Tips for Air Travel with Kids

Last week we took a 5 hours flight with the girls out to Arizona & then took the red eye home. It wasn’t easy, but it was a lot better then expected. It was the first time we flew with both girls since Alex could walk. Something about doubling the number of active little ones on the plane terrified me. Alex is a very wild child. Like most 20 month olds, she only stops moving when she is sleeping. The flight left at 9am, so we were literally flying during her most active hours of the day! 

I was nervous, but knew we could do it & that once we landed, a wonderful family vacation awaited. 

I can’t tell you how many times I heard this in the airport:

“Wow you have your hands full” or “Whoa you’re brave traveling with them”

A lot of people think I’m crazy for flying with two little ones, but it’s usually not a bad experience at all. Also,  I try to remember: my kids won’t be the first or last kids to cry on a plane. 

10 things that got us through the flight:

1. Kid Safe headphones & splitter: Each of the girls have a pair of headphones that are safe for little ears. This trip, I got a splitter at Target ($6) so they could both watch a show together. Before the trip I downloaded a few new shows on the iPad for them to watch. 

2. New Apps: This trip I downloaded 3 new puzzle apps to keep Maggie busy. My girls also really like the interactive book apps.

– Crayons & markers

3. Stickers: This has always been my go to plane activity. My kids aren’t crazy about stickers at home, but on the plane we stick them to the seats & edge of the tray table & pull them off, stick them to each other, etc. It kills time & is easy to clean up.

4. New books. I took advantage of the $1 books on Maggie’s class scholastic book order. Each of the girls had 3 new books. Having a bunch of new books to read & look at on the plane was a hit with both girls.

5. 2 extra outfits (we went through ALL of our extra clothes in 5 hours)

6. Blankets for snuggling.

7.  Snacks: We bring some from home & then let the girls pick one in the airport to bring on the plane. Don’t count on the airline to have kid friendly food.

8. New small toys: Maggie loves small toys, especially anything Mickey Mouse or animal related (Alex loves anything her sister is playing with). I brought a few from home & then a few new ones. I always keep an eye on the Dollar Spot at Target & good deals on Yoyo.com. I keep them in a ZizzyBee Bag. These bags are easy for little hands & you can see what’s in the bag easily. This doubles as the perfect bag for pool toys when you arrive on vacation!

9. Barbie & My Little Pony with a hair brush & hair clips. This is an easy activity for an airplane & keeps my kids really busy. They both enjoyed making their doll & horse “look so pretty”. Then, with me sitting in the middle of Maggie & Alex, my hair got a new style too. 

10. Secret stash of candy: A long time ago, I asked a friend who flies a lot what she brings on the plane for her kids. Her answer: m&ms. I always keep a secret stash of candy on hand. They don’t eat it at home so it’s a BIG treat. If I don’t need it, it was an easy flight, but if things start to get bad mid flight, the candy comes out. It’s not the healthiest option, but when your kids start screaming because they want to “dance on the plane” when the seat belt sign is on, it’s an easy fix! The people around you will thank you.

1. You will feel like a traveling circus when you head through security. Remember the days of solo travel when you could breeze through with 1bag & 1 bin? They are long gone. We took up the entire security table with the amount of bins we filled & then the car seats, strollers, etc. Just know there are plenty of other traveling circuses that pass through security each day. 

2. If you have a lap child, bring the car seat up to the gate anyway. If there is an empty seat on the plane & you have a car seat with you, they will give you the seat at no charge. The worst case: they don’t have a seat & gate check the car seat for you. Even on this trip, we bought a seat for Maggie, but not Alex. On the way there Alex got a free seat & on the way home we had to hold her. It’s always worth a shot!

3. Bring extra clothes for yourself in your carry-on. If your little one gets sick on the plane, chances are it’s going to land on you & not in one of those nice little bags in the seat back pocket. I learned this the hard way…on a flight from NC to CA with Maggie when she was 1. I had to “wear” it for over an hour 

until we landed & I was 3 months pregnant & always nauseous! Not fun. 

4. Diaper Changing: I buy a bunch of disposable changing table pads before flights. I’m not a germ freak, but one thing that really grosses me out is the bathroom on the plane. When I change the girls in the bathroom I don’t like to put anything back in the diaper bag, mainly because everything else is in & out of there the whole flight (pacifiers, sippy cups etc). So I head into the plane bathroom with a diaper, a few wipes in hand & a disposable changing pad. I come out with just a baby! I don’t recommend trying to avoid the air plane bathroom for diaper changes. We tried that once (there was an empty seat in the middle of my husband & I when Maggie was just a few months old). OF COURSE it was the one time that when the diaper came off she started to pee. It didn’t make it any better that my husband & I started screaming “it’s going everywhere!”. We got a lot of dirty looks after that & I felt like I had to just keep cleaning the seat the rest of the flight!

5. The more relaxed you are (or try to be) the more relaxed the kids will be. Try to make it fun in any way you can. When we fly over night, we tell Maggie that every one who falls asleep on the plane gets a lollipop. She would get so excited to see other people on the plane fall asleep & then settled in with her blankie, so she too would earn the big prize. If it’s a game, it’s always more fun!

Last but not least, wherever you are flying, have a fun trip when you arrive!