Being a Military wife there are going to be times when you will have to travel alone.  If you have kids, you will have to travel alone with kids.  Although I don’t make this a habit, because of the Military I have had to travel several times with just me and the kids.  It can be quite a stressful situation but here are a few tips that might help you travel alone with your children.

• If flying on an airplane, try to plan the easiest route to your destination.  My family is in Southern California.  Ideally I would get on a plane in Nashville and land in Los Angeles 4.5 hours later where my Mom and Dad would be waiting for us.  This would be much easier for me then flying for about 3 hours, getting off a plane in Colorado or Texas, getting back on another flight and spend another 2 hours getting to California.  Last time we did this I ended up running through the Dallas airport, pushing a stroller and getting two little boys to run with me.  It was too crazy.  So plan ahead if you can, it will help a lot.

• Pack lots of fun toys and games for your kids.  Put them in ziplocks and have a plan of when you will give them the toys.  Kids love surprises so it might be best to go to a thrift store to find some new toys to pack away for the trip.

• Give yourself a break.  You are traveling alone with your kids.  A lot of other moms don’t ever have to attempt this.  It isn’t not going to be 100% perfect.  It doesn’t have to do with your parenting.  Kids have off days and traveling is hard on them.  Take a deep breath and know you will be at your destination soon.

• Don’t over pack.  This is hard because you want everything you might need to be with you but the more bags you have, the harder it will be.  Most likely you will have to take carseats with you as well so that makes things even more difficult.  If possible, have family get extra diapers, food and clothes ready for you at your destination so you don’t have to take as much with you.

• Take a lot of snacks.  Take snacks that are easy to clean up.  Goldfish, crackers, dried fruit and small candies are your best bet.  Don’t overdo it on the candy but I find little suckers are great for distracting small children.

• Electronic toys.  These can be a lot of help for older children.  Gameboys and phones with Angry Birds on them can keep them entertained for a while. Just make sure that if they are noisy toys, bring headphones.  Also remember that you will have to turn off all your electronics when the plane gets ready to take off and land.

If I never had to travel alone with my kids again, I wouldn’t.  At least not until they are older.  But since I do have to do it, I try to make it a little easier on myself.

What tips do you have for traveling alone with kids?

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