Sensory travel tools are worth a shot, because I feel like the challenge of traveling with kids is one of those life experiences that you don’t understand until you do it for yourself. I can at least speak for myself and say that a 9 hour car ride in the backseat with my 4 month old baby changed me 😅
Depending on your personality type, the actual act of traveling itself might feel like no big deal, or it might get you stressed just thinking about it 😳 There’s figuring out what clothes you need (or might possibly need. #chronicoverpackersunite), making sure you have enough snacks to manage your blood sugar levels and prevent hangry episodes, things to entertain yourself with on the trip…
But traveling with kids. That’s next level. Because now you have to use your fortune telling skills to try to anticipate someone *elses’s* needs on a trip. What snacks will they want, what activities will keep them entertained [I, for example, never expected a 1 L water bottle to be the MVP of road trips, but I periodically remind my husband to not throw it out because it has proved its worth in gold multiple times no2w], what clothes will be comfy for them to travel in. So let me first give some general sensory tips to consider for traveling, and then I’ll share some sensory tools that can be useful for family trips.
Structure The Trip to Meet Sensory Needs
- Let your child decide what clothes to wear. Obviously if you are dressing all your kids in a certain color so you can easily identify them, stick with the plan. But make sure it’s something they’re comfy in.
- Make sure to have good meals and have plenty of snacks! I think this is something that most parents know, but I think we can sometimes get so stressed by trying to get all of our stuff and all of the people through security/in the car/on the train etc etc in time and your child starts having a meltdown when you realize, “Oooh. We haven’t eaten since breakfast 4 hours ago.” 😳
- Speaking of snacks…Especially if your child likes crunchy or chewy snacks, make sure to pack some for some good, calming oral motor input. Just be mindful of snacks that could be a choking hazard while they’re eating in the car. Another great way to fit in some oral motor input while traveling is using water bottles with straws.
- Consider playing music with a heavy beat for kids who get carsick/motion sickness. Music is a very powerful sensory tool. And if your little one (or big one) gets motion sickness? Often times music with a very grounding, heavy beat (like reggae, reggaeton, rap, country) can be very calming and help them to feel more connected to their body (when they feel disconnected is part of how motion sickness happens).
- Be prepared to take breaks where they can move around. As best as you’re able, allowing your child to climb around for 10 minutes at a rest stop, get some spins in or walk or crawl up or down the aisle on a plane…little kids’ (particularly sensory kids’) brains are wired for movement so they crave it, and get a little more grouchy, hyper, emotional, etc. when they don’t get it.
Now onto the tools…some are very simple and very old school (which I’m a fan of.) I very much subscribe to the idea that you don’t need to spend a bunch of money to meet a child’s sensory needs. *However* I’m also going to include some fun/nifty/unique items that I think are worth getting if you are interested in them.
- Pom poms. I said old school, right? These little guys are great because they’re quite portable (can stick them in a pocket, purse, backpack…) and they’re a great physical/tangible tool if you want to get some breaths in. Taking calming breaths rarely works for many of the sensory kids I know. A lot of sensory kids really require hands on tools for learning, and trying to breathe requires a lot of body awareness that many just don’t have. But if you add a pom pom to the mix, you might get some breaths! Blow them across the tray on an airplane for self regulation, or just some fun 🙂
- Bubbles: For the same reasons as pom poms…you can get some breaths in using a prop if your child can blow from the bubble wand. Alternatively, these are great for kids who like visually interesting things. Speaking of which…
- Sand or gel timers: These are great for kids who love visually captivating things. They can be used to actually track time or to just watch the sand or gel trickle down. They’re nice and portable also, which makes them a great sensory travel tool.
- Wacky Track Fidgets: These are a nice, travel-sized heavy work activity for your child’s hands. Heavy work is generally calming for everyone. Using your hands to work against resistance can fit in some nice heavy work, and these links that click when you snap and manipulate them can work that in to your child’s travel time.
- Floam: Obviously most textured sensory mediums are way too messy to take on trips, but I think Floam is worth a shot for a sensory travel item. The texture is kind of like a non-edible version of rice crispy treats. It pulls and pushes apart and has a slightly sticky aspect to it. You can squish it up and easily form it into shapes for sculpting etc, or just use it like a stress ball and squish to your heart’s desire. It’s not crumbly like kinetic sand and it shouldn’t squish into things like carpets etc.
- Squigz: What’s a sensory toys/tools list without Squigz? Just kidding–kind of. These are just fun and intriguing. They also provide some of that heavy work for your hands I mentioned with the Wacky Track Fidgets. They stick onto basically anything, and the hard work of pulling them apart is fun and can use up some energy. The standard size ones are kind of big to take many of on a plane, but they also have mini ones available. These might be best suited for slightly older kids (manufacturer info says 5 years old) because they could be too hard for little hands to pull.
- Noise cancelling earbuds/headphones: These are a great tool to have on hand for kids who get easily overstimulated by noises. The noise deafening are great for children [or parents] who want to still participate in convos but just need things to be toned down a bit.
- Headphones for music: Alternatively, you might have a child who really is soothed by music, so having their own set of headphones to listen to music while traveling can be supremely helpful. Work with your child to decide if ear buds or over ear headphones are best.
- Eye mask: this may be my personal bias, because I am *very* sensitive to light. But if you’re traveling (particularly on a plane or train) during times when your child might need to sleep and they’re sensitive to light, an eye mask might help them a bit. It is also useful to have in the event that wherever you’re staying is brighter than home and your child struggles to fall asleep that way.
- Snack box: This is part sensory but also part fun and motor. This is just a fun way to expand the time your child takes to work through all those yummy snacks you packed.