Flying With Children - What Are Your Best Flying Tips?

Hello travellers!

I'm updating our article on travelling with children and was wondering what your best tips for flying with babies or kids, to share with other readers.

Thank you :)

A spare change of clothes for the child and at least one full change plus a spare shirt for you.

iPad. That's it ;)

if longhaul:

to try to keep some routine. this i reckon works for any kid under the tween years. So what we do when we fly is that i pack their pjs and whatever usual bed time routine comforter stuff (ie bottle, teddy, book). as soon as i get on the flight (particularly if late afternoon/night) i immediately get the bag with the pillow and blanket out and let the kidlets know that it is for their bed time (how exciting! lol).

I also in the weeks before a big flight, i pick up wee little activities (sticker books, little dollies) and hide them away and only bring them out once on the plane (or earlier if there are long delays in the airport). one of the BEST things i ever ever bought was a little coloured peg board thingo...where they stick the coloured plastic pegs into a white meshy thing...it was fabulous and lasted us through our year abroad and over 12 flights!

i prefer to have a wee little backpack/suitcase for each child. with their own pjs and clothes and toys. i find it just easier to manage and it makes it much more special for the kids as they feel special and proud of their stuff. And on the chance that you are stuck at midnight in the middle of an airport with a typhoon barreling down and all flights cancelled for the next 12 hours (it was an *interesting* trip hahahahaha) those little bags for each kid come in handy as pillows/seats and can be a real life saver in terms of entertainment.

pack on board as many changes of clothes as you can. and always pack an extra few nappies more than you think you will need.

Also, if flying with smaller kids/babies i highly recommend a really comfy change of clothes for yourself. there will no doubt be times when you need to console, or eat dinner with a little persons body/legs/arms/head on your lap and wearing comfy tracky-dacks and a comfy pullover beats hands down the jeans and the boots. I also always pack a really really thick pair of socks for myself so that if i need to do a mad dash to the loo, my feet are covered and the risk of stepping in something gross whilst in there is at least reduced in the sense that your feet a little bit protected lol. I also wear very simple slip on flats if i have time to put them on...but in the middle of the night when the lights are out, it is just easier to already have the jumbo thick socks on rather than fumble around for a shoe.

in terms of practical sleep arrangements: i can only vouch for two young kids at this stage (:lol:) but what we did was book the middle aisle out and put the kids in the two middle seats. that way they can stretch out and sleep head to tail with each other. and gives the parent/s a chance to eat a dinner without risk of sploshing juice/coffee all over the (precious!) sleeping kids hahaha. also makes loo runs really easy.

For either domestic or long haul i know that they offer to let you have the stroller with you to the gate. but in all honesty i prefer not to. i hate hate hate having to fold the thing away for the security screening (especially if you have other kids with you who are at risk of running off). and i have also had 2 out of 3 strollers inadvertently left at the gate and then have to chase them up at our destination. i prefer to have my sling for the baby/toddler. much easier to wrangle (and the ring sling doubles at times to a quick change mat/blanket/vomit cloth hahahahahahaha).

for longhaul:

Personally don't think IPAD etc necessary as the screen entertainment is normally pretty good and the kids like new stuff and then have one less thing to carry.

Take as little with you as possible - the seats are cramped you want all the room you can get.

With an infant without their own seat a full size pillow is useful for them laying on across you

Consider carefully if you want a bassinet - depending on size of child they can be more of a hindrance because the bulkhead seats where bassinets are the arm rests do not go up between seats so if you have an older child they can't lay on your lap, and the trays for eating on are also problematic. You also have to get baby out of bassinet for take off, landing and any turbulence - one long haul flight for me this was nearly all the time. If you are two adults, one child and a baby - booking bassinet may mean you get an adult, a child and the bassinet seat together and then other adult put elsewhere because normally a bassinet is per two seats so they won't take up another pair of bassinet seats with the extra adult etc. If the infant is mobile (say 9-12 months) they might climb out the bassinet (I have seen this happen while mum was sleeping) so I think is difficult to sleep and easier if they are just in your arms where you can feel them if start moving.

i am with WYSIWYG on the bassinet. personally i have never bothered with them as they always appeared to be more hassle than it is worth (for example each time the seatbelt light comes up you are required to pick baby up and put them on your lap anyhows. unless they are super little i would just go for them sharing between me, DH and the seats of the siblings.

My children have their own headphones with aeroplane adapters. They know and are used to their own headphones. So we can either plug their tiny USB MP3 players in or plug them into the aeroplane tv. I've never bothered with iPad or similar but I bet they come into their own if you have a bit of a layover.
I used a bassinet once. It was good, but its not like you can leave them in there and go to the loo or anything. The aircrew are pretty hot on that.

Definitely a change of clothes for yourself. My first bub was a chucker and I was used to taking spare tops with me just to the shops!

Some mode of carrying your child. Hugabub, manduca, whatever you use. You need some hands free time to get through customs etc. especially if you have more than one child and a suitcase. Strollers are good, but have you tried to push a stroller straight whilst pulling a suitcase and a huge nappy bag on your arm?!

More snacks than you can imagine! It can be boring and its hard to wonder around a plane when you are on your own with kids. If they are homemade, or fresh fruit, eat them first. The packaged stuff can be taken through quarantine, but the rest needs to be thrown away.

Hand sanitizer!

Wipes for faces, bottoms, hands, noses, spills on clothes!!

Don't make the mistake of trying to keep them quiet whilst at the terminal waiting to board. Let them burn off energy there. Keeping the them quiet, just means they get hyper on the plane. (think I was too self concious about flying with toddler that I did not want the death stares before even getting on the plane).