Four Kid’s Travel Products to Help the Entire Family Rest Easy

If your child is like mine, they sleep best in a room with blackout shades. Blackout shades in hotels and rentals aren’t to be relied on — but that doesn’t mean you have to suffer through fitful sleep. Cue Sleepout portable blackout curtains, which use one-of-a-kind 100% blackout fabric that's temperature-insulating and sound-blocking as well. They were a lifesaver for our sleep setup on a recent trip to Hawaii, when our hotel room only had slatted blinds.

The curtain design is optimized for travel, folding into a handy carrying bag that’s easy to pop into a suitcase. It measures at about 4.5 by 6.5 feet, with fastening straps that allow for both a horizontal or vertical install. And with two industrial-strength suction cups, the curtains are easy to install on any window no matter where in the world you are.

My daughter sleeps incredibly well in her crib, but flights are a disaster when it comes to her rest. From flights not aligning with nap schedules to long-haul overnighters, we always land exhausted and bleary-eyed. On a recent international flight, I turned to the Flyaway inflatable airplane bed, an award-winning product that creates a comfortable place for children to sleep and play on planes.

The Flyaway bed folds down to a 10 inch square when deflated—then inflates in just a couple of minutes to turn an airplane seat into a toddler-sized bed that’s compatible with economy, premium economy and bulkhead seats. Certain airlines have restrictions on products like the Flyaway, but it meets the International Air Transport Association’s strict guidelines, making it a safer choice than competitor products. Even if my daughter still doesn't sleep for the entire flight, the Flyaway bed definitely helps her catch more zzz’s than she otherwise would.

Whether it’s to avoid extra fees for rollaway beds or unsafe sleeping situations, having an inflatable travel bed is worth having on hand. While there are plenty of options on Amazon, Stokke has designed an elevated version—the JetKids CloudSleeper™—that offers an extra layer of comfort. Designed for kids three years and above, the CloudSleeper™ is a lightweight, inflatable mattress with full-length bumpers for safety and an air mesh fitted sheet for comfort. Like the Sleepout curtains and Flyaway airplane bed, it folds down into a packing cube. My daughter is just shy of being old enough to use this inflatable bed, but I already have it on hand for as soon as she transitions out of the crib and into a big girl bed.

The Guava Lotus Travel Crib is one of my all-time favorite products, and it’s an MVP for travel in the first three years of parenthood. With its bassinet conversion kit, we used this product from day one, and it’s still going strong two and a half years later. The Lotus Travel Crib has served us well for travel near and far, as well as for day-to-day needs like a nanny share.

Like all of the aforementioned products, folding down to a more compact size is one of its many benefits. With its Guava 3D Fold Technology™, the Lotus Travel Crib folds down small enough to carry through airports in its backpack carrying case. Just be sure to add a luggage tag so you don’t have a baggage claim mix-up like I once had — it’s that popular!