Taking our own food to Tahiti was a lifesaver, but not because my 3-yr-old lacked chowpup instincts. It turns out that the weekends (as we found out the first couple jet-lagged days) are “rest” days, just like in Europe, so stores are closed. The main island’s big enough that you need a car to get around and we didn’t have one. So, having food along was good; doing research beforehand would have been better.

DVD player–don’t have one at home, why take one on the plane? Seriously, airplanes and airports are like Richard Scary tableaux come to life, my kid loves the safety drill, and the food and beverage carts always played central roles in his airplane play at home (“It’s going to crash and the beverage cart doesn’t have its brake on!”)

Peeing with the kid on your lap? What? Bring the carseat and leave the kid alone for that long. Yes, there are strangers around, but they can’t take the kiddo anywhere, and I guarantee that if they try to stow the little one in an overhead compartment, someone will intervene.

Direct flights are good, but if you can’t get them, you can’t. When we lived in Amarillo, we got to know DFW very well, particularly the play area that can just barely be seen from Pizza Hut (behind security–yes, it’s a big city, but making off with a kiddo is much more difficult than at your neighborhood park). For other layovers, we pack a couple cheap toys that we theoretically wouldn’t mind loosing (although we’ve had them for 6 years now). We also take a soft throwing toy (fabric frisbee or Q ball) to use if there’s an empty gate or hallway or if there are other bored kids. Getting the energy out before the next leg really helps!

I absolutely agree on keeping my little one in far better style than I ever kept myself pre-baby. Now that he’s older, we get suites if we can. Barring that, a king room helps. The bed is plenty big for the 2 of us, and the space that would be taken up by another bed in a 2Q room usually has some sort of seating area that can become a playroom for the duration of the stay.

Things we love are multi room suites, with kitchen’s are even better. I love spending time with my kids, but we all sleep better when they have their own space, and it’s nice to have some grownup time after the kids are in bed. Many time shares rent out their unused units. We stayed in a Marriott one at Newport Beach and it was heaven! Continental Breakfast is always a bonus. It lets us hang around the hotel for a little bit longer. The kitchen also solves the breakfast problem.

With free wi-fi in so many hotels now, Nick Jr. videos or Hulu can be free or cheap “Pay per view”.