Top Five Reasons You Should Travel with Your Toddler
If you’re going to parent a toddler, why not parent somewhere else?
The statement above is my philosophy for why you should travel with your toddler. The toddler stage is difficult. But it’s difficult no matter where you are. So why not pack up your kiddo and explore things you’ve never seen before? Or, go back to a favorite destination you are already familiar with, and see what it’s like to add a toddler to the trip. Trust me, your favorite destination will not be experienced the same way with a toddler, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. In fact, I would argue, chances are it will be even better.
I often tell people that when you travel with young kids, you’re not really going on vacation. There is nothing relaxing about trips with toddlers (or babies, for that matter). But this phase in life is fleeting, and relaxing vacations will return again. At this stage, your toddler wants to go, go, go until they crash. It’s fun, and a challenge, to figure out how to make that happen.
So here are my top five reasons why you should travel with your toddler. Some of them are similar to the reasons why you should travel with your baby, but most are completely unique to the wonderful toddler stage.
Travel with your toddler because you want to travel
It’s the same #1 reason I listed as to why you should travel with your baby. If you used to travel (or want to start traveling) don’t let having your toddler tag along stop you.
As parents, it feels like so many parts of us change, or are put on hold, when we have children. Travel does not have to be one of them. If it’s something you want to keep in your life (or start) do it.
Travel with your toddler because they don’t care where you take them
My husband is really good about understanding this motto, and it’s so true. Your toddler just wants to be with you. They find everything fascinating. New is exciting. And no matter what you do, you have to be ready to change it up often because attention spans are short.
We do a lot of road trips and we’re not super detailed when we plan them. This means we stop in a lot of “random” places to let our kids get the wiggles out. We’ve seen the cutest, weirdest, most amazing parts of the US, this way! Our kids could be in the most picture-worthy Instagram location or the most quiet unknown town and they would love it the same. As long as they get to run around, play hide-and-seek and eat some ice cream, they’re in.
This means we, as the adults, get to choose where we want to go. It’s not going to be this way forever. (Those toddlers grow into opinionated preteens soon enough!) So lay out your list of destinations and let those toddlers know where they’re going.
Travel with your toddler because they’re relatively cheap
Unlike your baby, which is virtually free, traveling with a toddler comes with some expenses. However, they are significantly less than when that kiddo hits their school years.
The biggest change in expenses from baby to toddler is your flights. Technically, your toddler can sit on your lap and fly free until they are two. I will say though, that my kids would not have sat in my lap after 18 months or so. After they hit that age, I got them their own seat, and therefore air travel became a lot more expensive.
But, for hotels, its quite easy to fit a toddler into a “normal” room. We used a pack and play for a long time, and then you can get creative with rollaway beds, pullout couches and two Queen beds where an adult sleeps with your toddler.
For attractions, toddlers will be free, or significantly reduced. A good example of this: At Disney World your toddler is free until they are three years old.
Travel with your toddler because their schedule is still quite flexible
I know there are many travel writers and content creators that live these amazing travel lives. While our family loves to travel, we live a very “typical” life. Both of us work, so we only have a set amount of vacation time in a given year. We have to be selective in where we can go and how long we can go, due to our limited time.
I do get to travel for work, so that helps with the travel itch, but we have to be quite selective for our family trips.
The nice part about having a toddler, is they do not have a school schedule yet. So you can easily travel during “off season” times when things might be cheaper or less busy. Once that kiddo starts school and activities, the times of the year you can travel will diminish greatly (unless you choose to homeschool, but again, that isn’t us.)
Travel with your toddler because their dreams come to life (aka: Making unforgettable memories)
Every toddler has those things they love (some could say it borders on obsession). In our household it was Cocomelon, Mickey Mouse, Spiderman, Paw Patrol, etc.
And while we know our toddlers won’t actually remember meeting their heroes, we will remember the moments they got to give them a hug, or a wave, or get scared and cower into our chests.
They won’t remember their first ride on a train, or visiting a zoo and petting a string ray, but we will. (And if you’re like me, you’ll have the videos and pictures to show them later.)
The memories we make with our toddlers during this stage are amazing and precious, and this stage goes by so quickly. I highly suggest taking advantage of it.
In Summary: The Top Five Reasons to Travel with Your Toddler
Because you want to travel
Because they don’t care where you take them
Because they’re still relatively cheap
Because their schedule is still quite flexible
Because their dreams come to life (aka: Making unforgettable memories)
I’m sure there are plenty more reasons to travel with your toddler, and I’d love to hear what you would add! Feel free to reach out to me either through this blog or on Instagram. If you have any questions in regards to traveling with your toddler, I’d be happy to help. You can also read this post about my tips with how to travel with your toddler.
