Frumpy Mom: My personal secrets for traveling with kids

We are in the middle of peak travel season, when you’re heading out to enjoy a little alone time, along with 2.4 billion other people.

Soon, the kids will be back into school, so let’s get some of that precious 24-hour-per-day family time while we still can, right? What could be better than that? Family time. Every minute of the blasted day. No escape. Later, these will be recalled as precious times, so just take a deep breath and do it.

I have a few little kid travel secrets that I don’t generally share with strangers, but we’re not strangers, right? We’re fellow travelers on that big dusty road called Life. Let me know if they help you avoid mayhem — or what I forgot.

Motion sickness? Going on a boat? To Disneyland? On a winding road? Forget about regular Dramamine. Get some Bonine at the drug store. My pediatrician told me about it decades ago, instructing me to just give my kids half a dose, and it changed my life.  The instructions on the packet tell you to take at least an hour beforehand, but my secret is to take it the night before. It’ll still work the next day, but it’s more mellow. You can buy this stuff over the counter and I never travel without it. (Dramamine is now making a pill with meclizine, the same ingredient as Bonine, fyi.)  I still kept a bowl in the back seat on road trips, just in case the kids have to, well, you know, but I never had to use it.

Frozen water bottle. If you don’t love paying $4 for a water bottle at the airport, do what I do: Freeze a bottle solid to bring with you. No, I’m not crazy. The TSA will let you bring a water bottle through security, as long as it’s frozen solid, but pull it out so they can see that it’s frozen. This is because explosives don’t freeze. Then, it will thaw out gradually on the trip. Or you can bring an empty bottle and refill it at the refilling stations that most airports now offer.

Kid races. As a veteran of countless plane flights with rugrats, here’s a tip: (And, no, I’m not crazy). Have them run races in the airport. You can usually find an empty corner somewhere.  Exhaust the little weasels before you get on the plane, so they have less need to kick the chair in front of them for hours on end. When my kids were doing this, sometimes, other parents would ask if their kids could join in. Sure, why not?

Red eyes. Sure, you probably try to avoid these late flights because they stink. But they’re great for long family flights, because the plane will be dark and quiet and it will be exponentially more likely that the wee ones will fall asleep and stay that way. You might even manage to get a little shut-eye yourself.

Get the window. Try to put your kid in the window seat with you on the aisle so the little darling can’t escape and roam the plane without you. If there’s crying, don’t stress. Just remember how many times you had to endure crying children on a plane. Now’s your payback. It’s a good idea if you can to bring a change of clothes in your flight bag because, well, stuff happens.

On board. Bring your kid’s favorite electronic device and kid headphones. This is not the time to limit screens. Sticker books are cheap at the dollar store and easy to pack. A hidden cache of favorite snacks can be pulled out if big guns are required. Bring something for popping ears.

Tether that kid. I know, I know, some people call it a leash, but I don’t care. It keeps the precious darling from wandering off during the one nanosecond you turn your head away. Vacations are not fun when you spend half your time frantically looking for a small human. And if you’re afraid of being mocked, you won’t be. I had Curly Girl on a tether at times, and the only comments people (invariably women) made to me were to come up and whisper, “That’s smart. Don’t let anyone tell you different.”

Snacks. My children could consume the entire country of Guatemala and still be hungry.  I learned the hard way that it was easier and cheaper to just bring the snacks they liked to eat in mass quantities. In their tiny backpacks, in their small suitcases I made them wheel themselves. I learned this after I paid $11 for a bag of potato chips in Egypt, because I let my son get his favorite brand, instead of buying the local one.  When we stayed at a rustic resort in Thailand that fed us three meals a day, I cut a deal with the manager to let the kids come get French fries and a Sprite any time they wanted. I didn’t let them eat either at home, so it was the highlight of their vacation.

Calm them down. Obviously, swimming pools are a great way to burn up kid energy and I use them especially on road trips. The morning of departure, I try to build in at least an hour of pool time before getting on the road, so some of that endless energy is burned off before they get strapped in. And on the road, I use GPS to find fast food places with playlands. I’m not a fan of fast food, but they’re endlessly useful for kids who’ve been stuck in the car for hours. An even better idea would be to find great park playgrounds along the way, but I’m too lazy.

I hope you find some of these ideas useful for your kids or grandkids and feel free to share more with me at mfisher@scng.com.

And enjoy!