Like clockwork, the night before we are heading out of town I hear the, “Mom, I have a sore throat.” Given that I have four kids, aka mini petri dishes, it’s not uncommon for one of them to be sick, or brewing some sickness at all times.

Over the years, we’ve discovered that being prepared and having a plan of action saves both time and worry while traveling with kids.

This was our first international trip with our son and it was a big one. We traveled from Seattle, WA all the way to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania with a layover in Amsterdam. Two 10-hour flights and a 3-hour layover. Friends thought we were crazy. Maybe we were. But we made it and had a great flight and trip!

Here are the most impactful and important …

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past couple of years (and for the sake of argument, let’s assume you haven’t), you know that iPhones and iPads are the best thing to happen to traveling parents since portable DVD players.

If you have one, lucky you!

Now all you need are a handful of high quality apps with good replay value to keep your kids busy and happy while traveling. Don’t have time to slog through the entire iTunes App Store looking for them? Here are a few of my favorites.

Paris can be rainy. When traveling with a baby or toddler, it’s wise to have a list of indoor activities. Here are a list of great options known and appreciated by Parisian parents.

Cité des Sciences

At the Cité des Sciences, La Villette (Science Museum), you’ll find a dedicated section for children aged 2 to 7 (and another one for older children as well), “la Cité des enfants”. In this area, your toddler can experience …

The Travel Blog Mob is writing about travel misconceptions this month. A particularly relevant subject for traveling with kids given that parents tend to have loads of preconceived notions about what it entails.

When I first launched Ciao Bambino in 2004 as a planning service to help families travel to Italy with kids, I’ll never forget my conversation with a friend who looked me in the eye and said, “I can barely manage to get to the grocery store with my kids …”

Traveling with children doesn’t have to be stressful. In fact, on a recent cruise trip, my family and I experienced the most organized, well-planned excursion we’ve ever taken. How? We only packed the necessities and brought along a few pieces of travel gear that helped keep the kids occupied, happy and comfortable.

Two years ago, I was completely clueless when it came to travel gear for kids. After the birth …

The countdown is on and there’s shopping to be done. The good news is many companies have finally figured out traveling families can mean big business, so more and more products that make parents (and kids) lives a little easier on the road are showing up every day.

We’ve broken down the gift list by age group. Nancy Solomon covers gifts for babies, toddlers, and school age kids and Dana …

This is a guest post from Camille Spanjaard, founder of baby’tems, a baby equipment rental and supply company in Paris, France. Camille is a French mom with two small children who has lived in Paris for more than 10 years.

She decided to start baby’tems after traveling with her children and realizing that baby equipment rental and supply services existed in many cities, but not in Paris! Odd for one of the most visited cities in the world …

We’ve run a few week-long blog series this year including Washington DC with kids, New York City with Kids, Hawaii with kids, and most recently, Rome with kids. I thought it would be fun to change things up and cover Traveling with Kids Tips with individual days dedicated to different age groups.

We’ll start with babies, toddlers, and then cover school age kids …

Get your goodies

If you’re flying a U.S. carrier, you might be lucky to get water in flight. But many foreign carriers will supply you with helpful items in flight such as baby food, infant formula, toddler snacks, and possibly even diapering packs if you contact reservations in advance. (See the airlines comparison chart in Travels with Baby for more details.)