Latest / Whys & Finds / Holiday Road Trip With a Toddler: What to Pack
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- Ben: Three hours in the car with a toddler. The bags are packed and lined up by the door. Every single one of them belongs to a grown-up. Ellie: Welcome to Whys & Finds. I'm Ellie. Ben: And I'm Ben. Ellie: Today: what should you pack for a toddler on a holiday road trip? Ellie: A small bag of their own, packed together with you. A snack for the stops, a few light toys, and their buddy, the cuddly toy they love. Everything else goes in the grown-up bags. Ben: Only that? I had a whole list ready. Ellie: Keep your list. It's for the grown-up bags. The toddler's bag stays short, so they know what's in it. Ben: Packing with a two-year-old takes forever, though. Ellie: It can. But there's a public source on this. Raising Children Network is an Australian parenting site, supported by the Australian Government. It has a page about travelling with kids by plane, bus or train. It says: "It's also good to involve your child in packing. This can get them interested and excited about the trip." Ben: Plane, bus or train. We're in a car. Ellie: Fair. So this part is my suggestion, not theirs: I'd use the packing advice for the car too. Ben: Okay. I'll allow it. Ben: Before we pack anything. Does a toddler even know what a road trip is? Ellie: Not unless someone tells them. The same page says: "Explain where you're going, how you're travelling, and how long it will take. Use pictures or language your child can understand." Ben: How long it will take. A two-year-old doesn't know what three hours means. Ellie: No. So I'd say it their way. "We'll drive, we'll stop for a snack, we'll drive again, and then we'll see the house." Ben: So the stops tell them how much of the trip is left. Ellie: Pretty much. And the snack for each stop is in their bag. Ben: Okay. So what actually goes in? Ellie: The same page has a packing list for younger children. One item on it: "Your child's favourite cuddly toy, if they have one." Ben: That's the buddy. Ellie: That's the buddy. For the other toys, the page says to pack ones that are "lightweight, easily stored and easily cleaned." And: "Avoid packing toys with a lot of separate pieces." Ben: Because the pieces end up under the seat. Ellie: And nobody wants to look for them at a rest stop. Ben: Fine. And food? Ellie: Raising Children Network has another page, about planning holidays with kids. It says: "Make sure you have plenty of stops for meals and drinks to keep everyone's energy levels up." Ben: Plenty of stops. Here's where I disagree. On a road trip I want to get there. Ellie: I know. The same page says: "Plan more breaks and fewer activities than you would if you were travelling on your own or with adults." Ben: Fewer activities. So the stops are part of the trip, not a delay. Ellie: That's how I read it. And at every stop, they have their own bag to open. Ben: Here's my real question. Why their own bag at all? I've got a big tote. Everything fits in there. Ellie: It does. Then at every stop, your toddler asks you for the snack, then the toy, then the other toy. With their own bag, they unzip it and find the snack themselves. And when you arrive, they walk in carrying their own things. Ben: Like the grown-ups with their suitcases. Ellie: Just like that. So the bag has to be one they can carry. Not a big one to grow into. Ben: How small are we talking? Ellie: One practical option: Naturally KIDS makes a small backpack, 10 by 8 by 3 inches. Room for a snack and a treasure. Padded, adjustable straps and an easy zipper small hands open on their own. And the buddy rides on the front. It's a removable plush animal. Ben: So on the Naturally KIDS one, the buddy comes along with the bag. What does it do for three hours? Ellie: The buddy is for play too. In the car, the buddy can look out the window and count the trucks with them. At a stop, it can hide on the picnic blanket, and a grown-up helps find it. Then it goes back on the bag before you drive on. Ben: A road trip game with the dinosaur. I like that. Ellie: There's a T-Rex and a triceratops, and a unicorn, a teddy bear and other animals too. Ben: And after a few hours of snacks in it? Ellie: You can machine wash the backpack in cold water on a gentle cycle. Ben: Good to know. Ben: Can I push back on one thing, though? You said pack the bag together. If a two-year-old packs it, half the toy box goes in. And by the first stop, they've seen all of them. Ellie: That does happen. Ben: So I'd split it. Half the toys in their bag. The other half in mine, and they come out one at a time, later in the trip. The same Raising Children Network page says: "Keep toys in a bag and give them to your child as you travel, rather than all at once." Ellie: That's a good line, and I'd use it. But I'd keep my part too. If you pick which half disappears into your bag, it's not their bag anymore. They don't know what's coming. Ben: So who picks? Ellie: They do. They choose all the toys. Then they choose which ones go in their bag now, and which ones wait in yours for later. Ben: So your packing together, and my holding back. Ellie: Both. They pick, you hold some of it, and they still know what's in each bag. Ben: Call it a draw. Ellie: A draw. Ellie: Now, a few different situations. If an older brother or sister wants a suitcase like the grown-ups, the same animals come as a kids rolling suitcase. Roll it when it's packed, or wear it on the back. Ben: And if your toddler has a different favourite animal? Ellie: Then pick the one they already love. A mouse, a dog or a giraffe, for example. Ben: And if they'd rather not carry anything at all? Ellie: Then don't push it. Put a small pouch in your bag, and let them choose the snack and two toys that go in. At the stop, they open it themselves. Ben: So the choosing stays theirs. Ellie: Right. The choosing is theirs either way. Ben: Okay, let me see if I've got it. One: a small bag of their own, with a snack, a few light toys, and their buddy. Two: pack it together. Raising Children Network says involving your child in packing can get them interested and excited about the trip. Three: tell them the plan in words they understand. Four: light toys, without a lot of separate pieces. Five: plan more breaks and fewer activities, with plenty of stops for meals and drinks. And six: they pick the toys, and they choose which ones wait in your bag for later. Ellie: You've got it. And if the bag is theirs to carry, pick one their size, not one to grow into. Ellie: That's it for today. A reminder: the voices in this episode are AI-generated. Whys & Finds is made by Naturally KIDS. Ellie: That's today's why. See you at the next find.