My Flock of Five

When it comes to traveling with kids, it can be really challenging. It’s more expensive and less relaxing. Depending on the age of your kids, it requires many more stops for everything from feeding the baby to diaper changes to potty breaks and “don’t-make-me-turn-this-car-around” lectures. It’s easy to just keep putting it off. It’s easy to say, “when they’re just a little bit older, we’ll go.” But I have found with my own kids that it is worth the power struggles and extra stops. And here’s why.

#3 Traveling Builds Relationships 

Traveling gives you a unique opportunity to just love on your littles. Of course, you always love them, but it’s usually alongside a busy routine. When you occasionally take them out of the ordinary, it’s incredibly special to them. They recognize that this is something different and they get to see you in a different light, too. Now maybe you’re the mom that builds a sandcastle with them on the beach or looks at dinosaur bones with them in a museum instead of just the mom that nags them to eat all their food and put their shoes on in less than 2.5 hours. When traveling, you can be making their best memories without even realizing it. We took a weekend trip to the beach when my daughter was four and she still talks about it as one of her very favorite times.

#2 Traveling Provides Unique Teaching Opportunities

Again, you’re taking them out of their element and out of their routine. This means a couple of different things. It means that it will be trying for your kids. Yes, it’s exciting for them, but it’s also exhausting and full of unknown factors. They have to cope with long days and no usual schedule, but this is good for them. I promise. As humans, we have to be able to adapt. We need to learn to handle different situations and traveling takes your kids out of their comfort zones to do just that. As I mentioned before, it will require some extra patience on your part, but it’s worth it. You can minimize the struggle by preparing your kids ahead of time. Let them know what to expect by sharing your schedule with them each day and explaining anything they might not understand. Let them ask questions and encourage them to be excited about what’s going to happen. It goes such a long way and will make your trip so much better.

#1 Traveling Expands Their Worlds 

I really think this is the number one reason to travel with kids. In our lives, we get so used to seeing just the things and people around us. Especially for children, it’s easy for those worlds to become self-centered. It’s easy to think that our lives in our homes is all there is and all that matters. Traveling reminds us that we’re not the only ones in this world. You see new places, new people, new ways of life, and new cultures, making it impossible to believe that yours is the only one there or the only one that matters. None of us would actually ever say this, but this thinking is prevalent in our society and easy to fall into if we’re not careful. I didn’t realize just how many of my thoughts and opinions and prejudices came from the fact that I’m an American until I was surrounded by people of a completely different culture in a completely different country. I didn’t realize how many of my own personal morals came from my Christian faith until I was in a country of non-Christians. I learned these things after I became an adult and I wonder how much it would’ve changed if I had learned this as a child. I travel with my children so that they will know. They have heard another language and seen another religion. They’ve seen history and customs of other cultures and they know that the U.S. isn’t the only country that matters. Their worlds are bigger because they have traveled, and to me, that’s enough reason to bring them along.


Have you traveled with your kids? How far did you go? What were some positives that came out of bringing them along?

What is the longest plane ride you’ve ever been on?

I rode on a plane for the first time when I was 12 years old. I went on a mission trip to inner city Florida with my youth group, and I remember having such a terrible headache from the altitude change. The next time I flew was after I got married at 19 and I was so worried about the headache, but it didn’t even end up bothering me. Little did I know that I would one day be moving to a place that’s a 24 hour plane ride away, and we would be making the trip back annually.

The first time we came to Japan was when Arrow was around six months old. Since then, we’ve traveled back and forth from Japan and the U.S. every year. So we’ve made this plane trip four times. Each time it gets a little easier because the kids get a little older and we get a little more experienced, but now we’re going to make the trip with a baby again. As I’m racking my mind to remember all the things that helped with bringing a baby, I thought I’d share my tips for what to bring with your toddlers and kids!

First, let me mention two very important things that I’ve learned make a huge difference in how effective your carry-on items are.



1. Prepare your kids ahead of time. Going on a plane is a big deal for kids! Especially if it’s the first time, it can be very scary and overwhelming. We made sure to talk with our kids about the upcoming plane ride from the time that we booked it. We talked about what would happen, what it would sound like, and what it would feel like. We even watched a few different videos and children’s shows that showed riding on a plane. We discussed how long we would be on the plane and that we would ride it past bedtime and need to sleep while we were on it. We also discussed voice level expectations - we need to make sure we’re not yelling or talking loudly when other people are trying to sleep.

2. Make sure your kids are well rested. One year, we had the great idea that we would take the kids out sightseeing at our layover in Tokyo. We figured it would wear them out and they would just sleep for the whole plane ride. What actually happened was that they were over-tired, so there were so many tears and even a bathroom accident that would have never normally happened. We learned such an important lesson from this and now make sure our kids get a good night’s sleep and have a laid-back day before we take off.

Okay, now it’s really time for me to share the list with you! These are the things I’ve learned are absolutely necessary from spending over four days on airplanes with my kids.

1. Bring a carry-on your kid can actually carry. 

2. Bring surprises and build the anticipation. 

3. Bring snacks and drinks. 

4. Bring kid-sized headphones. 

5. Bring a change of clothes. 

6. Bring quiet toys. 

7. Bring a familiar pillow and blanket. 

8. Bring a car seat. 

That's all for me! What else would you add to this list?