What to Bring for a 1 Year Old

Traveling with kids is a unique challenge. Not only do you have to juggle luggage, plane tickets and itineraries, you are responsible for entertaining and watching out for someone else. Whether you are traveling by plane or automobile, try these tips to help your child avoid “the long and whining road” and preserve your sanity.

Pack A Travel Bag
Traveling with kids is a far cry from the “throw-a-few-things-in-the-bag” packing of your pre-parenting days. A good travel bag will keep your child happy – and help you retain your sanity.

INFANTS
Include your child’s pacifier, teething ring, any medication, several changes of clothes, several disposable diapers, bottles, snacks and disposable towelettes. Pack a few toys such as a stuffed animal, favorite warm blanket or cloth books.

PRESCHOOLERS
Include any medications, some towelettes or a damp washcloth in a plastic bag, a snack, a sweater or jacket and a favorite stuffed toy. Picture books with accompanying audiotapes and tapes of favorite songs are nice for preschoolers. Drawing and coloring projects are easy to do in a confined area and a creative outlet for children’s new experiences.

5-7 YEAR OLDS
You may want to pack a couple of new toys, a storybook and/or an activity book. Many board games come in magnetic travel-size versions – a great activity when traveling with more than one child. Music and headphones are also good time-passers on trips.

8-12 YEAR OLDS
Music, books and a few toys are on the docket for this travel bag. You may want to take along a Polaroid or disposable camera that the child can use to shoot pictures of whatever he or she likes on the trip for a personal scrapbook.

FOOD
Every travel bag should include some snacks for kids.

When traveling with a young infant, prepare some bottles using pre-measured, instant formula. Then all you need to do is add water and shake. Ask your pediatrician for a recommendation and try it out a couple weeks before the trip.
For the older infant who is eating solid foods, pack a few jars of familiar strained food, bottles of fruit juice and snacks.
For younger children, pack finger foods such as crackers, juice boxes or a small plastic bag full of your child’s favorite cereal.
If you are carrying a cooler, you can include vegetable sticks or fruit.
FIRST AID KIT
It’s always a good idea to have a basic first aid kit in the trunk or your bag, but it is especially useful when traveling with children. For your next trip, add the following items to your kit:

Children’s acetaminophen (Tylenol)
Children’s decongestant
Ipecac syrup
Sunscreen (infant sunscreen is available)
Insect repellent (not appropriate for infants)
Thermometer
Dramamine or other motion-sickness drug
If your child is taking medication, it should be packed in the original container labeled with the name of the drug, the dosage and the date of purchase.

Prepare for Car Travel
WHEN TOURING
Touring by car gives you a different opportunity. Since you will be spending most of your time in the car, your goal should be to create excitement and interest in what you will be seeing.

If your child is old enough, involve them in the planning process – choosing what they want to see, places they want to go or things they may want to do. Appealing to their interests will make the trip much more enjoyable for them.
Before you go, get your child a disposable camera and scrapbook to build and keep souvenirs in during the trip. Contribute to it as you travel. By the end of your journey, the child should have both a trip to remember and something to be proud of!
Scavenger hunts work well on any long car ride and can entertain children for a long time. If you are following a historical trail or touring a historic locale, get a book on the subject from the library and make a historical scavenger hunt for your child to play throughout the trip (i.e. find the home of a famous person, an important landmark, etc.).
Kids seem to have boundless energy, but seeing new sights and meeting new people can be tiring. Make sure everyone get some “down time” to do and explore what they like.
Intersperse those activities that require a long attention span and staying quietly seated with more energetic activities, such as an afternoon of swimming.
WHEN TRAVELING
If you are traveling to reach a destination, the activities you plan for your trip should be time consuming to help your child remain distracted and calm.

Games, especially travel games, are good when other children are along on the trip.
Music and headphones are excellent time passers on long car trips
Take a break every couple of hours or as needed. Try roadside rest areas along the highway where your child can get out, run or throw a ball around.
Planning For Plane Travel
Traveling on the plane with a child means you have to juggle luggage, tickets and a dependant child all at once. But preparing your child properly for the trip ahead will make it all easier. Try out these tips for a more pleasant – and peaceful – flight.

FAIR FARES
Younger children under the age of 11 are often eligible for discounted or free fares when flying. If your child is under the age of 2, he or she can travel for free on most airlines in your lap or in a vacant seat if there is one nearby.

TAKE THE FEAR OUT OF FLYING
A plane ride may be scary to your child, especially if they are younger. Discuss what to expect ahead of time. A week or so before the trip, read a story about a child who is going on a plane ride.

AVOID EARACHES

Let your child chew gum, eat or suck on something during takeoffs and landings—it will help prevent any ear discomfort as a result of air pressure changes.
If your child has a cold or has just gotten over one, consult your pediatrician about giving a decongestant and/or nose drops before plane takeoffs and landings to avoid pain from pressure building in the ear.
KEEP THE PEACE
Short tempers due to fatigue can easily put a damper on a trip. Try to keep to your child’s normal eating and sleeping schedule as much as possible. Schedule frequent, but brief, periods of rest. In addition to a well-stocked travel bag, try for non-stop flights for infants and young children that are likely to sleep. For the more active child, consider stopovers to stretch legs and break the monotony of sitting in one place.

sorry for more info than you needed

I love my tote-a-tot for long trips. I'm able to carry more with just one hand and move around so much easier. She may like having her carseat all the time too. Just a few favorite toys that normally entertain her and a couple of books. Set aside some cash to buy her rewards on the way too. Plan on earpopping . Something to suck on (pasifier) and something to chew for when she is not nursing or taking a bottle.

We took along a magnadoodle and books when our daughter was 14-19 months. We only used them some as she did nap. during our layover we found a quiet spot to let her run and play. If it is a direct flight plan on walking her up and down the isle some. It will be good for both of you.

Hi K.--
I just perused the other postings, and they are all great suggestions, though I have one more...My daughter was two in May (since that time we have traveled from OR to Costa Rica, as well as OR to Chicago, and she has been on about 40 other flights from the time she was 6 weeks old, so I have traveled with her at every stage!) Anyway, I do not board a plane without a puppet! It is an instant new friend and instant entertainment, it is quiet, easy to stuff in a bag, and it keeps my daughter entertained for hours...the downside is that you have to be the puppeteer, which can get kind of tiring, but the way i see it is having a whining baby is a lot more tiring, so keep them happy however you have to do it! Good luck, and safe travels!

My daughter is 17 mos. old, and she's already taken three airplane flights, 2 from OR to MA, 1 from OR to NM. Every time I freak out bc as a single mother I'm taking her by myself, and she's really active on a usual day. But for some reason, the airplane seems to be a strange enough environment that she doesn't want to run around or be that active---she's usually really mellow and content to sit in my lap, which is not her normal MO. I've always packed her a few toys and books to bring on the airplane, and so far I've consistently overpacked by about double. Food and drink are extremely important, and her night-night dolly for naps and security---other than that, it just seems to take care of itself!

Actually, my best airplane trip with her so far was when I allowed myself to drink half a pint of beer in the airport before we got on the plane! I was actually able to relax rather than envisioning the 6 1/2 hours of shrieking hell that I was sure was awaiting me!

We have 6 kids and have flown with them at different ages. First of all request the bulk head. We let our 1 and 3 year old sit on the floor and they played with blocks and carsand read books. We were flying to Florida from Seattle. Some airlines even have bassinets which attach to the front of the bulkhead. Remember to give her a bottle or pacifer on take off and landing to help with the plugged ear feeling. Get plenty of rest yourself before the trip so you will have plenty of energy during the flight for her. Also walking up and down the isles is good to get a little energy out for her and stretching your legs and circulation for you. Happy traveling! :)

Buy a couple of NEW toys/books/snacks and don't let her know about them until you see that nothing else will keep her occupied. Think of it as a "secret weapon"! Can you borrow a portable DVD player - or buy one? They are very handy.

She may get a little shy because of the new surroundings and strangers. This is what helped me keep my little one on my lap for most of the plane trip.
If you have a window seat, you can have her look outside and search for birds, other planes, the clouds, mountains, monkeys,...whatever. Make up games that you don't need props for. Does she know colors? Animals? Browse through the books you bring and make games out of those. "Can you find the :whatever: on the page?" Have her find certain colors around your seating area...

When we went from West Coast to East Coast with a young toddler, I paid for a seat for her, and had plenty of room to lay her down for a nap, diaper change. I brought my changing pad, small blanket, plastic bags for containing smell!! Luckily, we had no blow-outs :)

If you have a long layover - bring those special markers and paper - the ones that only work with each other - The markers only mark on the speical paper, etc - I think Crayola makes it. Invest in the big pack of special paper - After going for a long walk to stretch our legs - I found a nice empty spot near our gate, sat her down on the floor and let her color to her heart's content. Other small kids came to join in and that was a big hit with my daughter (and the other parents) - being able to share and meet other kids. Plus, this mama needed to sit down and have a latte!!

I would bring whatever toys she seems most interested in at the time. Also bring some of her favcorite books and maybe as a last resort a computer or dvd player with a kids movie on it. Also snacks that are kid friendly, cracker and raisons stuff like that.

Good luck and have a great trip. Remember you just have to get there and its not your whole trip.

Hi K.,

I've logged a lot of plane time with my dd, now 22 months. Before you get on the plane, let her run around a lot in the airport. Don't give her any sugary snacks. The best plane entertainers are snacks, crayons & paper, books, and a favorite stuffed toy. Is she still nursing? If so, plan to bring a light blanket and grab a pillow when you get on the plane, and likely she'll still nurse and nap a lot.

Good luck!

K.

I took my son to South America at 13 months, I took TOO MUCH stuff. The only things we ended up using (and it took 23 hours to get there!) were crayons and books, and his favorite blanket and stuffed monkey. I also took his favorite snacks and sippy cups. Take enough sippy cups that you don't need to re-use them if they get dirty, you don't want to wash them in the gross airplane bathroom water. I also took too many diapers, figure one for every 2 hours of travel, plus 3 just in case diapers. I put my son in pyjamas for most of the trip since they are more comfortable, but be sure you take a change of clothes for her, if not 2. Also, take a shirt for yourself since you never know what she might spill on you. DON'T forget your stroller!!! You can check it at the gate and you'll want it for carrying her and the diaper bag around in the airport, especially if she is asleep when you land. I also found it was helpful to give a dose of tylenol about 30 minutes before take-off to keep from getting pain in the ears with the air pressure change, and then again 1/2 hour before landing.

It's really not as bad as you might think! If I can make it to Chile, you can make it to the east coast. After all, that was where my layover was and it went fine.

When my son was one, his favorite thing for long plane/car rides was photo albums. I used to take our big ones with us; but with my second son I have discovered the ease of bringing little ones with his favorite pictures. It is amazing how long little ones will entertain themselves looking at pictures of their family/friends. A mirror also might be a thought. And my current one-year old son loves to play with cards. We play UNO a lot and he wanted to play too. Since we didn't want him to bend our cards, we got him his own Winnie the Pooh cards. He loves them, and will "play" cards with us for long periods of time. Good luck on your trip.

K.,

Bring some snacks. Buy some water after going through security. Bring a book or two. Bring a quiet toy or two.

I am not sure if you have one, but we use "buddies" with our boys. They are the animal back packs that are also harnesses. this allows them to walk around in the airport and feel independent and get some exercise. I feel better because they cannot run off easily on me while carrying bags and such.

If your daughter can drink from a straw, many flight attendents will provide water or juice in the small plastic cup with a lid and straw for the children...you may have to ask (we travelled Southwest Airlines and they offered the lid and straw).

We spent a lot of time switching laps to look out the window. We also were able to purchase a 3rd seat so the boys could sit or stand as needed during the flight. The other passengers around us were FANTASTIC about the boys looking at them and talking to them.

Good luck,
T.

There is alot of good advice here so I'm just going to add one tidbit. When our daughter was small (I mean from one til about three) I'd packed a fabulous travel backpack filled to the brim with choices I've already read here. Another thing I added was small boxes with little toys inside. The boxes added another layer of fun...she'd open and close the boxes, add the toy back in, take it out..you get the picture. When she was getting a bit bored, I'd bring the next little box, tiny bag or purse out and she'd go through the same process...each set of little bag or boxes had a theme, like jungle animals or dinosaurs. So after three...she'd have enough for us to play a game...each one of us would get an animal...By far the most successful "treats in a box" was the two little dolls...about three inches tall. They went on many trips with us and we still have them.

Another benefit to this "in the box" idea is that you can "re-package" , the same toys, different boxes.

This was way too wordy for such a simple idea but there you have it. Take it easy on your travels and have fun!

K., Lots of great advice already! I know it has already been said, but the most important thing is to make sure that if she is crying to give her something to suck on, bottle, pacifier, lollipop etc. I have seen so many parents not understand that their child is in pain from the air pressure change in their ears. Also, I always have a surprise bag, that has a couple of new toys/games in it. My pediatrician actually recommended that if the flight was long and the child was having a hard time to give her tylenol or benadryl so that she can sleep during the flight. I never had to use that route, but I did bring some along just in case. Also, if you don't want to sit in the very back of the plane next to the bathrooms and where it is usually the loudest make sure you tell the ticket agent this. It is their policy to have "families" sit in the back of the plane so they don't disturb the other passengers. However, it can be nice to sit back there because if there are any open seats that is where they will be so she can have more room, and there is a lot of action, so she will get to see a lot of people who will talk to her. Good Luck!

Whn my children were small we took several long trips with them, in the car and on a plane.

Sone things I suggest are a couple of small favorite toys- don't have them out and available the whole time- that is just inviting boredom.

make sure to have a few healthy snacks handy

a couple of board books

if you can, bring a protable CD player and headphones- get a copy of some music she likes or a book on CD (or tape) that she would enjoy- even at 1 his can get he attention and give you a break from having to entertain her.

If you can keep her hands busy and keep her calm, that will be helpful- try to wear her out before the flight so she will not be so prone to wanting to run and wiggle.

A cloth book or some kind of toy that has a lot of different textures and things for her fingers to feel, explore and do will be a great benefit.