Products You Need to Travel with Young Kids

*Disclaimer: We are not receiving any money for recommending these products. These are all items we have personally used and love.*

1. PeaPod Travel Bed

If you’ve never heard of a PeaPod, you are not alone! I hadn’t heard of it, either, until a friend recommended it to me. It’s basically a small tent for a child to sleep in. Our sweet Sunday School class bought it for us before we moved to Thailand, and X sleeps in it for every nap and night. What I love about it:

a) It folds up very small so that it fits inside our suitcase when we’re traveling. It’s also very lightweight so it doesn’t add much to your suitcase total.

b) It has netting on the ends for “windows” and on the entrance, which is a great mosquito deterrent. If you live or travel in areas where mosquitos are prevalent, this is a life-saver! You can choose to cover the mesh with the nylon covering if it’s cold or wet, too.

c) The zipper can be left open or you can zip it closed. With our older kids we had a small cot that we took with us when we had sleepovers with family. However, the open sides made me nervous, especially if I wasn’t in the room while they were sleeping. We always zip the PeaPod closed so that he can’t roll out (but he has now figured out how to unzip it and escape!).

2. Tula Baby Carrier

I had heard people rave about Tulas for years, but never made the leap to purchase one until we decided to move to Thailand (our Sunday School class also tried to purchase one for us, but that’s a funny story for another time). We had a cheap baby carrier with our older two kids, and I hated it. It was hard for me to put on by myself, and I never felt like the baby was totally secure. Our kids were not big fans of it, either, so after awhile we just stopped using it. The price of a Tula scared me away for awhile, and I looked into lots of other options. However, since our “baby” was almost one year old and we were going to be using the carrier a lot in Southeast Asia, we finally decided to bite the bullet.

What I love about it:

1. It’s very comfortable. I can wear it for long periods of time without feeling like it’s pulling on my shoulders or neck. I can wear a 28-pound toddler while hiking a mountain and really not feel like it’s much extra weight. X enjoys riding in it, too, and rarely fusses while in it.
2. It’s very versatile. When X was smaller, I wore him on my front a lot because it made him feel more secure. Now that he’s bigger, he rides on my back. Switching from front to back carry is easy, and can be done quickly without having to refasten a bunch of clips. Scott can use it too, and adjust to his size with minimal changes.
3. It folds very easily. We usually fold it up and put it in our backpack when we’re out for the day, and since it’s very lightweight and small it’s no problem at all to carry it around when we’re not using it.
4. It washes easily. After we inevitably spill something on it, or we get caught in the rain, we can just throw it in the washing machine and it comes out looking great.

3. Luggage Scale

This is something I actually bought before I took a group of students to Costa Rica a few years ago, but it has also been really handy while traveling as a family. It’s a very small device that clips to your luggage, then you lift the device and the luggage off the ground to weigh it. Ours is very accurate and saves us a lot of hoping and crossing of fingers that our bags are not overweight. This is especially handy since we always travel with at least two suitcases and multiple carry-ons. No surprise fees at the airport is a win in my book!

4. Crocs

If you’re like me, you might be surprised by this item. I had always thought of crocs as unstylish and plain. These things may still be true, but they are a lifesaver during rainy season. We have purchased both name-brand Crocs and off-brand ones, and both work fine.

What I love about them:

1. They are easy to slip on and off. In Thailand, most people do not wear shoes inside the house, and some places of business request that you leave your shoes at the door (in fact, I spend most of my workday barefoot!). Thus, we take our shoes off and put them back on a lot. The crocs are great because the kids can just toss them off their feet, and we don’t have to deal with tying and untying shoelaces.
2. They dry out easily. During rainy season, it rains every day. It’s impossible to avoid water when you’re outside of the house, even when it’s not raining, so having shoes that dry easily is a necessity. Scott and I wear Chacos a lot, but they were too expensive to justify spending money on for kids who would only be able to wear them for a few months before they outgrew them. Five-dollar off-brand crocs work great, though!
3. They are easy to clean. Since the shoes are just a solid piece of hard rubber-like material, they are easy to clean off when one of the children steps in mud or other unwanted street mess. Just rinse them off and stick them outside. Easy peasy!

5. Totseat

This is one of my best-ever Pinterest finds! The Totseat was recommended by another mom who lives abroad, and it is amazing! It’s basically a highchair that can conform to any type of chair.

What I love about it:

1. It’s portable. The Totseat comes with its own carrying bag, and folds up to about the size of a small notebook. We throw it in our backpack and take it everywhere!
2. It fits *almost* any type of chair. Since it is just a large piece of fabric with attached clips, it can adjust to any height or width of chair. (The exception is chairs that are really wide, like an outdoor wicker chair.) Not every restaurant in Thailand has baby chairs, so it’s great to have one that we can just use with the provided chairs anywhere we go.
3. It cleans easily. You can imagine how much food gets wiped or dropped on this thing; however, we just put it in the washing machine and it comes out clean every time!

6. Ponchos

Since it rains about five months out of the year here, rain gear is an absolute necessity. During rainy season, we carry our rain jackets and ponchos everywhere. Rainy season is also pretty hot, though, so I wanted to find rain gear that wouldn’t overheat the kids. Enter Wildkin ponchos!

What I love about them:

1. They fold up really small and can form their own carrying pouch. I also have a rain jacket that is supposed to fold up into its own pouch, but for the life of me I can never get it to work. The kids’ ponchos, though, really do fold up neatly and easily, and it is a lifesaver! The pouch also has a little velcro loop on the end so you can clip it to your belt loop if necessary.
2. The sides are open, but don’t allow water in. The sides can be left completely open, or you can velcro them in one place. I was skeptical that it would actually keep water out since it is just one velcro spot, but it seems to keep water out nicely. It’s also nice because it allows their body heat to be released without letting the water in.
3. They come in lots of cute patterns! Okay, so this wasn’t really a high priority when I was looking at ponchos, but I was surprised by how many colors and patterns you can buy these in. We got a leopard print for E and a dinosaur print for B, and they LOVE them!

7. Reusable Swim Diaper

This is an item that I just happened to come across one day while I was surfing Zulilly. I had never even considered a reusable swim diaper before, but I am glad we have it!

What I love about it:

1. It can be used many times in the same trip (obviously, it’s reusable!). It’s been really nice, especially when traveling to various countries, to not have to pack a certain number of swim diapers or have to search for some in local stores.
2. It cleans really easily. I have hand-washed it in a sink and put it in a washing machine, and it comes out nice and clean every time.
3. It contains its contents nicely. I was rather concerned that it wouldn’t actually contain the most important deposits, but it does that very well! We haven’t had any leaks or accidents so far.

8. Norwex Towels

These towels would be useful whether or not you are traveling with children, but they've been especially nice to have since we travel as a group of five. If you're not familiar with Norwex, it is a company that creates products which reduce a person's dependence on chemical cleaning products. These body towels are awesome because they are thin (made out of microfiber-type material), dry very quickly, and small enough to easily fit five in a suitcase. We have taken them with us to hostels (where you have to bring your own towels), to go swimming, and use them every day at our own house. Since they have some anti-bacterial woven into the fabric, you can go a few days without washing them, which is also crucial when you're traveling.

9. Epic Subscription

While this technically isn’t an item, it’s easily one of our most-used purchases in Thailand. Epic is an app that we use on our iPad, which has e-books and educational videos. This has been really key for us because our kids love to read, but it takes up a lot of space (and weight) to carry books all over the place. You can use it while connected to wifi or download books to read while you’re offline. Definitely a big part of our homeschool curriculum!

The First Seven Months

We have been living in Thailand now for seven months and we recently had the 100th day of homeschool for E and B. For better or worse, I am not one to typically log my experiences and feelings, hence Katie usually handles these blog posts. Yet, this seems like a natural time to do some reflection over the past half-year in the entirely new role as teacher-dad and primary caregiver to our three kids.

Making Venn diagrams to compare houses in the US and Thailand

Among all the transitions of packing up our possessions, selling our house, and moving over 8,000 miles from West Central Indiana to Northern Thailand, the transition from "working Dad" to "stay-at-home Dad" has been the biggest transition for me personally. Before we came, I struggled a bit with my own perception that I wouldn't officially be "doing anything". We as a family are passionately committed to the work done by the IJM staff in seeking justice for the oppressed. God has uniquely gifted Katie to improve communications and break down language barriers for the Thai-speaking staff. My own self-centered and works-based struggle was focused on the question of what I would do. What great stories would I be able to share back home? How would I make a difference? – Did you notice how all of those questions aren't primarily focused on God, or the oppressed, or justice at all? -- I sure didn’t. At least, not at first. Thankfully, God has been gracious and patient with my short-sighted self-absorption. He has been faithful in showing me my desperate need for humility; to serve in the background and trust Him to bring fruit from the labor for His people and for His glory. And in what will be no surprise to many of the stay-at-home parents/at-home educators reading this, though I have no “official” role in serving with IJM in Thailand, I am certainly busier now than I was in my role as breadwinner and night-and-weekends dad back in the States. Busier, but enjoying the blessing of time with our children and (my hope in prayer) learning to serve more humbly and parent more patiently.

The kids and I have been genuinely enjoying the international homeschool experience. While homeschooling was never something Katie and I considered for the kids back home in Indiana, it absolutely makes the most sense for us during this season of our lives in Thailand. I can’t go any further in this post without pausing to thank Denise Schwartz who organized the foundation of E’s curriculum, took time to share with me her years of homeschooling wisdom before we left, and has offered much encouragement to me along the way. Thank you for your support and your example.

On a typical day, the kids and I take the cool mornings to play outside, hit the market, join the IJM prayer meetings, or explore the city. Some of our favorite morning “field trips” are visiting one of the handful of small local zoos and running around the canal at the local exercise park. After lunch I put X down for a nap and E & B get started on the day’s work. We start the day reading through a chapter of the Bible and working through memory verses. It has been such a blessing for me personally to have an intentional, everyday time set aside to read with the kids and watch them get excited about hiding scripture in their hearts. It has also been incredibly fun for me to watch E & B learn and grow. E is quickly developing math skills and absolutely devours each and every book, fact, or bit of information I can come up with to give her. B has been such a pleasant surprise as a 4-year-old, diligently sitting beside his sister at the kitchen table every day, without complaint, to practice writing his letters and numbers and taking steps toward reading.

B working on his letters

We have also enjoyed being a part of a weekly English-speaking homeschool co-op at a local church here in Chiang Mai. Every Monday morning about 70 kids, ages nursery up to high school, get together for three hours of parent-taught courses. Our kids have made several new friends in their co-op classes. I have enjoyed the opportunity to teach older kids while helping to teach an upper elementary/middle school computer programming class and a beginner guitar class, and being the lead instructor to a high school introduction to engineering course.

Bamboo balance beam at co-op

 In sum, our first 7 months in Thailand have been incredibly rewarding for me personally. I get to encourage an amazing wife who works hard each day to support the work of freedom and justice for the marginalized of Southeast Asia. I am spending an abundance of time with our three kids, watching them grow and learn about a world much bigger than themselves. And perhaps most of all, I have felt the graciousness of God in his provision of the support He knew I would need, and in teaching me that an office and a job title aren’t necessary to be used, refined, and blessed by Him.

Scott