Surviving Air Travel with Small Kids and Babies

It’s that time of year when schools years are ending and summer vacations are beginning, which means trips! My husband’s family is on the East Coast, so we make at least one annual trek to visit. We’ve done this since my oldest was 3 months old, so I feel a little bit like a seasoned veteran. 

There are those patient zen parents out there who are pros at traveling and are not thrown by anything that flying with a small child can present them. I am not one of those people. I am the Type A planner mom who wants to be prepared for every scenario–so I thought I'd share a few of the tips I’ve been given and have used over the years.

Packing your carry on for a flight

You don’t want the weight of your bag to make your arms numb by the time you hit security, but you also don’t want to leave out something important that you’ll need halfway into your six-hour flight. Here are a few of the musts for our family:

        - Bring a diaper for every hour of your flight, plus a few extras

        - Put wipes into a gallon-size zip lock bag (instead of say ... the Kirkland packaging). It makes for flatter packing.

        - Bring an extra set of clothes for each kid (something that packs as flat as possible) and an extra shirt for you. (Who wants to wear barf or poop for four hours of a six-hour flight?!)

        - Bring a plastic grocery sack for any number of potential uses: a.) dirty diaper,  b.) poop/barf-covered clothes, c.) garbage, d.) second barf bag, e.) to capture all those teeny, tiny Polly Pocket/Lego pieces from the new toy you thought would be a great time killer and now are cursing.

          - A new toy/activity for every hour of the flight. Sounds dramatic, but it can be something small like that $1 pack of stickers or a coloring book. Even if you pull a few fun toys from your child’s stash a few weeks prior to your trip, they will seem like new again!

          - Snack, snacks and more snacks. Throw in some suckers and sugar-free bubble gum for the ascent and descent to help with those ouchie ears.

          - If your children are of the age where they can watch a DVD–a DVD player is a must!  The shows they "rent" on the plane are OK in a pinch, but we’ve found that the content is not that great for toddlers. 

Security line strategies

Be ready for security. Have all your liquids ready to go in the zip lock baggy. If you’re bringing milk or want to carry a sippy cup of juice (I say why even bother, get it on the other side), have them all in one place so you can easily put them through the scanner. If your child is big enough, prep them so they’re ready to take off their shoes and/or jacket and go through security. My husband and I have a tag-team approach: One holds a baby while the other breaks down the stroller. (We DO bring our umbrella stroller for the littlest, as it’s easier than carrying a toddler through three concourses.) 

We also choose to pay for and bring the car seat for the baby (in a rolling car seat bag). For us, it’s safer and we have a chance that they might actually sleep when buckled into their familiar settings. And just like the screaming in the car, it eventually ceases. 

Flight etiquette

Even if you don’t think it’s a big deal that your 2-year-old is opening and closing the tray table repeatedly, I guarantee that the grumpy lady sitting in the seat ahead of you does. Just like I tell my kids about playground behavior, if it’s something you wouldn’t like having done to you, then don’t do it. If you wouldn’t want feet kicking you in the back, don’t let your child do it.

Crying happens; it’s part of life. As long as you’re attempting to quiet your child (or occasionally look around apologetically you like you are) you’ll get sympathy and help from neighboring seatmates and hopefully enjoy some kid-flying karma down the line.