I’ve been traveling with my kids since they were very small, anywhere from 5 hour car trips to upstate NY, to beach house getaways on Long Island or our most recent airplane ride to Disney World.

One thing I can say, as crazy as traveling with small children can be, personally, it does get easier with experience. You have done enough to know what to do different next time. And can prepare for different scenarios So don’t be afraid to travel with small kids. You’ll get better each time. The most annoying part of traveling with toddlers, for me is the packing.

Packing With Small Children

In my early years of travel, I’d be a bit more detailed and more on point with my packing game. What to pack, how to pack it, and how much to pack and of course over packing. And granted, there’s a lot more crap that babies need as opposed to toddlers. But I now find that toddlers tend to travel well with as little as possible, and just a few small toys to keep themselves occupied.

Snacks

If you do one thing in your packing procedure, do not forget to pack snacks for your little rugrats. Snacks keep my kids sane. They keep them happy. Don’t forget to pack the damn snacks.

Over time, I’ve been a bit more easy going with what to bring, depending on the destination and length of trip. But most places I visit will have a washer and dryer. So even though I still, in my opinion tend to over pack a bit, I rely on the washer/dryer to keep us and our clothes clean and laundered. So in other words, we aren’t smelly and our clothes don’t look like they were pulled out of a garbage heap.

So pack lite. Bring just the essentials. Does your 3 year old need 6 pairs of shoes? Likely not. And you can always purchase that “thing” you forgot to pack. Unless it’s your $500 stroller. Don’t forget that!

What is your must-pack/have it item when traveling with kids? Comment below or tell us on Facebook.