Traveling with Kids. Dude Approved Products.

Traveling with kids is rarely easy.

Our most recent adventure had us out of our house at 3am, on two planes, a shuttle bus, and a golf cart before we reached our final destination.

This is 3am Face…

We took it with us. Hooray!

Luckily, this particular adventure ended up at the happiest place on Earth (aka Disney World) and 3am Face was retired for our next adventure (which just so happened to occur when we returned home to lost luggage and two hours of rush hour traffic).

Now that The Dudes have officially graduated from top-of-the-lungs-screaming-I-will-get-you-stoned-if-you-don’t-nurse-me-this-entire-trip-and-then-give-me-Benadryl travel phase to complaining-about-everything-but-way-easier-to-ignore-and-scare-into-silence-with-The-Eye travel phase, things have gotten remarkably easier.

Everyone can carry their own bags.  No one needs to eat from me to survive.  They can take themselves to the bathroom and would be appalled if I tried to go in with them.  And, if they are really being a pain, I can request seats away from them on the plane and no one will call CPS on me because of it.

Score.

But, even at this age there are some things that just make traveling better. 

Here are a few of their top picks…

1.Travel Buddies Luggage . #3 LOVEs his.  And, funnily enough, he calls it Mike Wazowski (perhaps you see the resemblance?).  He’s taken it on all of his trips this summer.  He packs it and carries it himself.  And, dang it, it’s cute. 

2.  Monster N-Tune HD Headphones.  After trying numerous less awesome options we received these to review moments (literally) before we left on our Disney extravaganza.  I gifted them to #1 since he’s the most responsible oldest and has recently become a huge music fan.  He spends his free evenings walking around the house, headphones on, singing along to torture us the music (he’s lying if he says he doesn’t like Bieber).  His one issue: the headphones.  He has been complaining continuously about how much he hated the in-ear buds that came with the iPod.  They hurt, and they always fall out, and he can still hear his screaming brothers over the music when he uses them.  So, when the N-Tunes arrived, I figured vacation would be the perfect opportunity to test them out.  They pretty much solved all of his problems; they fit perfectly, are crazy comfortable, and the sound quality is amazing.  Best part: they have this share feature that made it so that #1 and #2 could watch a movie together, using one iPad, on the airplane.  No fighting over whose turn it was.  No timing them and dealing with one being bored while the other was taking a turn.  They just settled on a flick and then used the extra port in the N-Tune headphones for #2 to plug his headphones into #1 so they could listen together.  Total travel win.

3.  A tablet.  We are iPad lovers, but other brands make handy ones too.  Really can’t beat it for entertainment options.  Movies, games, books.  Everything to keep them entertained and quiet, aside from a few giggles at the funny parts.

4.  Safety Tat.  This is one we used tons when The Dudes were toddlers.  Temporary phone number tattoos.  In case you runaway from your child and then have a change of heart and want him back get separated on vacation.

5. Insulated lunch bag.  We can’t take drinks through security when we fly, but with one of these insulated bags we can pack fresh fruit and yogurt and string cheese and penicillin if you’re like us and you have to take it with you everywhere.  We never leave home without this thing and our handy dandy ice pack.  Because warm yogurt, gag.

I don’t have an insulated bag or an iPad to give you, but I am participating in a giveaway for the Monster N-Tune headphones!  They make a great gift for all of the music lovers and tweens who really just want to ignore you wholeheartedly in your life. To win your very own pair of N-Tune headphones (valued at $150), read all about the Monster headphones here and let me know in the comments of this post which color you prefer.  The comments on this post will be aggregated with the comments on the posts from the other bloggers participating in this review, and 25 pairs will be given away. This giveaway will close on Nov 1.

*We received the Monster N-Tune headphones free of charge to facilitate this review.  All opinions are #1’s, but he hates to write (for shame) so I did the dirty work for him.

**This giveaway is being hosted among a variety of other websites.  Each comment will be randomly entered to win one of the 25 headphones available for giveaway (ARV $125).  May the force be with you.