The Best Travel Tips For Solo Parenting

The best part about two parents on a trip is that there are multiple hands for meltdowns, for passing out snacks, for bathroom breaks — but you can do it on your own with these tips. I promise.

Make A Caddy Of Necessities

Find a perfect caddy with lots of little spots to stash things and fill ‘er up. Snacks, toys, chargers, whatever you think your kids will need on the trip. Put the caddy together and keep it in the front seat so you can pass back to them with ease.

Pack A Smaller Bag Of Nightly Needs

If you’re making lots of stops on a road trip, keep one smaller bag with all of your nightly needs like pajamas, sound machine, toothbrushes, etc. That way you don’t have to try and wrangle kids and drag all of your luggage into hotels.

Keep Your Phone Charged

I can not stress this one enough. Keep extra chargers with you, pick up some of those portable ones, and keep it charged as much as possible. Whether you’re flying or driving, you don’t want to run out of phone juice.

Rent Items You Need

Dragging high chairs, strollers, playmats, all of the kid and baby things, can be a total drag and a lot for just you to handle. Try Babyquip or reach out to your hotel or Airbnb to see if you can save yourself some cargo space and luggage checking.

Pack Light, But Pack Extras

Save yourself some stress and pack light on clothes and items, but also consider packing extras of things that might be a pain to get on your own with the kids, like diapers or formula or snacks. Nobody wants a midnight run to a Walmart.

Plan Out Your Breaks

If you’re driving, think ahead to when your kiddo (and you) will need a break and plan ahead. Try to find rest stops with playground equipment or restaurants they love that have play centers so they can run out that energy and have some fun.

Say Yes As Often As You Can

Look, you’re on a trip and you’re the only parent. Pick your battles. Say yes to whatever you can and avoid meltdowns from both of you. Cereal for dinner? Yes. Pajamas in the car? Yes. Milkshakes every three hours while driving? Yes.

Remember, This Is Supposed To Be Fun

Don’t put too much pressure on making every moment of your travel and trip a core, perfect memory. Just go with the flow and remember that this is supposed to be fun. You’ve got this.