Traveling with kids can be a wild ride. Sometimes everything goes smoothly, and other times you spend an entire weekend or week (or longer) dealing with ear infections, stomach bugs, allergic reactions, etc. On our latest trip to California we ran to Urgent Care a few hours before our flight because one of our kids woke up with a bad ear infection. We got medication and went on our way. Once we were on our trip another daughter had an allergic reaction to something unknown and our third daughter came down with the flu. Three kids, three different problems. Luckily, we were prepared.
We've put together a list of 20 items we always bring with us when we travel. Of course, we've probably missed something you use. We'd love to know what your essentials are too.
**Make sure you talk to your doctor before you give your kids any medicines we've recommended and follow dosage recommendations.**
1. First Aid Kit - various sized band-aids, gauze, antiseptic wipes, etc.
2. Hand Sanitizer - to help keep germs to a minimum
3. Neosporin (or another antibiotic ointment) - for cuts and sores
4. Orajel - for teething babies, toothaches, and canker sores
5. Bug spray - we bring this depending on where we are traveling
6. Sunscreen - we bring a face stick and then children's and adult sunscreen
7. Diaper Rash Creme - we still bring this even though we don't have babies anymore because it
does wonders with rashes
8. Pepto-Bismol - we bring children's and adult versions for upset stomachs (bring something stronger if your kids get really nauseous)
9. Earache Drops - we prefer the prescription drops because they are stronger but you can also get drops over the counter that help with pain on the airplane
10. Pain Relievers - we usually bring Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen, both the adult and children's versions. We prefer to bring the tablets for kids instead of liquids
11. Hydrocortisone creme - just in case anyone gets a rash we like to keep some of this on hand
12. Benadryl - we bring both the adult and children's versions in case of an allergic reaction, we haven't used it for helping kids sleep
13. Melatonin - we bring adult and children's versions and this especially helps us with jet lag
14. Baby wipes - we always have baby wipes with us because they are versatile and clean up all sorts of messes
15. Munchkin Arm & Hammer Diaper Bags and Dispenser - we use these scented bags for diapers and also for trash on airplanes and in hotels rooms
16. Prescription Medications - we've learned the hard way that you can't always refill prescriptions outside your state or country, so it's important to make sure you have everything you need with you
17. Eye drops - we have prescription eye drops for pink eye that we bring with us on occasion or if we know we are going to do a lot of swimming we'll bring over the counter eye drops to help with too much chlorine
18. Vitamins - one of the best ways to avoid getting sick is to try and stay healthy along the way (we like to make sure our kids are taking a regular vitamin to keep their immune systems up)
19. Nasal Saline Drops - in case of colds or congestion
20. Thermometer - we don't always bring this but there are a lot of times I wish we had! Get a pocket size one to travel with!
What do you include? Or not include from this list? We'd love to hear your comments.
