Planning airplane travel with kids comes with many different things to think about. Our family has flown multiple times with kids from 4months to 13 years old. Check out these things that top our list when getting ready to fly with our family
Preparing for the Airport
Sometimes this is overlooked. The kids get so excited to get to the plane sometimes this gets forgotten. In order to get to the plan you have to get through the airport. Ensuring that you prepare you kids for this is important. The airport comes with lots of noise and lots of people. As well as things that your kids may not be used to. One of our daughters is very connected to one of her stuffys. So the first time we went through security she had an absolute melt down because her stuffy had to go through the scanner. Now this initially threw me off and I panicked, I had no idea what to do. The airport security were really good with her and didn’t make the situation worse.
However the next time we went through we had time to prepare her for what was going to happen. Though this did not eliminate the tears it made it a whole lot better because she knew what to expect. It was also helpful for when our youngest was old enough to know what was going on.
Ensuring that everyone knows their drinks have to be empty before going through security is important too. We do still keep water bottles with us and fill them up once we get through security.
Once we find our gate we usually start charging all of the devices. During the waiting period we do try and not allow the kids to use their electronics for a few reasons. One is so they can fully charge for the flight. And the other is it gives the kids a chance to get all their energy and wiggles out. We take long walks through the terminal and look at all of the planes.
Carry On Bags for Airplane Travel with Kids
When we fly all four of our kids brings their backpack as well as myself and husband with a backpack. The backpacks keep all of the items needed for the plane. Each of the kids has their own snacks packed in their bags and the adults also keep extra snacks in their bags.
The backpacks have headphones for their tablets as well as a charger for their device. No matter what the weather is when we leave and where we are going we make sure everyone has a sweater. Even if we are leaving in the heat and headed to the heat my kids always seem to be cool on the plane.
The backpacks always include an extra pair of clothes in a large ziplock bag as well because you just never know. I’m sure we have all been in the situation when your child needed a fresh pair of clothes and you weren’t prepared. All my kids are now over 5 and they bring their favorite kind of gum as well that they chew at take off and landing.
Our favorite Snacks for the plane
We have 4 girls so it doesn’t matter when we fly there are always more kids than their are parents. Now we are lucky that as the kids get older they are able to do more for themselves. But chances are they always need a bit of help with their snacks. When we are getting ready for airplane travel with kids we ensure that prepping snacks is a priority for packing. I have learned large containers of snacks are not a good idea. On more than one occasion an entire container of goldfish has landed on the floor and then they were crushed.
We try to opt for prepackaged snacks. It limits the spilling possibilities. Our favorites are individual goldfish or cracker packages, fruit snacks, mini cookies, small bags of cereal. It is hard to pack super healthy snacks on the plane so we try to pack enough to just get through the flight. We haven’t been on flights more than about 3 hours.
One thing I wouldn’t recommend not bringing would be chocolate. It just melts so quickly and easily and creates too much of a mess.
Games
All of our girls have a tablet or phone. Other than our teen the girls can’t download games on their own. When we fly we download a few new games that they aren’t expecting so that keeps their interest for a while.
We make sure that we have a few game books for them as well. Such as matching activities. In their backpacks we keep a small white board for each of the kids. This gives them something to draw with but also it is helpful for playing x’s and o’s. For the older kids a good game of hang man is always fun.
Surprises
We make family trips a priority in our life so our kids are pretty used to it. Travel can be hard no matter if you are flying or driving. One of the biggest tips that works for our family is always having little inexpensive surprises when we travel. We create small little surprise bags with toys and treats from the dollar store or things that we find at home that we haven’t used.
Even for our older kids getting a little package like this on the plane is always exiting. Some of the things included for the younger kids are fidgets, smarties, a small puzzle game and sticker pad. For the older kids we put in a pad of paper, stickers, word search or other word game along with a treat. We make sure to add in a fun pencil or pen for added excitement.
Bathrooms on the Plane
So for me, I dread using the bathroom on the plane. We always make sure just minutes before we board everyone goes for one last bathroom break in hopes we can survive the flight without having to go to the bathroom. This has never actually worked, it doesn’t fail every air trip someone ends up needing to go to the bathroom. If you have not experienced it, the bathrooms on planes are really small. Having to enter one of them with a child is a whole different experience.
I certainly have successfully gone into the bathroom with my preschool aged children and made it work with really limited space. My biggest tips for the bathrooms on the plane is to prepare your kids. It is really loud and small and just not what they are used to so just be sure to talk with them about it.
My other tip would be don’t try to use the bathroom with your kids in there- there is just not enough room.
When you decide to try airplane travel with kids I hope it goes well for you. Check out Home – Together We Can Travel for more tips on traveling with your family.
