Must Haves for Road Tripping with Toddlers
Traveling with a toddler is hard, and traveling with multiple toddlers can seem impossible!
Between meal time, sleeping arrangements, and general baby wrangling, here's my list of the top gear needed to make your next overnight stay with toddlers as easy as possible.
1. Regalo Play Yard
The Regalo 8 Panel Play Yard is a life saver for long car rides with babies and young toddlers! We've used ours to set up shop for lunch and diaper changes everywhere from truck stops, to warehouse parking lots, to cell phone lots. If you have newly mobile toddlers, this is a great way to keep them out of trouble while enjoying the fresh air. This also comes in a 6 panel version, with an optional canopy top.
2. Hiccapop Travel Booster Seat
These booster seats are a great way to contain busy toddlers for mealtime anywhere from the campsite to the beach. The tray snaps on and off easily, and the material is easy to clean. They fold up in to a compact little bag too, so the girls love carrying them around themselves!
3. Intex Kids Travel Bed
Sharing a bed isn't an option with our three rambunctious toddlers. It was important to us to find a portable bed option that was comfortable, cozy, and made our girls feel safe. We found the Intex Kids Travel Bed on Amazon, and it's the perfect solution! The mattress is removeable and fits a standard crib sheet, making clean up easy. The bumpers keep the girls from falling out of bed during the night, and they are soft and cushioned. The beds are a good size, and will easily fit the girls until they are 7-8 years old.
Each mattress comes with a hand pump, but I'd recommend upgrading to an electric air pump, especially if you're blowing up more than one at a time.
4. Wonderfold Wagon
With multiple toddlers, having a good wagon can make all the difference. There are plenty of wagon brands out there offering a selection of models ranging from 2-4 seats, with plenty of add on options. The Wonderfold X4 model was a great option for beach strolls and getting three toddlers around town. We've since upgraded to the W4 model which sits higher up on the ground with detachable seats and even more space. Both models fold up and are compact enough to fit in the trunk of our van.
Even though the girls are old enough to prefer walking in most situations now, we still bring our wagon everywhere we go to store beach bags, snacks, water, and to give the girls the option to crash after a long day.
With optional upgrades like built in cooler bags, all terrain wheels, and all weather covers, wagons have become a lifestyle for tons of toddler moms!
Family travel is SO different from the solo backpacking I spent years of my life doing throughout my twenties. I used to pride myself on throwing caution to the wind, and pre-planning as little as possible on my adventures. I'm just learning the ropes to this whole traveling with toddlers thing, and I hope that our experiences will help other parents realize that getting out there and exploring with young children is still just as possible as ever before.
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