I travel for a living and often bring my kids. Booking flights by landing rather than takeoff time is key.

I travel with my children multiple times a year. We regularly take road trips across the country and fly around the globe.

I used to follow rules other parents swore by, only to become upset and frustrated when they didn't work for my family. Learning to let these rules go and discover what made travel easier for my children and me was a process with many mistakes along the way.

Now, my family has its own set of rules. Other families may scoff at the way we travel. However, the rules my family developed over time are what allow us to travel as much as we do and have a great time, even if they are unpopular with other parents.

I choose flights based on when they land rather than when they depart

When I first started traveling with my kids, I carefully chose flights based on their bedtimes. Popular wisdom holds that parents should choose long flights, especially overnight flights, so kids can have a shot at getting some sleep.

I used to follow this rule religiously. Although the rule sounds good on paper, the reality is that my kids, like most children, have a hard time sleeping on planes. Because of the commotion and noise from meal service, I never even tried to get my kids to sleep until after cleanup. By that time, they were usually engrossed in a movie or video game that they wanted to finish. When my kids finally fell asleep on these flights, it was usually well past their bedtime, and they arrived exhausted despite my best efforts.

Then, on a trip to Korea, I had the choice between a flight that left around bedtime and arrived at 3:00 a.m.,, or one that left at a less convenient time but arrived around 5:00 p.m. I realized that landing at 5:00 pm, close to bedtime, was a better bet, even if the flight ran counter to conventional wisdom.

Landing in the early evening was perfect. My kids were still tired, but after we arrived at our hotel, we had dinner and went to sleep, waking up refreshed the next day. Ever since that successful experiment, I started booking flights based on when they land rather than when they depart. Following this rule works much better for us.

I let my kids eat familiar meals and fast food

For me, and many others who love traveling, enjoying local specialties and discovering new foods is a highlight of many trips. My children are adventurous in many ways, following me literally to the end of the earth in Antarctica or traveling through ancient ruins in Jordan.

However, when it comes to eating, it's a different story. My kids prefer safe, familiar foods. After many attempts to get my kids to try a few bites of everything from fermented soybeans in Japan to interesting curries in India, I decided to lean into their desire to eat familiar foods. Hungry children are not good travel companions, and I want my kids to enjoy themselves on our trips.

Now, we regularly eat at McDonald's and Starbucks even when we are far from home. I've learned to enjoy seeing how different countries put their own spin on these American staples, from the fancy pastries and baked fries McDonald's serves in France to the local Dule de Leche treats we sampled at Starbucks in Argentina. I still encourage my kids to eat local foods when we travel, sometimes successfully and sometimes not, but learning that not every meal has to be a cultural experience has made our trips run more smoothly.

We take organized tours

I used to pride myself on my ability to arrange every detail of my trips on my own. I spent weeks researching every hotel, attraction, restaurant, and how to get to each one. However, once kids entered the picture, and the time I had to travel became constricted by the school year, I realized how much easier it was to outsource some of my planning.

Now, I embrace organized tours. After some trial and error, we stick mainly to small-group or private tours that don't feel overwhelming. I've now taken four family trips with Intrepid Travel around the world and regularly book day tours with services like GetYourGuide, Tours by Locals, or DayTrip. Giving myself a little breathing room and being able to enjoy my kids rather than stressing over every detail is worth the trade-off of losing some control over my schedule.

I've also realized the value in having a local guide show us things we might not otherwise discover and to tell us about hidden gems that don't make the guidebooks. Plus, on small-group tours, having other kids to talk to and play with helps them get a break from me and each other, which they enjoy.