s on this.)

• The RideSafer car harness can be used in place of a car seat (for kids aged 2+) while travelling. It’s amazing: small and light, safety tested, and easy to use. Great for ubers and such. It’s so, so nice to not have to lug a car seat around!

• TSA PreCheck - this one is more obvious, but don’t underrate it. When travelling with electronics for every family member, and everyone’s stressed, it really helps to be allowed to just leave stuff in your bags for x-ray scanning, and move through security more quickly.

That’s all!