If you're planning a long car trip with children, one of the items on your shopping list should be a children's travel tray for each child. This is a device that forms a solid surface above each child's lap, giving him or her a foundation for eating, playing, drawing, and a host of other activities that will help to pass the time. When you shop for a children's travel tray, you'll commonly notice that some travel trays are made of rigid plastic and others are made of fabric. Here are some pros and cons of buying the latter type.
Pro: It's Lighter To Carry
When you're making several trips from the house to the car, it's ideal to pack as lightly as possible. A fabric children's travel tray is significantly lighter than its durable plastic counterpart. Additionally, you'll also need to set up the tray over your children's car seats and then remove the trays before the children get out. Over the course of a trip, you'll repeat these steps multiple times, making the lightweight nature of the fabric tray appealing.
Con: It Lacks Rigidity
Fabric travel trays commonly have a plastic frame inside them that will keep the tray flat in front of your child, but this type of device lacks some of the rigidity of a durable plastic tray. For example, if your child were to lean on the fabric tray, he or she could bend it and cause anything on it to roll onto the floor.
Pro: It's Foldable
A big advantage of the fabric children's travel tray is that you can fold it. Although the models can differ, you'll often be able to fold up the sides of the device to dramatically decrease its overall bulk. When folded, it can slip into the pouch at the rear of the vehicle's seats for convenient storage.
Con: It Can Be Tougher To Clean
A big advantage of a plastic travel tray is that when your child inevitably spills juice on it, you can easily wipe it down with a damp rag, and then dry it with a towel so that it's ready to use again. You can repeat these steps with a fabric travel tray to a certain extent, but some fabric travel trays aren't as liquid resistant as others. In this case, you can end up with a travel tray that stays damp, and gets your child's clothing and other accessories damp and sticky.
For more information, get in touch with a company like My Lap Box.