5 Tips for Flying with Small Children

Air travel, hours confined to a small space, is hard enough for adults.

For kids, wow!

Not only are they confined to tight quarters, they’re in a completely foreign environment. Surrounded by strangers, big blue seats, buttons and those flip-down trays, there’s so much to take in. That’s overwhelming! Give kids a leg up (get it? legs? airplanes?) with these tips for traveling with young kids.

5 tips for flying with small children

1. Role play what happens when you fly on a plane.

Young kids love to role play, so help them understand what to expect and “play” airplane.

Line up chairs to make an airplane with a center aisle. Pack a suitcase with toys and snacks for the ride.

Then, have your child board the plane and walk down the narrow aisle.

Second, have stuffed animals fill in for other passengers and talk about how crowded it is — and how to be polite on the plane. Use your inside voice, don’t kick the back of the seat, etc.

Third, let your child play with the toys in her bag (maybe save a few surprises for the actual flight).

When you role play what to expect, the real moment of flying with small children is much easier.

After you show them what to expect, mix it up and let your child pretend to be the flight attendant.

Help her learn what the flight attendants do: Checking that all passengers use their seat belts, providing drinks, and helping with luggage.

Take turns. You can be the flight attendant, too, and even do the preflight check speech! Make it fun and practice good manners, especially when you’re the passenger (your child will remember you using your manners).

2. Prepare young kids for air travel and how it feels at take off

There’s no real way to prepare kids for the loud sounds and the sensation of flight take-off, but you can prepare distractions.

Our daughter’s first flight (other than first coming home from China) was at age four. She does not like change or unfamiliar experiences, so we were quite apprehensive about the flight. A couple months before our trip, we watched “The Little Einsteins” just about daily. Once she was familiar with the show, we “played” blastoff with her and pretended we were flying kids.

Fast forward to actually traveling with young kids (her and her brothers). As we taxied down the runway, we all patted our legs, faster, faster and then lifted our arms and yelled “blastoff” (just one yell). She giggled through it all and was pleasant the entire flight.

3. Pack easy activities for young kids to enjoy

Surviving takeoff is only half the battle. Plan activities for young kids that work in an airplane seats.  Flying with small children is easier when we remember that they have short attention spans.

A child who flits from activity to activity every three minutes at home will not suddenly be entertained by one toy on a four hour flight! Pack a variety of great toys to make the task a bit less daunting. Include crafts, coloring, manipulatives and toys with different textures to keep kids entertained.

Some that I really like for traveling with young kids are:

• Wikki Stix
• Mess Free Coloring Books
• My Quiet Book — a soft book for cuddle and play
• Dry Erase Travel Pack 
• Lacing Apple for busy hands

4. Pack snacks for the plane

Since airlines have cut back on meals and snacks, so flying with young children takes a bit more planning. Pack your kids’ favorite snacks for long flights. Make them fun — create homemade “lunchables,” with bite size cheese, fruit and crackers. Pack individually wrapped snacks and fruit. Try to make healthy choices.

Refined sugar does rev kids up — which just makes it harder to keep those wiggles under control.

Likewise, encourage your child to drink. The dry air on airplanes is quite dehydrating. When we get dehydrated, we just don’t feel good. Kids who don’t feel good are harder to entertain — and they could care less if they kick the businessman in the next row! (You know… if you give a mouse a cookie…)

5. Take potty breaks BEFORE emergencies

Since there are only a few restrooms for all air passengers, this might be the hardest part about air travel with kids! It helps to plan ahead to avoid accidents. Don’t wait until your child is squirming in his seat to get in line, but anticipate when he might need the restroom and go early.

What are your favorite tips for air travel with kids? How do you turn a strange experience into an exciting adventure?