Top tips for flying with toddlers

Top 10 tips for plane travel with toddlers

Flying with small children can be shadow hanging over an otherwise highly anticipated holiday or visit. Here are some of our top tips to make it a little more bearable.  Let us know your top tips for happy travels.

1. Take lots of things they have never seen before, wrap them up in little parcels secured with LOTS of sellotape to make them harder to open and then produce one every 30 mins. This may seem like a lot of toys, especially if you have a long flight but we promise it is worth it. They don't need to be expensive just new and a bit different if possible. A 30p stretchy snake can entertain for ages!
2. If you have a tablet or smart phone, load some of their favourite TV shows for them to watch.
3. Also on a tablet or smart phone, download some of the kids apps.  There are loads of free ones, some of which have childlocks so you don't need to worry about them accessing the rest of your phone.
4. Take several changes of clothes for the kids and one for you. It is possible that your child may get travel sick or just have some kind of accident on the plane. We suggest putting a complete change of clothes (or 2) for each child inside a ziplock bag. The bag can then be used to store the dirty clothes. It also worth taking a change of top at least for the adults.
5. Take lots of interesting snacks and treats.  Playing with food is to be encouraged on aeroplanes as long as it means it takes longer to eat than normal!
6. If your child is old enough, invest in some toddler headphones. These will be volume limited for safety.  They will then be able to watch the Films and other TV if you are on a flight with those facilities.  Alternatively load audio books onto your smart phone or tablet for them to listen to.  For younger children there are books that come with CDs if they like the pictures. As a final option you can have their favourite songs on your phone or computer.
7. Take some favourite books as well as a couple of new ones. There are some great I spy books available which can be discussed at length. Small book libraries which come in boxes are great not only as stories but for lining up and putting away and some even have a puzzle on the back when the books are put together.
8. If it is a long flight and you think your children will be noisy then seriously consider taking earplugs for your immediate neighbours. Give them out at the start of the flight, apologising for any inconvenice and assuring them that you will do everything you can to keep the children  quiet.  It is much harder for people to be unpleasant when you have already apologised and you never know, they may even help you out a bit with some entertaining!
9. If your child is not long out of nappies or needs the toilet often consider using pull ups (or special aeroplane pants!) for the flight.  If your child needs the toilet during take off or landing they won't be able to go nor during turbulence and a nappy means it doesn't matter if they can't hold on long enough.
10. If you want your child to sleep take comfort toys associated with sleep time. Try to follow your bedtime routine as closely as possible so brush their teeth, have a story, give them the blanket and say 'night night'.   For children old enough, talk to them in the days before the trip about how they will have their meal on the aeroplane and then go to sleep so they are expecting it.

We hope these give you some ideas for making the flight easier.  Sign up to our newsletter for regular hints and tips for making travel fun!