Toddlers at 18-24 months are unpredictable! Here are some tips for safety when traveling with an 18-24 month old, whether domestically or internationally, and whether for one day or for one month.

Baby-proofing (Toddler-proofing)

At this age, the more “bare” your accommodation, the better (but we don’t always have control over that). Your child will want to touch EVERYTHING and experiment with all the new surroundings, be it the doors, the remote control, the windows and the kitchen cabinets in a vacation rental. Here are tips for safety in the accommodation during your trip.

Ask your accommodation

Check or ask in advance about baby-proofed accommodation (or bring baby-proofing items of your own for things like the toilet, kitchen cabinets and door handles), if you’ll be staying at an Airbnb. Hotels aren’t as much of a worry because everything tends to be bolted, or hospitality-grade quality and very strong or unable to be broken. This is a tip from our guide of how to baby-proof your accommodations.

One more tip, though: Do be mindful at more upscale hotels that may provide some art, sculpture, woven blankets or other room accessories like statement alarm clocks, or what have you. It’s ideal to avoid damage fees for anything a very curious toddler tries to destroy.

Baby-proof your Airbnb

If staying at an Airbnb, move all breakable display items like vases or art from places where your toddler can grab it or cause them to fall. We stayed at a whole-home Airbnb in Connecticut that was full of the owner’s art, vintage furniture, vases and deco pieces. At the time, our child was pre-crawling, but had we had a walking and running toddler, it would’ve been a stressful weekend.

Tip: if you’ll be moving the owner’s belongings in order to child-proof the space, take photos before you move anything so that you have a reference map of how to re-decorate with the items, right before you check out and leave!

Be careful around bookcases!

Watch your toddler around bookcases that are not bolted to the wall (at Airbnbs or vacation rentals).

Until I became a parent, I didn’t realize the threat of the “heavy furniture item in the room that is not bolted to the wall.” But truly, in an Airbnb or even an older hotel or mom & pop inn, you can’t be sure about the quality of the furniture in the room or where your child may be toddling.

Our best advice is to watch your child if they are walking near upright furniture, even dressers, in a new place. While it’s hard to have an eye on them at every moment, take turns with your partner, or with other adults or older children on the trip.

Tips for hotel stays

At hotels, watch your active toddler around things like mirrors, heavy doors, doors that slam quickly or open windows. It really depends on which type of hotel you’re staying at: new hotels never have windows that open, but old inns in historic buildings may have traditional windows and some may be low to the ground.

A top tip of mine is to keep a strict eye on your child near bathroom doors that swing open, or closet doors that slide. Little fingers can get stuck or slammed in new places and to avoid that bloodcurdling shriek of when tiny fingers get stuck in a door hinge, avoid it the first time around with some supervision.

Sleep safety

Sleep safety is big at this age, because your child’s preferences may be changing and of course, they are hitting new levels of maturity all the time–even during vacation.

Sleep sacks

Bring sleep sacks, even if your child doesn’t wear one at home, to deter mobility for toddlers who climb out of Pack’n’plays or low travel cribs that your Airbnb may provide.

Regardless of deterring climbing, you may want to bring a sleep sack for your child to keep them warm overnight in an accommodation where temperature control may be a bit less predictable than home. This is key for children who kick off blankets and do not put them back on during the coldest hours of the night (4-6am).

Avoid cribs tipping over

Make sure sleeping environments are safe, with no way to tip over the crib or climb onto a bed. During our trip with our child at 20 months, we made sure there was a gap between the travel crib and the bed in the room, so that the bed could not be reached via any limbs.

Baby monitor

Monitors should be mounted or left where they can’t be tampered with — even the wires. This will always sound easy, but when you take a survey of where the outlets are in the room, you’ll be left with potentially fewer options than your setup at home provides you.

We’ve even taken the creativity to put our monitor camera’s “octopus legs” onto a standing coat rack (out of reach from the crib) so that we could have an aerial monitor view. Creativity wins, when you’re traveling with a toddler!

Food safety

While your child certainly has gotten the hang of eating by 18 months, let’s look at some safety tips for food and meals, when away from home.

Fully-cooked foods

Watch out for foods that are not fully cooked if your toddler eats off your plate at restaurants. Of course, it is up to your risk tolerance, if your child will be trying your medium-rare burger (or not) while on vacation!

Allergens

Again, allergens: they can really happen at any phase of baby and toddlerhood. Our best tip is to steer clear of allergens or speak clearly to waitstaff about allergen-friendly food, should your toddler require special meals when out at restaurants.

Water safety

Internationally, make sure there is filtered, spring or purified water available for your toddler if they are a big water drinker. This also goes for bath time: be careful about ingesting tap water that’s not safe. In 12-18 month safety I mention the bath times in Mexico when I thought our child had drunk tap water from the bath. At this age, you can explain verbally that there’s “no drinking bath water” on this trip.

Out-and-about safety for your toddler

Your toddler will be out and about during your trip, at 18-24 months!

Have some first-aid

Travel with band-aids and other first aid, if your toddler tends to run, fall and scrape his/her knees (very common at this age)

Paper towels help

Next, stash some paper towels or a small towel in the diaper bag to clean off wet or dirty playground swings (we say this from experience, as our playground-loving child wanted to go to the playground, even though it had just stormed outside!).