Kid-Sized Suitcases

Wheeled Backpacks for Babes

We travel so often that we’ve owned tiny suitcases for our kids for years. We started with one shaped like an airplane from Popatu during my eldest son’s obsession with all things airplane. He started “packing” his things and carrying his suitcase around age 2, when my hands carried his younger sister and all the other stuff we needed in flight. He loved having his own suitcase and participating in the packing process.

I loved that the suitcase has wheels, as well as a telescoping handle that can be locked into place in either the raised or lowered position. The case also has backpack straps, so when he gets tired of pulling it or we go onto bumpy areas, he can easily swing it up on his back. At age two, he needed some assistance getting into the backpack, but that didn’t last long.

These small suitcases do lack pockets. They provide one main storage area, which works out great for shoving lots of stuffed animals and blankets inside. But now that I want my kids to haul their own sippy cups and electronic entertainment, I’d prefer some exterior pockets where I don’t have to unearth every stuffed animal midflight to get to the one thing we invariably need.

The small bag fits easily underneath the seat on an actual airplane, or under their feet or beside them in the car for easy access. My kids aren’t using that space for other things (like their feet) so it makes traveling more efficient when you have three kids and all the things they need tagging along.

My kids loved them so much my daughter needed her own suitcase. We got her a fuzzy pink one that comes with a teddy bear wearing a tutu on the front. My son loved the extra storage capacity for an additional stuffed animal on the front so much he traded his airplane model for hers.

I’ve repaired the silken ballet slippers on the accompanying bear more than once in three years, but luckily the bear isn’t the main attraction. Both Popatu suitcases have held up remarkably well to being dragged (often upside down), stepped on, stuffed, and sat upon repeatedly. The original blue airplane has a hole where the lining came unstitched but other than that, I’ve never even cleaned them unless you count picking leaves and dead grass out of the fuzzy pink one.

In case airplanes and teddy bears don’t do it for your kid, they also come in dog, unicorn, kitten, ladybug, panda, and monkey options. And that’s just what I can find online at the moment in Popatu wheeled backpacks.