Have Nap, Will Travel

Planning Trips Around Your Child's Nap Schedule

By Lisa A. Goldstein

Traveling is stressful enough. Add a child with a nap schedule to the mix, and Excedrin is needed just thinking about it. But this isn't necessarily a recipe for disaster. Believe it or not, it's possible to venture beyond the confines of your hotel room, say parenting professionals and moms who have been there.

It all begins with the planning, says Christine D'Amico, 38, a life transition coach in Minneapolis who covers parenting challenges. "The first thing I remind [my clients] is that they know their child the best," she says. "Think carefully about the trip you are planning and how to make it work best given your child's unique personality as well as what you want from the trip."

It's also important to be realistic about the kind of trip you plan. D'Amico recommends thinking carefully about where to stay and how your partner feels about your child crying there. She learned this the hard way. Since her oldest child, now 5, was 6 months old, D'Amico has been going to Hawaii every year.

"I didn't know that my husband was very concerned about our baby crying and disturbing others in the hotels and bed and breakfasts we stayed at for our first trip with our son when he was 6 months old," D'Amico says. "So if our son made a peep, one of us was leaping out of bed and trying to quiet him and get him back to sleep. It was very stressful and left us both exhausted and without enough sleep. Plus, it made for some bad sleep habits in our son we had to break when we got home. Even now with our older children, my husband is concerned where our older children yell in our hotel room. We have learned that it is good to find a place to stay that is as kid oriented as possible so

Want to see more?

• Travels and Tribulations: Surviving Travel With Small Children
• Kids Wanted: How to Find a Child-Friendly Hotel
• Parents' Essential Packing Guide: What to Pack When Traveling With Children
• Flying With Babies and Toddlers
• Talk about it!