Traveling With Kids: Packing Your Kids’ Toiletry Kit

You probably have your own toiletry kit that you keep packed for travel (if not, I strongly recommend one that hangs, so you can hang it up high, out of kiddos’ reach). But do you also have a separate one for your littlest travelers? Keeping one packed, and reviewing its contents before each trip, is loads easier than starting from scratch each time.This is how I pack my kids’ toiletry kit for travel:

Things to Consider When Packing Your Kids’ Toiletry Kit

My kiddos actually have two travel toiletry kits. One contains their standard toiletries (toothbrushes, soaps, shampoos, etc.). The other is just for meds (ibuprofen, Essie’s prescription eczema creams and diaper-rash creams, etc.). And of course the travel thermometer. I cannot tell you how many times we’ve needed to use one in the middle of a road-trip, or while stuck in an airport waiting on a delayed flight!

My kids’ basic travel toiletry kit is a tiny hanging one from Samsonite. Even though it’s small, its various pockets and elastic straps hold tons of stuff, from their various shampoos and soaps to hair accessories, nail files and clippers, and a Neutrogena sunscreen stick.

Depending on the nature of your kids and the trip, you may also want to break your kiddos’ toiletry kit up into two smaller containers: one you can pack in your luggage (the lotion, baby shampoo, nail clipper, etc.), and one to keep handy while in the car or on the plane.

What sorts of travel meds should I carry when traveling with my infant/toddler?

That second travel toiletry kit – the one you keep with you at all times, vs. buried in your car’s trunk or in checked luggage – should include

• a thermometer and probe covers,
• any prescription meds your child takes,
• several medicine syringes or medicine cups,
• a snack-sized ziptop bag to put dirty medicine cups/syringes in until you can wash them,
• and small bottles of whatever other medicines or first-aid items your child might need.

For us, that list includes

• a travel-sized container of concentrated acetaminophen or ibuprofen drops,
• a small bottle of diphenhydramine for allergies,
• and sample-sized tubes of Essie’s prescription-strength eczema creams from her doctor.

When we were traveling with an infant, the contents also included

• teething gel,
• a small bottle of saline drops and bulb syringe,
• bottles of prescription medicine for thrush and reflux,
• and Vitamin D drops.

Other Tips for Packing Your Kids’ Toiletry Kit:

If your child uses anything out of the ordinary on a doctor’s recommendation, such as a special lotion, shampoo, diaper cream, or body wash, ask your child’s doctor for sample-sized containers before your trip.

Consider also asking for current paper copies of any regular prescriptions to take with you, in case the journey triggers an episode of that recurrent allergic reaction or infection or what-have-you. In Essie’s case, switching from cloth diapers to disposables for travel almost always generates a yeast infection, staph infection, or both in her diaper area. If I forget to pack the appropriate prescription creams to treat these conditions, you better believe I’m gonna need to call our pediatrician and have a copy sent to wherever we are.

Little Remedies sells a nice set of sample sizes of their products (one of my favorite things to give new parents at a baby shower), which is a good starting point for little containers of baby meds that are travel-ready.

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So if you anticipate traveling over the holidays to visit far-away relatives, now’s a good time to pack up a travel toiletry kit for your little one(s), and perhaps a separate travel-sized collection of meds and first-aid items. A small investment of time now will pay off for years to come, in time saved before future family vacations.

Do you keep a travel toiletry kit (or two) packed and ready to go for your kiddos? What things do you include that I didn’t mention? Let us know in the comments!

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