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Toddler Travel Toys:

Traveling with toddlers can be a very difficult experience. They have extremely short attention spans, and being able to sit still for long periods of time (whether in a car, airplane, or any other mode of transportation) is not usually one of their best attributes. After a while, he will get bored, and a bored child means a cranky child, which equals a cranky, irritable parent. This doesn’t mean that you have to wait until your child learns to read or play a video game before you will get to go on vacation again, though. Instead, you can take steps to make sure that your little one stays busy and preoccupied, which will keep her from getting bored as easily. If she is preoccupied, the trip will be a little easier to endure for both the child and the parent.

The first thing to consider when traveling with a small child is the best mode of transportation. If your child gets carsick, obviously you will not want to take her on a road trip halfway across the country. No matter what the mode of transportation you choose, there are a few tricks to remember that can help make the trip more bearable for all involved.

• Make frequent stops

This is a very important part of traveling by car with a baby or small child. Aside from the normal restroom stops, you should stop at a place where they can get out and run around for a few minutes. This will help them get rid of some of that extra energy that toddlers are known for carrying with them constantly, plus it will help ease any pain in their legs from sitting still for so long. If you are going by airplane, this is not as easy to accomplish, but you can make the most of it by letting him walk to the bathroom with you every time you notice that he is getting irritated with sitting for so long.

• Consider the Train

If you are taking an extended vacation, you might want to consider taking a train, because the ride itself will keep your toddler occupied some of the time (If traveling this way, your child gets to get up and walk around more, and it’s fun for them to see all the buildings and cars go by so fast. Most trains also offer children’s movies on long trips).

• Travel Toys

Once you have decided how you will travel, you will need to decide what fun toys will be riding along. One of the key factors in taking toys on the trip is to take something new, or at least new to her. Unless it is an old favorite that your child would be unhappy without, taking toys from the toy box at home doesn’t work well. She has played with all that stuff many times before, so it will not keep her occupied for long at all.

The best toys to take on a trip are ones that they have to work on for long periods, such as puzzles (age-appropriate ones, of course), building blocks, or coloring books and crayons (if you worry about him coloring on things other than the pages, buy the kind of markers and books that will color on nothing else). Other good toys to consider are the kinds that require use of their imaginations, such as dinosaurs, or farm animals, or baby dolls. If they are occupying their minds making the toys talk to and play with each other, they won’t notice how long they have been sitting still. You will also want to bring along a few picture books, and even story books. It especially helps if someone can read to them every now and then. Just as at home, where a child will ask you to read the same book approximately 247 times, this can occupy a child (and, subsequently, the parent) for hours on end. Anything your child has been wanting (besides the toys that won’t fit in the car, of course) but hasn’t gotten yet is definitely a plus.

• Music and Videos

Taking along CD's, tapes, and DVD's can help pass the time and keep your child occupied. Buy a soundtrack (or five) of your child’s favorite cartoons or movies. The best time to put the music on is during the times when your child becomes sleepy. She will already be tired, and won't really feel like playing. If she gets a big surprise when you start playing a song she loves, she might actually listen intently for at least a little while, hopefully long enough to fall asleep. If you are not traveling by car, you could buy a walkman (This is also good for books on tape, which usually also have songs on them). If you can afford it financially, you might want to consider a mini DVD player, and a few episodes of her favorite shows or cartoons.

• Spread it out

Another thing to pay attention to is the timing of giving your child these toys. Don’t let him know you have them before the trip, and do not give them to him all at once. Wait until he is getting bored, and then pull out a neat new toy. After that one doesn’t seem as fun, wait a while, and then show him another. You also want to save some toys for the trip back. You might even want to consider only giving him half of the new stuff on the way there, and saving the others for the return. If the trip back is just a repeat of the trip there, he will tire of it quickly.

Consider your toddlers needs and wants when purchasing toys for travel, and if you use some of the types above, a vacation with a toddler can be not only bearable, but enjoyable, as well. Yes, it can be expensive, but so is a wasted vacation.

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