My answer to the question, How To Be Prepared For All Outings With Kids, is simple! pack a backpack. I don’t like to fork out unnecessary cash, have my son nag my ear off or be inconvenienced, so backpacks are life for us.

I decided to share my “kids’ must have items” and show you what Aidan is packing when you see him around with his “signature” red bag.

The items I’m about to suggest could be divided into various bags, but my kid is obsessed with his new red bag so I just decant everything into a special drawer and pick what I need from there…

Saying “How To Be Prepared For All Outings With Kids” seems a little ambitious so lets just say these three sets of items cover most of what we need. It is just a suggestion however, so tweak for your child, but I promise it’s going to save you time and money.

So How To Be Prepared For All Outings With Kids:

A day at the beach/park/hiking trail

So the towel, swimming costume and sand toys for the beach, or hiking shoes for the hike is not included, these are just the additional items, I take along

1. a cap or sunhat is a must
2. hand sanitizer, because messes
3. a snack, because kids always get hungry at the most random times
4. a first aid kit – mine is from my #uthexperience event
5. sunblock – we swear by pure beginnings especially their conditioner
6. a bottle of water
7. after sun gel – just in case
8. an inflatable ball – it takes up minimal space but is handy to have around
9. a camera for pictures

A visit to church or a variety of waiting rooms

This one is just basically for any place you need your child to “sit quietly” for an extended period of time and not disturb anyone with electronic devices.

1. We don’t do phones or tablets in church but have a bunch of rubix cubes for quiet play
2. hand sanitizer – Aidy hates dirty hands so this is in every bag
3. a snack – because always
4. a bottle of water
5. a first aid kit – accidents happen anywhere
6. note books – for writing and sketching
7. markers for said notebooks
8. a reading book, I use his kiddies bible for church but anywhere else he picks something from the shelf

The restuarant or mall

We don’t always take Aidan to traditionally kiddies friendly places, because quite frankly we don’t always want to go there. So this is what I pack if we are going out to eat

1. hand sanitizer
2. a reuasable straw, because the paper ones annoy him
3. his headphones and tablet in case the place we visit gets too noisy for him – sometimes after spending too much time in the hustle and bustle of malls or running errands he needs to switch off, a quick game on his tablet usually helps
4. essential oils – this is also a sensory thing, his sense of smell and hearing are very heightened so while I can use headphones to tune out background noise, I use essential oils to overpower smells that annoy him
5. A group game for when we wait to be served something like Monopoly Deal
6. Building blocks and Rubix cubes for when mom and dad aren’t quite ready to leave yet
7. always with the first aid kit

Not pictured:

1. I have a few pairs of 3D glasses I take these when we are due to go to a movie
2. I take the card from the games arcade so I don’t have to fork out for a new one and he can keep building points
3. He has two pairs of non slip socks from the trampoline park so I have those in his drawer for in case
4. Homeopathic rescue tablets helps calm him in case he gets a little anxious

What do you always take along with you? what’s in your kid’s backpack?