Breathe! It's okay. You can do it, even with a threenager.
Personally, the logistics seem horrible: I'd rather personally just head somewhere easy, but it seems like traveling with young children is possible. In fact, one family has it down such to a science that we had to get their take on it. Here's how to survive the road with toddlers in tow.
For Seattle-based Yujie Wang and her family, it comes down to two things. First, having the right equipment is essential. Think foldable car seats and strollers. The other component is having a good bag system; such as things that clip onto other things is also important.
The Wang household estimates they travel at least five times a year by plane, with additional road trips to boot. They started when their eldest daughter was just three years old-she was born during the pandemic-and didn't want to miss out on what they loved most.
In the past year alone, she has traveled to California, Denver, Houston, Hawaii and Mexico City (twice) with her husband, 4-year-old daughter and a 2-year-old son.
(Interestingly, she notes it is easier to travel when they are younger as the kids are quieter and nap more frequently; when they get older, they become more active and curious, making it more difficult.)
Wang and her family enjoy traveling so much she even pointed out that there are strollers "that you can go hiking with."
(We hesitated. Let's try to conquer basic traveling first.)
Most importantly, she stresses, "Don't overthink it."
A car seat is essential for planes, rental cars and Ubers
Parents, bring a car seat. Not only as a medical professional, but as a mother, Wang can't stress the importance of this enough.
She notes that even though young kids under the age of two travel for free, sitting on their parent's lap, most parents forget about the car seat.
"But then once you get to your destination, if you don't have a car seat, and if you're somewhere that needs a car, you're, like, kind of screwed," she points out.
In Mexico, the family of four relied on Ubers, and it was straightforward enough with the XL Ubers. "Most people are pretty accommodating," she quips.
Not only is it essential for rental cars as well, car seats also makes sense on the plane. "Everyone has to be strapped in, but not the infant. That seems kind of weird, so it's kind of antiquated."
The right equipment will save your parental sanity
Having the right equipment can be expensive, but is children.
That said, Wang doesn't believe that parents should stop traveling just because strollers and car seats are cumbersome, noting the foldable Baby Jogger stroller they like to use.
In fact, Wang and her husband also travel with two car seats for both of their children. (For what it is worth, car seats made after 1985 are FAA-approved and will have a certification sticker attached to them.)
Courtesy of Yujie Wang, her eldest daughter in a car seat.
For their youngest, two-year-old son, they use a standard, no-whistles $59 Cosco car seat that is sold from retailers such as Walmart. She emphasizes, not only does it get the job done, it is actually quite lightweight at under 10 pounds.
(Technically, the car seat is 7.8 pounds. The family just carries it around in a backpack en route.)
For her eldest, she and her husband uses the portable Wayb Pico Portable Car Seat ($390) which meets all standard regulations set forth by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
"It hasn't cleared... European standards, is what I've heard, but in the United States and then, like, Asia and Latin America, any flight that originates from the US, it is approved to use it."
Though the Wayb Pico is significantly expensive, it can be used from ages 2 and up, to about six years old, when they basically stop using a car seat. "It can be used for quite a long time," she notes.
"[Airline] seats are small for adults, but for toddlers, it's kind of large. So you can't really use a seat belt or anything. So this acts a little bit like a booster system providing additional support, and like if there's turbulence or anything they're strapped in, versus, just roaming around."
The logistics of bringing equipment onboard a plane
First things, first. Generally, car seats and strollers are complimentary baggage.
This mean generally do not count against baggage allowance and in the event that you would like to include it as part of your luggage, it can be checked or carried on.
For example, Delta states this explicitly on their website:
Children's strollers and child safety seats are not counted as part of the standard baggage and therefore can be easily checked for free. For your convenience, these items may be checked at the curbside, the ticket counter or at the gate. Child safety seats may be brought on board the plane in certain circumstances.
Most airport security staff won't even blink, or won't care en route to the gate. If you decide not to use the car seat or stroller on the plane, it can be gate checked.
Wang does note that it is possible to clip the car seat onto luggage, her and her husband just choose to carry their car seat in a backpack.
In terms of seating, this is where things can get tricky. Most car seats should only go in the window seat, as they can obstruct other passengers from getting in and out of their seat.
Translating this in terms of traveling with two toddlers, this means two car seats in two different rows, each occupying a window seat. Each row would need an accompanying parent.
(United does state there is complimentary seating for each parent, for instance, but Wang says she just buys seat assignments outright to prevent any hassle. Children are, again, expensive.)
This would be particularly difficult with three cars eats and three young children, she admits, as it would create logistical challenges, without an extra adult.
Obviously, traveling with young kids is worth it
For Wang and her family, traveling has become quite straightforward once they figured out the process.
"It's, you know, [obviously] more than you would if you were just gonna travel by yourself, where I used to never check anything, and I wouldn't really bring much, just like a carry on."
"I've had a lot of fun actually. We've done a lot of cool stuff. I guess you can't do too many things, or as aggressively, as if you would if you travel solo, or when you're younger, like, doing all these activities, but yeah, you still have a good time, and the kids really like it."
