I am stating for the record that l know nothing about kids except what I’m learning on the job as a parent in real time and the advice I get from close friends and family who are going through or have recently gone through an experience with a kid about the same age as mine. So when it came to packing for our first trip with an infant 3 years ago, I did an internet search of what to pack, decided it was too overwhelming, and then made the better decision of asking a few friends who have traveled with their infants/very young children for what we absolutely needed to travel. If you’re like me and think the vast amount of information and product choices the internet suggests is too overwhelming, then consider the below information what you might get if you asked your friend for the must-have toddler packing checklist.

When we had a baby, my hope was to travel with him a lot because that’s just what we do. I got him his passport when he was 3 months old! The pandemic changed all of that but we have managed to travel with him at various stages of his young life, including when he was 4 months and 11 months old, when he was 18 months old, 2 years old and again at 3 years old. Most of his travel has been by car but there have been long plane rides too, including a recent cross-country trip from New Jersey to California and back.

The first packing checklist included bottles and bottle cleaners, breast pump and accoutrements, and formula. Oh, how times have changed. I amend the list for every trip depending on where he is in his development. For example, I removed diapers and wipes from the list just before this trip because he’s officially potty trained!

Here is my current toddler packing checklist with our must-haves for being on the road, in an airport and airplane, and generally out and about , in case it helps.

And then, of course, there’s the matter of how to travel with a kid en route and at the destination. We have found that what we do en route and at the destination is similar to what we would do while at home. We need to have plenty of snacks, water, comfortable clothes, and the right kind of activities/toys/ games for the environment. For example, for these plane trips, he had a swaddle to use as a blanket, headphones for movies, and a few dinosaurs and reusable coloring and drawing books for endless fun (he loves these Melissa & Doug water coloring books).

Each day was the same as what we would do at home: plan one big activity, and then let him have naptime and time to just play with his toys, read and relax where we stayed.

I hope this information is helpful to you if you are traveling with a toddler. If you have any helpful tips of your own, drop them in the comments section, would love to hear them!