Family Travel: Traveling with Toddlers
Traveling as a family is not always an easy task. Whether it’s flying across the country or taking a road trip, toddlers have a hard time keeping their energy confined to a small space. While there’s no simple solution for plane delays or small seats, parents can make a world of difference by incorporating activity and healthy food into travel. Eating fast food on the road may seem convenient, but for growing children, these meals won’t provide much-needed nutrition and energy to last the trip. For road trips, you can bring fresh fruit and snacks in the car. Traveling by plane is a little trickier with strict security on fruits and vegetables.
One option for younger kids to eat on the road could be pureed fruit and vegetables from Sprout foods. They have 3.17 ounce pouches of stage 1 pureed fruit and vegetable recipes that can be brought through security, if traveling by plane. The pouches are re-sealable, so your little one can snack at their leisure. Sprouts foods has some additional tips on ways to incorporate fun and food into your family travels:
1. Bring a variety of flavors so your toddler can decide what to eat. Toddlers love being independent and being able to choose their favorite snack allows them to be in charge and eat what they like from a variety of healthy choices.
2. Eat the rainbow. For a long travel day, challenge your little one to eat a food of each color of the rainbow. Bring along crayons so they can draw the healthy colorful snacks they’ve eaten throughout the day.
3. No-mess art projects. The portable DVD player will only keep your child occupied for so long and will actually make them more restless. Keep them busy and active by bringing along some clay in a variety of colors. Creating with their hands and having quality attention from mom and dad will be a treat for your toddler.
4. Help your toddler learn a more complicated card game. Teach them to play Uno or Slap Jack on the plane. These games are trickier to learn and there’s plenty of time while sitting in the car or waiting for a plane.
5. Fun geography. Whether you’re flying over or driving through, kids love learning about new places and saying that they’ve been to ‘new states’. Print out a blank map and let your child color in the state they’ve seen or visited.
Sprout Baby Food’s mission is simple: provide babies and toddlers, and the parents who feed them, with fresh and delicious whole foods that encourage happy and healthy eating. Founded in 2009, the entire product line is organic and features dishes and recipes created by renowned chef Tyler Florence, a 15-year Food Network veteran, author and father of three and one of Sprout Food’s founders. Using unique cooking methods and seasoning the recipes with gentle, beneficial herbs and spices, Florence has created tasty, unique, nutritious combinations that babies and toddlers – and their parents – love. For more information, and to see the complete Sprout Food product line, please visit: http://www.sproutbabyfood.com/index.php.
