preparing for a day trip with littles – my segment on Kare11 Today

Updated 10:00pm 5/16 – Here is the video of the segment today if you weren’t able to tune in!

Hi there. New here? It’s nice to meet you!

I’m Allison and I write about parenting and life in the Twin Cities with my husband and our two (very) little boys on O My Family. We touch on a little bit of everything around here… postpartum depression and kitchen remodels, running half marathons and wearing my babies (but not at the same time).

{Please appreciate how willing my 2-almost-3-year-old is to do anything to make people laugh, including but not limited to gooftastic smiles in otherwise idillic family pictures. Sigh.}

You might have caught a glimpse of me today on the Twin Cities’ Kare11 Today show (at about 11 am if it hasn’t happened yet) talking about how I prepare for a day trip with our young family. I have included all of the information here that I talked about in my interview, and then some. I hope you’ll find what you’re looking for and please – if you don’t, ask! You’ll find that readers who stop by my little corner of the interwebs here are, to me, friends I just haven’t met yet.

:: a day out with the family – must-haves for a day trip with small children ::

Planning ahead for your day trip is so important. I like to play the day out in my head, picturing different scenarios we might encounter – what and when we will eat, how the weather will impact us, etc. I then choose how I want to prepare for the day based on those situations – e.g. extra bug spray for if we stay out until dusk, extra water if we won’t have access to refills. Each trip will be unique in this regard, so be sure to tak the time to think through the day’s events.

• Hand sanitizer – Pretty self-explanatory.
• Camelback Kids Bottle – Want to keep healthy? Keep hydrated. I love these bottles for my kids because they have a lot more volume to them than a usual non-spill cup and are easy enough for even my one year old to know how to use.
• BabyGanics Cleansing Washcloths – These are disposable washcloths that you only need water to use. Great for extra dirty hands before meals or for an end of the day clean up of a (happy) messy little kiddo.
• BabySilk Sunscreen – I would like to personally hug the inventor of sunscreen wipes. Sure, we left the goop stuff in the dust a while ago when someone came up with a spray bottle application, but have you ever asked a one year old toddler to “sit still while I spray this all over you?” Clever, clever people those sunscreen wipe inventors.
• NurtureMe Dried Organic Baby Food – I especially love this for longer hikes with littles or situations where carrying minimum weight is ideal. These are pouches of dried baby food that you add water to and reconstitute. Much lighter than food jars and fantastic ingredients (this one contains “organic apples”).
• Medifast Medibites – Remembering to keep Mom and Dad well nourished is paramount to a good family day trip. Medifast has a whole line of high-protein snacks that give me enough energy to make it though long days with the boys. And a large (…or ‘small’?) bonus, on the Medifast nursing mother’s program I have currently lost 30lbs!

For littles with allergies (my oldest has seasonal allergies that can be the pits) I can’t stress enough the importance of planning ahead. For food allergies, pack enough snacks to supplement for any questionable options that might be available, and talk to your child about what the day may hold as it relates to their food allergies. A MedicalID Bracelet may be something to look into if your child has severe reactions.

In the case of seasonal allergies, make sure your child or children are current on any doses of allergy medication they may take. If you have a go-to over the counter treatment, be sure to bring it along with you. One product that may help too is Maty’s All-Natural Cough Syrup which, although labeled as a cough syrup, can help with many respiratory issues. It is essentially buckwheat honey and treats throat and breathing problems for children over one.

I hope you are able to plan a memorable day trip with your little ones and that these tips help keep everyone happy and healthy!