Packing Light with Kids. Is this even possible?

Are the 5 of you going to one place and staying there? Or are you going to be taking the train to more than one location? The more you move around, the more important packing light will be. And that means all of you need to do it.

Can you imagine trying to get all of you and lots of luggage on to or off of a train in about 3 minutes?

Our daughter was at the NATO base on Sicily with her husband for about 3 years. She traveled frequently alone with her daughter who was aged 3-6 during that time. She drove, flew or took the train, always packing light, even early on when she used a stroller for our grand daughter. One key was a severe limit on toys.

It can be done.

With a short trip of 10 days, there is the temptation to carry enough clothes to last. But with 5 of you, you could each pack for 5-6 days and do laundry by hand in the room at night. Or you could combine it all and have it done for you at a local laundry service or do it yourself at a laundromat.

At age 3 and older, my daughter carried a small child size backpack with most of her toys. (I always carried crayons and paper.) I am not a backpack person, but this is when I did use a full sized backpack and packed our clothes together. If I were you, I would add a smaller bag that would fit in the bottom of the stroller, if any space, with snacks, change of clothes, surprises, etc. Wear a crossbody purse for documents so easy access. The nice thing about little kids clothes is they are small and their summer clothes can wash out over night. This way your hands are free to round up or hold on to the children if necessary. Also, by age 6 my daughter was helping keep track of the bags, counting the bags, guarding the bags, etc. You can pack light allowing 15 minutes per evening to wash out clothes. They need more clothes than you, but not that many.

Smart to understand how important it is to pack light.. no matter what you will be rushing at some point ,, with kids and too much luggage would be a nightmare.

I think the key is to really just cut it all down to the bare bones. As said by Lo.. take clothes for 4-5 days and sink wash ( or launderette) . Kids clothes are small.. so they don't take up tons of space.
One good fleece and one light rain shell for each kid.
Avoid more than one pair of jeans. they are heavy, bulky and impossible to sink wash.. plus when wet they stay wet.. they take up too much room in suitcases. If children are girls you are in luck.. as leggings take so much less room and weight up .. but if they are boys.. you likely will have to bring at least one pair of jeans ( which unless they pee in them , they can wear them 3-4 times easy between wash) and maybe a few of those silky type sweat pants.. and of course a pair of shorts .

One pair of sturdy running type shoes on each kids feet.. and one pair of sandals( comfortable walking type) in suitcase. Same for you.

PS .. yes it can be done ( I had three under six.. lol )

Also.. bring a small baggie with a few of any medication you would normally give your child at home... yes they have it all in Switzerland too.. but try finding a drug store open at 1 am when little so and so decides to spike a random fever..

Yes, you can pack light with kids!

Push the stroller and have a backpack luggage is easiest - rolling a suitcase while pushing a stroller is tough. It's fine in airports and short distances, but if you will be walking any bigger distance with all your stuff it could be a hassle.

Of course, many 6 year olds can roll a small suitcase if needed and many want to do so to help. Alternatively, the 6 year old can have asmall backpack with a few things to help out.

There are handbags that clip on to a stroller - that could be good for carryon/day bag.

Clothing - mix and match, and plan to do laundry. I bring 10 clothing items per kid (4 pants or shorts, 6 tops) plus socks, underwear, and a jacket. Kids clothes are small - to wash you can put the item in a big ziplock, add water and detergent or shampoo, shake and knead to wash, rinse in sink, squeeze with towel, and hang. Will dry very quickly.

They will want toys/entertainment. I use an extra large ziplock for paper, crayons, books, and small toys. Then I have several kids movies on my iPad.

Snacks can be found where ever you are, unless there are food restrictions. I bring a few granola bars on the plane, then buy a little bit once I get there to keep in the hotel room. We try to eat that before moving to the next hotel, repeat.

You need less than you think! And 3 is towards the end of stroller years. Next trip will be even easier without the stroller! I remember being thrilled to not need mine anymore.

Took my 6 year old granddaughter to Switzerland last June! She agreed not to bring toys from home, as there would be souvenirs to buy! She watched movies on the plane, never played with paper or crayons. She played games on our electronics too. I brought a deck of cards, those were played with on plane, trains, in our hotel. She carried a backpack. I also suggested that her rolling suitcase be an adult size. That way the handle was reachable in case we had to help, saving our backs from bending to much to reach a shorter handle.

And if Grandma and Grandpa pack light, they can fit some of the kids' stuff in their bags. Luckily the kids won't be worried about dressing right to look like locals.

We've recently traveled with a 4 year old. He loved his new rolling 19" suitcase and by not packing toys was able to get his clothes for a week and most of his 1 year old sister's clothes into the rolling bag he pulled. The handle was a comfortable enough height that an adult could help him if the going got rough. It's a good thing you are going in July as summer clothes for little kids don't take up much room. Your 3 year old might be the keeper of the kid sized backpack. I'm sure they'll both like to participate in helping with the trip.

I am the opposite of Mira--I dread when they outgrow the stroller! They ride as long as possible. Even the 3-6 y/o's get tired, walk slowly, stop to look at fun things, bugs, etc. An E-Z fold stroller is a lifesaver. If a kid resists, you can call it a spaceship/chariot/Cinderella's carriage/sportscar to entice him in. My SIL said he liked traveling with a stroller because he when the kids are walking around, the stroller becomes a luggage cart!

Love the idea of using a small adult wheeled suitcase for kids (19") instead of kids luggage. So much more practical.

Happy travels!

If you do shop for a smaller sized suitcase for a young person, be sure the handle locks in two positions and doesn't just extend all the way out which would be too awkward for a little kid.

Buy some ebags (or other brand) classic packing cubes in different colors, one color per family member. These can really help to organize a suitcase, compact contents, and make packing much easier. Then, take ONLY what you and the kids absolutely need to travel. You will probably need a larger suitcase. My child had her own 20" rolling case at age two. The 6 year old can definitely handle a suitcase. Practice packing and have your 6 year old walk down a street with the case and see how it goes.

Rick's new ravenna suitcase has a two position handle....just sayin'

Use packing cubes and bring 3 pairs of shorts, 1 pair of pants, 5 t-shirts and 1 long sleeve shirt, 2 pjs and 5 pairs of underwear and socks per child. No toys beyond what can fit in a child size backpack. Your 6 year old can carry the backpack. Hopefully the 3 year old is potty trained and you do not need to worry about diapers or pull ups. As a previous poster mentioned, bing any and all medication that you might give them at home

What may trip you up is the potential need to bring car seats. Gate check your stroller so that it is ready to go when you land

Have fun!

I agree with Sharon! The 6-yo can carry a small backpack with clothes/toys. That frees up your backpack for the 3yo clothes and your own, and all the other necessities.

When my kids were small I got 2 packing cubes in different colors (blue, red). Each kid had a color, and they still do (even the school file for each kid is color-coded) now that they're teens. At a glance we know whose stuff is whose.

I'd advocate for at least 5 outfits, but perhaps more. My boys could go through 2-3 outfits a day sometimes, depending on travel, mud, and ice cream conditions. It would be a bummer to spend a whole vacation washing laundry.

I agree with the 5 outfits...but don't think in terms of outfits. My son usually has 5 pairs of blue or gray pants or shorts and 5 shirts that match blue and gray. So there's none of that brown-pants-are-dirty-but-only-clean-top-is-brown stuff. If you have one clean shirt and one clean pant, you have an outfit :)

My kids and I all share ONE personal carryon that contains iPads, iPods, few very small games and stuffed animal. The personal carryon has wheels and fits under the seat. My daughters share a regular carryon containing cloths and my husband and I each have our own carry on containing cloths.

I use to let my daughters have their own personal carryon but at some point in time I always ended up carrying their stuff either because they were tired or it was difficult for them to navagate a crowded airport or train station. You might want to keep that in mind. I got a lot of advice that kids could carry their own small bag or small wheeled carryon but that was still a lot of bags we had to keep track of.

With our system we have 4 bags total between the 4 of us. Sometime we have an extra lunch/cooler bag depending on how we're traveling.