Fairytale Travel Guide contains affiliate links and is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and the Zoe Strollers Ambassador Program. This means I may receive a commission if you purchase through qualifying links, at no additional cost to you. See my Privacy Policy for more information.

Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and have not been reviewed or endorsed by any company mentioned in the content, unless otherwise stated.

Carry-On with Toddlers: What I Pack When Flying Solo

ByKristi Updated on
Carry-on with toddlers: A flat lay of carry-on essentials for traveling with toddlers, including toiletries, diapers, clothes, snacks, water bottles, electronics, toys, medications, tablets, and a hair tool—everything neatly arranged on a bed for easy reference.
All of the items that will go into our carry-on backpack.

When you’re traveling solo with toddlers, building the right carry-on can make or break your travel day.

I travel light so I can manage everything alone—no car seats (you can read about how we skip car seats here), no Pack ‘n Plays or SlumberPods, no giant piles of toys, and definitely no “just in case” extras I’ll regret dragging around by hour two.

We usually carry on our suitcase too (you can peek inside it here).

But the real MVP is the backpack I keep within arm’s reach—the one bag that holds everything we actually need when we’re flying.

Here’s exactly what I pack in a carry-on with toddlers—what’s worked for us and what hasn’t.

The Backpack We Use (and Why It Works)

A soft blush-pink Deego backpack sits next to a black Samsonite hard-shell suitcase, both fully packed and ready for toddler travel.
Carry-on size suitcase and backpack all packed up and ready to go!

We use a travel backpack similar to this one (ours is no longer available). It’s not technically a diaper bag—and that’s exactly why I love it.

It opens flat like a suitcase, which means I can pack it way more efficiently than a top-loading diaper-style bag. If I need something from the bottom mid-transit (like a change of clothes or extra wipes), I don’t have to dig through everything else to reach it.

It also has a padded laptop pocket where I store the kids’ iPads—they stay protected and easy to grab when we need entertainment in a pinch.

The suitcase pictured next to it is the carry-on we use for all three of us. I didn’t cover it here since this post is all about the backpack, but if you’re curious what we pack in our suitcase when flying carry-on only, I break it all down right here.

When I pack the bag, I do it in layers:

  • Bottom: stuff we rarely need mid-flight (like extra outfits and toiletries)
  • Middle: toys and wipes—things we’ll probably reach for
  • Top: water bottles, since we always refill them after security

It’s not fancy or expensive, but it works hard—and that’s all I care about when I’m traveling solo with toddlers.

🎒 This is the style of backpack I use—grab a similar one here. 🎒

Carry-On with Toddlers: A Quick Look Inside Our Backpack

The inside of a carry-on backpack fully packed with diapers, a sock, clothes, water bottles, a hair tool, and a zip pouch—organized and toddler-ready.
Most of the items fit easily into the main compartment of the backpack, with room to spare!

#1 Digital Download
Cover of Calm at the Gate: An Airport Survival Guide for Solo Parents, featuring a young child wearing headphones and looking out an airplane window.

Calm at the Gate: An Airport Survival Guide for Solo Parents

Traveling alone with kids? This guide gives you the exact steps, tools, and mindset shifts that make flying solo less overwhelming—from check-in to baggage claim.

Calm at the Gate: An Airport Survival Guide for Solo Parents walks you through airport logistics, answers the questions you didn’t know to ask, and helps you feel more confident (and less flustered) at every stage of the journey.

Whether you’re gearing up for your very first solo trip or still figuring out how to make airport travel feel less chaotic, this guide will help you move through it all with fewer surprises, fewer meltdowns, and a lot more calm.

Download Your Guide !

A Closer Look at What We Pack (and Why)

Prescription Medications + Painkillers

I always carry all of our medications in my backpack, not the suitcase. If we end up needing to gate check the main bag, it gets lost by the airline, or it’s out of reach on the airplane, I want to be sure that our medications are still within reach.

I learned this lesson the hard way after experiencing a migraine on a flight to Disney World while my bag was checked and under the plane.

For us, it’s my personal prescriptions, plus painkillers (because I always get a migraine on travel days). Depending on your family, a children’s painkiller or mini first aid kit might also be a good idea.

🩹 Need a travel-sized first aid kit? This is the one I use. 🩹

Toiletries

Same idea here: if the suitcase gets delayed, I don’t want to be stranded without basics.

In the backpack:

  • Toothbrushes and toothpaste for all of us
  • Deodorant
  • Hair ties
  • Nail clippers
  • Pads/tampons
  • Contact lenses and solution
  • Hair straightener

Note: All liquids must be 3.4 oz or less to pass through security.

What I skip: I don’t bother with shampoo, conditioner, or body wash—we usually stay at places like Disney resorts and Marriotts where it’s already provided. If we ever stay somewhere that doesn’t provide it, like the time we stayed in an Airbnb with family, I just throw toiletries into these travel bottles.

Travel Documents

All of our important paperwork stays in my backpack:

I recently bought this travel wallet. It’s a little clunky (definitely not one of those chic minimalist ones you see on Instagram), but I really like it. It keeps everything organized and, honestly, it makes security and immigration lines way less stressful. When you’re juggling two kids, a stroller, and three passports, having it all in one place feels like magic.

🧳 Need a place for passports, cards, and papers? This is the wallet I use. 🧳

Change of Clothes + Bathroom Stuff

No matter what, I always carry:

Why? Because toddlers are messy.

One time my daughter had a complete blowout that leaked through her clothes and all over my shirt before we even left the gate for a transatlantic flight. Having backup clothes saved us (and saved everyone else from sitting next to a stinky, cranky toddler for seven hours).

Plus, if we were ever to lose our luggage, I want to be sure we have something clean to put on while we

If we were still in diapers, I’d also pack enough for the flight, plus extras.

🐸 If your toddler needs a familiar potty seat, this is the one that’s saved us. 🐸

Water Bottles (The Ones That Actually Work)

We always bring our own reusable water bottles and refill them when we can because it saves on both waste and cash. I use this one and my kids use this one.

Why we love the ones we use:

  • Leak proof
  • Shaped so that I can hook them on my fingers when my hands are full
  • Small enough to fit into my Loungefly backpack (our day to day “diaper bag” substitute)
  • All three bottles fit zipped inside our stroller organizer when I need to fold the stroller fast (like for Disney buses)

The Downside: They’re plastic, so the water doesn’t stay cold for long in places like Orlando. But honestly, that’s by design—I’d rather have something lightweight and easy to carry than haul around bulky stainless steel bottles while managing two toddlers.

Electronics We Keep On Us

A young child with long hair is sitting in an airplane seat, wearing bright pink headphones and a green shirt. The child appears to be engaged, possibly watching or listening to something. The scene is related to the theme "travel for free."
My daughter with her headphones on, watching the seatback screen on a JetBlue flight.

I keep all of our devices and chargers in our backpack. I don’t want to risk them being stolen, and I want to be sure we can access everything in the event the bag gets lost.

What we bring:

  • Kids’ headphones (durable and comfy for tiny heads)
  • My AirPods—mainly for post-bedtime hotel Netflix sessions
  • FuelRod charger—lifesaver during unexpected delays (plus free swaps at Disney and most airports!)
  • iPads—we prefer these over kids-specific tablets for flexibility
  • Anbernic gaming system—nostalgia fix for me when I need a break (nothing like some Donkey Kong Country to pass the time on an airplane!)

One long day of Lightning Lanes in Disneyland with a dying phone battery convinced me: the FuelRod always comes with us.

🎮 Need something just for you? This handheld is my favorite nostalgic escape. 🎮

What Toys We Actually Pack (And What Hasn’t Worked)

When it comes to building a smart carry-on for toddlers, not every toy earns its place. Here’s what we’ve tried—and whether it was worth the backpack space:

Big Wins:

🧩 This sticker book has bought me more quiet time than I ever expected. 🧩

Not Worth the Space (For Us):

Final Thoughts: Why I Pack This Way

Traveling solo with toddlers is already a lot. I don’t want heavy bags filled with “maybe we’ll need it” stuff making life harder.

Our backpack covers the real essentials: medications, IDs, electronics, backup clothes, and a few things that genuinely help keep everyone sane.

If you’re prepping for your own trip, I hope this gives you a starting point for your own carry-on with toddlers. You’ll figure out what works for your family—and every trip, it gets a little easier (and a lot lighter).

You’ve got this!

Have questions about these tips or want advice from other solo parents? Join my free Facebook group for parents traveling alone with babies, toddlers, and young kids. You’ll find support, real-life answers, and tips from parents who’ve been there, wherever you’re headed in the world.

🎒 This is the style of backpack I use—grab a similar one here. 🎒

More Posts to Help You Travel With Toddlers