Tips to Maintain Structure While Traveling with Kids

As a mom of four who highly values creating memories as a family I’m sharing my tips to maintain structure while traveling with kids.

Taking our children on adventures and having the opportunity to share new experiences together as a family is something we value highly as parents.

It is FUN to go and do and see the world together!

It surprises people when they learn we are equally hardcore about maintaining the structure, consistent routines, and sleep schedules as we are about traveling.

Don’t those two concepts conflict?

In order to be a “good traveler” don’t your kids have to be super flexible?

Don’t they need to be able to sleep on the go?

For family vacations to be fun, don’t kids need to be easy-going and not rely on strict schedules or daily routines?

It is possible to have amazing travels, memorable family trips AND maintain the daily structure kids are used to!

In fact, it’s the best of both worlds.

Prioritizing Schedules While Planning

In order to set your whole family up for travel success, it’s important to plan out your trip and travel plans in accordance with the schedules your children are used to.

Want your babies to sleep great and have a well-structured routine?

—–> Read this post on how to start Babywise.

Once your kids are set up on their schedules you want to stay consistent with that routine as much as possible.

A cheap red-eye flight? Probably not the best bet when traveling with kids.

Lots of long airport layovers? Again, not a great way to foster fun family time.

Leaving for a long road trip first thing in the morning when the kids wake up?

You’re setting yourself up for some quickly bored kids!

Book Travel Length Around Schedule

When planning your trip consider how far away you will be traveling from home and how long the trip needs to be in order to allow for schedule adjustments!

Travel days to and from the vacation destination are tough for kids.

Long rides in the car wear them out as do long days of flying and airport sitting.

It’s important to have enough vacation days to justify the travel time and allow for kids to adjust to the new location.

Adjusting to sleeping in new places can take most kids a night or two to adjust before they are able to have good quality sleep.

For us, all of our babies have taken a good day to really get used to sleeping in a new place.

A great hack for helping them adjust? Frequent use of the pack and play at home to help it feel familiar!

—–> More perks of the pack and play here

We have found that a three-night trip is our minimum when traveling with younger kids.

Three nights allow for a travel day to the destination, two days to enjoy the destination, explore a new city, and a travel day home.

If you are traveling across time zones, I’d recommend adding one night per time zone change. (We all know time changes, especially with a baby, can be tough!)

When we flew to California from Georgia with our kids we agreed we couldn’t justify the trip without a solid week at our destination in order to account for the time zone changes.

—-> Tips for what to pack when flying with kids here!

Plan Travel Time Around Schedule

Just like you want to map out your vacation length around your children’s sleep needs, you also want to consider your travel time around what will best suit their schedules.

With young babies, we have found it’s best to do as much driving as possible at nap time.

We will feed the baby then leave, giving a bit of wake time in the car before they (hopefully) sleep for the next nap.

We then stop when it’s the next feeding time to allow for us to feed the baby, have a bit of awake time, then back in the car in hopes of another good nap.

—–> How to travel with babies

With older kids, we find that having a meal in the car works nicely as it helps prevent boredom and can allow us to maximize drive time while minimizing stops.

Speaking of minimizing stops: we have a rule for bathroom breaks…when we stop to use the bathroom EVERYONE must try to go!

Getting out to stretch and engage in even a couple of brief physical activities can help a family road trip flow a lot smoother.

Sometimes you learn by trial and error and all kids differ on whether or not they will sleep in the car.

I have two that sleep easily in the car and two that don’t. Some can sleep sitting up, simply leaning against the headrests of their car seats while others may need a special travel pillow or blanket to get comfortable.

I try to assess each child’s needs and make sure they have the items in the car to help set up for success. I’ve been known to rig up a dark sheet and blast a travel white noise machine to help a baby get a nap in while on the road.

Since our kids aren’t ones that easily sleep in the car we have never tried traveling in the late night or early in the morning.

I know many families who travel this way and have kids who will sleep soundly but we prefer to drive during awake times and arrive at our destination before bedtime sleep.

I find this is the easiest way to adjust to the travel location by allowing us to keep bedtime rituals.

We also try to plan road trips that are closer to home when we have young children.

The longest road trip we’ve taken with our kids is eight hours and the youngest child was three at the time of travel AND we made sure to drive halfway and then stay in a hotel room for the night.

With airplane travel, you’re more limited on the flexibility for times to fit your schedule so pack all the snacks and toys and fun activities and distractions and hope for the best 😉

—–> My tips for airplane travel with kids

Plan Vacation Days Around Schedule

Once you decide the length of your trip as well as map out your days of traveling to and from the destination, the next step is to plan out the actual days of your vacation.

We sit down and write out a rough schedule for each of our vacation days as a family, breaking each day into two blocks “before nap time” and “after nap time.”

Depending on the ages of our kids when traveling we will also have 1-2 days of “no naps” if needed but try to space them out with at least one nap day in-between.

When traveling with infants who take more than one nap a day we will usually have them either miss the morning or evening naps, have them nap on the go, or trade-off with one parent keeping the infant at the hotel for that nap.

This allows us for unstructured time to be able to experience things that may take longer than just a few hours. It also helps make traveling with others (like extended family members) an easier time for everyone.

For those times when we are skipping naps or extended bedtimes we still do our best to have predictable mealtimes. The more elements of our children’s routines that stay in tact the better the vacation is for everyone.

Those extended family members may eyeroll the revolving around the children’s schedules but I’d much prefer complaints about naps than complaints about poor behavior that can result with younger children when their routines are out of whack.

Well Sleeping Kids + Well-Fed kids = Good Behaviors and More Fun for the Entire Family!

And those times when we trade off staying with the sleeping baby? It’s a great opportunity for quality time with our other non-napping children. My oldest son and I have a tradition every year on our family beach trip to go get ice cream just the two of us while the others nap.

We mix it up too! When we traveled with a young infant who needed two naps a day we’d alternate taking one of the older kids out for breakfast just the two of us. Such a rare opportunity and extra special treat!

Even when we travel with only our older children, we still keep days with downtime for naps.

Allowing a mid-day break can help keep everyone happy and having fun. Our oldest enjoys using this time to play video games and we love playing family board games as well.

—–> Our favorite family board games

Even in our time management with older kids, we are also mindful bedtimes as well and will make sure later nights are followed by days with naps and that days, where naps are skipped, are days that have earlier bedtimes if at all possible.

And yes, we also map out bedtime routine plans when traveling with the older kids too!

Traveling with kids is exhausting for EVERYONE – including us parents.

My husband and I have found that as our kids are getting older…we miss the downtime and WE now need it more than they do!

Early bedtimes and chunks of time in the afternoon for naps/rest allow US to have a break, to recharge, and to have some quality time together too!

This is a BIG reason my husband and I decided to purchase a large rental home near Disney World – we love being close to the theme parks and able to come back mid-day for naps and rest time.

—–> If you’re planning a Disney World trip be sure to learn more about our property here!

When planning a trip as major as Disney World, it’s tempting to push kids beyond their limits and skip naps and nighttime sleep.

Time is money at Disney and it’s easy to get caught up in wanting to take full advantage of every minute the parks are open in order to make the money spent on tickets more justifiable.

However, this backfires. Big time.

The “Disney Meltdown” is a REAL thing and it’s crucial to take those breaks and plan your days at the parks as strategically as possible to allow kids to be at their best and have the most magical time.

—–> Planning a Disney Trip? Read this post for all the secrets to help your park days go smoothly!

Maintaining Structure During Vacation

The majority of the ability to BE structured while on vacation comes in the preparation phase of traveling.

Preparing sets you up for success!

Stick to the Plan

During the vacation, stick to your game plan.

If you previously decided to have the kids nap on a certain day, have them nap.

Even if they don’t seem tired!

It’s MUCH better to take time aside for resting than it is to push through and end up with an overtired child (or husband…or both).

Sometimes things happen, especially when traveling away from home, and it requires some flexibility.

Be open to that too!

Recognize those moments and make adjustments when possible to allow everyone the rest they need in order to be the best versions of themselves for your travels.

Provide As Much Regularity as Possible

If you want your kids to sleep great on your trip…make sure you recreate their home sleep environment as much as possible.

We try to find accommodations that allow us to spread out and for the children to have their own sleep spaces as much as possible.

When we travel we bring dark sheets to cover windows to keep the room as dark as we can.

We bring our sound machines and any special items our kids are used to sleeping with.

—–> Must have items for baby sleep here!

We also bring favorite toys to provide entertainment during downtime moments on the trip.

Mommy can get ready MUCH easier when the kids are happily playing and what better to offer as a play item than a toy they already love at home?

Of course it’s also fun to have new toys too and we typically will allow our children to choose a keepsake item to help them remember the trip and to enjoy during it as well.

I also love to purchase these blank notebooks to serve as travel journals for our kids. They have fun drawing pictures or writing about our travels. They can carry them easily in their small backpack along with their water bottles when we are out and about and it can help pass the time during more “boring parts” for them.

It’s also great to stick drawing and coloring supplies in carry-on bags to help cut down on the overload of so much screen time kids encounter while traveling.

Keep Mealtime Routines

Not only is eating around the normal times you eat at home important when traveling with kids to help them maintain their schedules, but it’s also important to keep in mind what they are eating too.

We always bring all of our kids’ vitamins with us when we travel.

This helps keep their systems used to what they typically have each day and helps keep up their immune systems in a new place when they will be exposed to new germs.

While you space out late nights and skipped naps you also want to spread out the junk food too.

If possible, pack some food from home or visit a local grocery store to pick up items your kids typically have in their routine.

When we took the kids to California, I literally packed an entire suitcase in our carry-on baggage to allow quick access to simple food items my kids love.

It was a great place to store them in the hotel room for on-the-go or easy breakfast options as well as handy to have on hand in case we were to encounter a flight delay.

Even if you’re eating more fast food or quick options having healthy side items can help keep their systems in check!

I often bring along a ziploc bag to restaurants with some fresh fruit to keep up those healthy habits.

No parent wants to deal with an overly tired child while vacationing…or one with an upset stomach either!

Constipation is a common issue for young ones when traveling. I myself like to bring along what I call my “poop pills” as I can need a little help in that department when away from home!

—–> Read this post on how to help your constipated toddler

Final Thoughts

So many things go into planning the perfect family vacation and it’s so important to take steps both prior and during traveling with kids to ensure a FUN trip for EVERYONE.

I hope these tips on how to maintain structure while traveling with kids are helpful for your family life.

By planning ahead and organizing your trip around keeping your kids’ schedules and routines and then sticking to that plan during your vacation your kids will enjoy the trip and you’ll create happy memories as a family to last a lifetime!