Tips for Traveling with Kids

One of the best parts of the holiday season is all the time spent with family and friends you don't see every day. All of those special gatherings often mean lots of traveling – whether by planes, trains, automobiles or other means. We asked our PBK parents to share their tips for keeping kids content during travel, so that everyone is well rested, excited to arrive at their family's destination and ready to share some good quality time with they people they love most.

  • Do a dry run at home.

    Before we leave, I play pretend airplane at home. I line up chairs like on a plane and I review all the flight instructions. Then I have each kid review all the travel safety information (seat belts secured low and tight, don't remove your seat belt during the flight, do not kick the chair of the person in front of you, know where the exit doors are located). It's really fun and they visualize the trip in their heads, so they know what to expect. If they are good passengers, I give them a treat.

    Nancy Guettier - Vice President of Visual Merchandising
    Mother of Genevieve (shown), 6 , Julian, 4, and Jude, 3

  • Make it easy for kids to sleep en route.

    I find success in taking late-night flights or first flight out in the morning. My kids board the plane and fall asleep very quickly. They will sleep the entire red-eye flight to the East Coast and have even slept the entire 13 1/2 hours to the South Pacific. When they were very young, I would pack their pajamas in my carry-on bag so they could change into their pj's in the airport. That was their signal that bedtime was approaching.

    Audrey Gerber - Vice President of Brand Marketing
    Mother of Robby, 13, and Gavin, 11

  • A well-fed child is more likely to be content.

    I try to make snacks fun and entertaining for my son. I use the bento box containers to pack different varieties of foods/snacks and make some into shapes using sandwich cutouts or make little sushi rice patties into an animal face.

    Marina Lee - Website Manager
    Mother of Max, 21 months

  • Make sure they have lots of en-route entertainment options.

    Our son has his own fully contained PBK luggage set, and at 6 years old he is responsible for hauling it around. He has his clothes in his Darth Vader suitcase, but in the backpack that he carries on it's a free-for-all. There are good old-fashioned games of old maid and crazy eights, sticker books and crayons – but then there are also leftover wiki sticks and a mini Etch A Sketch. The pièce de resistance is for sure the Nintendo DS with the 40-game SIM card ... now that is parent nirvana on an eight-hour flight to Madrid!

    Leigh Oshirak - Vice President, Public Relations and Marketing Communications
    Mother of Jack, 6