Travels with Baby Tip #18: Pack "Glow Sticks"

Having the power knocked out here at home for 17 straight hours was a great reminder of one very good item to have tucked into your suitcase while you’re away. In Travels with Baby, I recommend packing emergency glow sticks as a help while camping in tents and staying other places where nightlights are not an option. For preschoolers, they can also be a comfort to keep by the bedside and carry to the bathroom should nature call at night—and of course they’re far more fun for small children than standard-issue travel flashlights (which are also good to have along). While losing electricity at home can be a major inconvenience, the chance of losing it while staying in unfamiliar territory, where you’re already minus many comforts of home, is certainly reason enough to dedicate the smallest corner of your suitcase to a couple of glow sticks. Tealites and other candles may also take little space, but keep in mind that many hotels won’t allow them, and with curious toddlers and children in the room, they could be more of a nuisance and a hazard than emergency glow sticks, which can be placed virtually anywhere and even carried in the hand.  

Safe journey,

Shelly Rivoli, author of Travels with Baby
The Ultimate Guide for Planning Trips with Babies, Toddlers, and Preschool-Age Children