Kids' Travel: The Best Thing Ever!

All of us who have travelled with children know that it can be so fun and yet so very tiring.

We live more than 3000 miles from my parents and extended family, so I have spent summers traveling with my children alone for 6 weeks to make a trek across the country to visit family & friends.

Below is what I came to rely on as THE BEST THING ever for my kids!

Let me share with you my system for travelling with kids for day trips and on plane rides.

It all began when, while traveling with the children, I noticed that I often became a human coat tree or pack mule as they were constantly asking, "Mom can you carry my......" or "Do you know where my ....... is?".

I was left constantly digging through my bag looking for items and my shoulder was aching from carrying too much.

And sometimes I was just getting downright cranky about it!

Then one day while shopping in an outdoor store looking for a birthday present, I saw these day packs and I knew I had found the answer to my problem.

I promptly bought 1 for each of my children. (I let them choose the colour).

This small size day pack is perfect....small in size, lightweight and a wide shoulder strap for comfort.

It also came with a built in pocket for a water bottle and a zippered pocket for sunglasses in the front.

Brilliant!

 At the time my children were 6 and 10 years old and I knew they were ready for some independence and were perfectly capable of looking after their items when we were on day trips to museums, parks and zoos.

I explained to each of them that they were now responsible for their own items.....sun hats, sun glasses, snacks, etc.  and they could keep carry these items in their day pack.

{Awww. My kids look so little a few years back.We were on a day trip to the Fisheries Museum in Lunenburg, Nova Scota in 2007.}

 Then we made a trip to a store and loaded up on items that they would need for their day pack... 

 Other items that may be included in a child's day pack, depending on their age, include:

Sunscreen

Bug Spray

Asthma Inhaler

Allergy Medicine

Epi-Pen

When we pack the day pack for a plane ride, we also include headsets, a bigger snack and a book or magazine.

This system worked great for us!

For the rest of that summer, and summers that followed, my kids carried their own items in their day packs and it worked perfectly!

And Mom's shoulder was very happy too!

{I also went ahead and bought day packs for my niece and nephew for the birthdays and stuffed theirs with fun things inside too.}

Do any of you Moms have a similar system?

What do you find works for you?

{Thank you so much to Steph at Somewhat Simple for featuring this post here.}