Traveling with kids or a baby: packing and planning

Traveling with a child means three things change: what goes in the bag you carry, what you need on paper, and how much you plan into a day. Pack a full change of clothes and comfort items for each child in your carry-on, note each child's documents under their own name, and plan fewer things earlier in the day.

This is for a family flying or driving for a few days to a week, with a baby, toddler or school-age child. It can't tell you an airline's rules for a lap infant, car seats on board or what a country requires for a child's entry, so those you confirm at the source.

Example: the bag you carry, by age

An illustration, not a complete list. Scale it to the child and to how long the trip really is.

The bag that has to stay with you

Say your flight is delayed two hours at the gate, and your toddler has just thrown a full cup of juice down her shirt. Everything she needs is in the suitcase you checked. That's the whole reason for the rule that follows: a change of clothes for each child, and the things you'd need for an unplanned extra night, go in the bag you carry, never the one you check.

Per child, in the bag you carry

Formula, milk, gear and security

TSA treats these differently from ordinary liquids. Formula, breast milk, toddler drinks and baby food, including pouches, are allowed in your carry-on in amounts greater than 3.4 ounces (100 milliliters), and they don't have to fit in the quart-size bag. Tell the officer you have them at the start, and take them out of the bag for separate screening. Ice packs, freezer packs, gel packs and liquid-filled teethers are allowed too, and you don't need your child with you to bring these things. Children 12 and younger receive modified screening, and children aren't separated from their parent or guardian. Strollers, car seats, booster seats and baby carriers go through the X-ray machine, and you can put small items in a stroller pocket or on the belt.

Paperwork, per child

List each child's documents under their own name, and note where each one is kept. Children under 18 don't need ID for a domestic flight in the United States, according to TSA, but a trip abroad is different: each child generally needs their own passport, and entry rules for minors, including permission letters when one parent travels alone, vary by country. Confirm those with the State Department and the destination's official entry page. Airline rules for a lap infant, and for bringing a car seat on board, differ by airline, so read your airline's page before you go. The travel document checklist shows what to record for each traveler.

Pace: a day with room for a bad one

• Plan fewer things, and plan them earlier in the day, before naps and hunger.
• Leave one gap in each day, and one day in the trip with nothing in it.
• Decide what you'll drop first if the day goes badly, before it does.
• Build in travel time for the trip itself: a slow security line, a stroller to fold, a diaper to change.
• For a drive, plan stops around the child, not the map. See the road trip planning checklist.

What can go wrong

• Packing everything for the child and nothing extra for yourself. A spare shirt is worth its space.
• Putting the only stroller, formula or diapers in a checked bag.
• A packed day with no slack. One missed nap can take out the afternoon.
• Assuming a rule you've heard is current. Airline and country rules for children change, and only the official page is up to date.
• One adult holding every child's papers with no note of where they are.

Related guides

For the method these lists build on, see packing list for a week away. If space is tight, the carry-on only list starts with the bag. For a group, see how to plan a group trip.

What the Companion does with this

In Travel Companion you add each person who's traveling and can mark someone as a child. Two starting packing lists, Children and A baby, then add items for each child you've recorded: seven items per child plus two shared for Children, and seven per child plus three shared for A baby. Nothing is added until you press the button, and you can remove or change any of it. Two limits: the starter wording uses UK words, such as Nappies, Muslin cloths, Pram or buggy and Baby sleeping bag, so change those. And each person can carry a private note of requirements, but the app doesn't share anything with anyone. See the Travel Companion page.

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