It's a rite of passage when your traveling tyke is finally big enough for his or her own carry-on bag. That time comes earlier than you might think! Our daughter got her own bag at around 2 ½. Now, at almost 6 years old, it has come with us everywhere from Disneyland to Montreal to Hong Kong. She even pulled it herself running at breakneck speed through Chicago Midway last month to make an impossible flight connection!
Whether the time has come for your child to get a first carry-on bag or the time has come to find a replacement bag, here are five kid-friendly airplane carry-on bags your children are sure to love:
1. SkipHop Zoo Little Kid Luggage
My daughter chose Skip Hop for her carry-on bag years and it has worked well at all ages and stages. It's small enough that she can easily manuever it herself and also can be easily slung over a stroller handle or a grown-up's shoulder in a pinch when your child can't carry it. Skip Hop comes in 4 cute animal designs (owl, monkey, dog, and ladybug). And the price is right at around $25.
2. Trunki has been a big hit with many traveling families I know because it is both a bag and a riding toy. Your kids can scoot along on it themselves or parents can drag them along using the pull strap. Trunki has a huge variety of colors: blue, pink, purple, orange, red, green, several swirl patterns, and even a ladybug red and black spotted design. List price is $40, but you can regularly find it on Amazon for $25.99.
Travel Buddies makes cute and functional carry-on bags, and this set gives you two options: a roller bag and a backpack. One of my favorite family travel bloggers, Summer at MommyPoints, selected this set for her daughter and gives it a positive review. Designs include a pink butterfly, blue robot, red ladybug, green alien, black penguin, and rainbow parrot.
The list price for the set is $89, so it's the most expensive option on our list. For that price, however, the quality is quite high (the bags are hard shell) and you (of course get two bags for that price. Shop around for better deals, as I found the robot style on Amazon for just $69.95 and the butterfly model for $70.99 at Target.
4. Heys Disney Frozen Deluxe Kids Luggage
I know many parents out there have little ones who are still obsessed with Frozen. You can buy Elsa, Anna and Olaf on just about everything these days, including luggage!
Alternatively, if you little one (or you) is ready to "Let It Go" when it comes to all things Frozen, Heys also makes the same luggage with a Pixar Cars or Disney Princess theme.
5. LLBean's Rolling Deluxe Backpack
LLBean makes so many quality luggage products and this rolling backpack is just the right size for a kid-friendly carry-on. It is sometimes a reality that kids have to bring homework along on family vacations, and this product makes it easy.
Julie Bigboy says
Thanks for sharing. My kids have L.L.Bean backpacks and they really are quite rugged, so it's nice to see that they have luggage too. L.L. Bean also has a great return policy. My daughter had a strap fray after 6 months and they replaced the backpack without any issues.
Amandan says
Thanks for sharing. My kids have L.L.Bean backpacks and they really are quite rugged, so it’s nice to see that they have luggage too. L.L. Bean also has a great return policy. My daughter had a strap fray after 6 months and they replaced the backpack without any issues.