How to Fly With Your Kids
I’m back from my EA SPORTS Active retreat and will be talking about that throughout the coming weeks and taking you through my 30 day challenge as I evaluate my life and enforce positive changes in my diet and lifestyle, but I wanted to talk to everyone today about airline travel with your kids.
I have 8 years of experience in the airline industry as a ticket/gate agent and since leaving to be a stay at home mother 4 years ago have flown with my children every 3 months to visit family in upstate NY. That’s right, EVERY THREE MONTHS.
I take a 4 year old and 1 year old on a plane by myself every few months because I adore my family and don’t want them to miss out on my children. Flying up there isn’t easy, but we’ve developed a system that works for us and I’m going to share it with you.
First of all, get your kids flying as young as possible. If you think you’ll be traveling a lot with your family, get them used to it early. I’m not talking necessarily about a newborn, but my son started flying at 3 months and at 4 years is a travel pro.
Talk to your children about getting on the plane before you go. The most important aspect talk about is the security checkpoint. People focus so much on the aircraft, they tend to forget that the long lines and large machines in the airport can be intimidating to a small child. Make sure they know they’re going to have to remove their shoes and jackets to go through X-ray and that they’ll have to walk through a little walkway to make sure they’re traveling safely.
I don’t typically recommend checking bags, but if you’re flying alone with two children, you may want to. You’re allowed one carry on and one personal item like a purse or laptop case per PAID ticketed passenger. If you have a child under two flying free, you’re allowed the stroller and diaper bag at no extra cost as well.
Even though you’re allowed these things, think about running through the airport and security with your kids in tow and all the extra baggage. I’m a pro, so I typically only bring one diaper bag and one carry on total for myself and two kids, because I just get the items I need for my trip when I get to my final destination. I stay with my mother a lot, so I have a spare set of toiletries I keep there and know I don’t need to bring 3 pairs of jeans when I know I’ll end up not wearing 2 of them.
When you’re walking up to security, speak to an agent to see if there is a family lane, a lot of airports have a straight lane you can go to so you don’t have to weave through the lines. You’ll want to first put your bags up, remove all shoes and jackets and place your baggie containing any liquids and gels in the security bins the airport provides to run through the machine. Remember, all of your toiletries have to be under 3 ounces and must be in a storage bag.
After getting everything up, take your child or children and get that stroller folded and into the CTX (X-ray) machine. Then hand your checked boarding pass to the agent on the other side of the walk through machine and follow their instructions. When you get to your belongings, move everything as far down as possible so other travelers can get their items from the machines and get moving while you prepare to get to your gate.
After you get your children situated at the gate, bags together and shoes back on, it’s time to board. All airlines offer pre-boarding for people with children and I suggest taking it. It gives you the chance to get your stroller gate checked (you’ll get it back at the GATE at the next stop for use in the airport) and also gives you that coveted overhead bin space to put any items you have to store.
I’m sure you’ve heard suggestions to bring toys and games along to keep your little ones busy. I agree with that but please remember, bring SILENT ones. No one wants to hear the bells and whistles toys make in flight. If you have an older child, I recommend bringing along the Nintendo DS Lite (reviewed HERE) and headphones along to keep them busy. You can head to the Video Games section of my review site to read about all the different age appropriate games the Nintendo DS Lite has to offer.
For the smaller children, you can stop at the dollar store and get a bunch of small items to bring out one at a time as they get bored and FOOD. Lots of food. Especially with a baby, put breast milk or formula into a bottle and be sure to give it to the baby on take off, landing and anytime he/she starts to fuss. A full mouth is a mouth that isn’t screaming. Be careful with the older children and liquids though, making sure they don’t have to go to the bathroom in flight. You may even want to get them some pull-ups for the occasion because if you have a 3 year old and 3 month old, the airplane bathroom is impossible to manage.
I think I covered just about everything, do you have any travel tips I may have missed? Let me know here. Any questions on how to travel you’d like to see me write about? Just let me know and I’d be happy to help. Safe travels!
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Any travel tips for adults?
I just got back from a trip around Europe (Germany, Italy and Albania) and I can’t even imagine having done it with small children! Have you ever been to the airport in Rome? I don’t recomend it – lots of lines and pushy people…outside of the airports, the trip was great.
Great tips. Here is one of mine. Take some suckers. Make them sugar free if you must but give them something to SUCK on. I used to travel all the time for work and learned to have spare suckers on hand. (you can sometimes find tootsie pops in a sealed pack of 2-4) Now I’m not saying taking candy from some strange guy like me is a good idea, but a little kid screaming because the changing air pressure hurts the kids ears is not fun for anyone. I lost count of the times this helped out a mother on the edge and my fellow cabin mates. Drinking from a bottle seems to work if the child is already drinking during take off but if they are already hurting they sometimes don’t want to start drinking because of the discomfort. The magic of suckers however, who doesn’t love a tootsie pop? It’s flavored sugar filled with chewy sugar. It’s WIN WIN WIN!
Great post! I’m so worried about this. lol What do you do if they have a meltdown? Do you go to the bathroom to change diapers and is it big enough?
Julie Reply:
April 6th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
If you have a decent flight crew, they’ll let you do it in the galley. The bathroom is NOT a fun place to do it. Just keep ‘em eating and watch the drinks lol.
Good stuff xxxoooxxx
Wow – these are great tips. I think every parent with children should read your suggestions. I think there would be a lot more happy passengers on long flights sitting next to those children. =)
I’m really looking forward to your posts as you move through the EA Challenge. You look fab-o already – can’t wait to see how this adds to the work you’ve already done. You’ll be a great spokeswoman for the product.
Good luck!!
Great post! If you can do it with TWO little ones, surely I can do it with one
I’ve flown with my babies a couple times. I would start nursing them when we were on the runway, less than 5 minutes from takeoff, and nurse until we were at flight altitude. Worked every time. And the same for landing.
Give the older kids suckers or gum to chew on. Helps relieve the ear pressure. It’s uncomfortable for adults, but can be painful for children.
Books and imagination toys (like little figures or dolls) were the best airplane distractions.
You’re amazing. We’re going to a wedding next month and we’re not bringing the kids since I’m terrified to travel with them.
I could have really used the suggestions when Taylor was 1..him and I flew alone and he SCREAMED almost the whole way home…very stressful..Thankfully another mom gave him a sucker just like Johnny Heavens shared.
Won’t it be fun if/when Octomom travels with her broad?
I feel like maybe I helped to inspire this post???? You couldn’t be a little more helpful BEFORE I got to the airport last week??? Its a good thing I love you
You’re awesome Julie!…and brave!
What about car seats? I am taking a trip with my two year old in August and plan on taking her car seat with me for use on the other end. Any suggestions?
Julie Reply:
April 7th, 2009 at 5:58 am
Just make sure it’s an airline approved car seat and it’s best if your carry on is a roller bag. Most seats are airline approved but if you have any questions, read the side of the seat, there should be a sticker that says so. If you have a roller bag, you can usually strap the seat to the bag so it’s one less thing to carry and they even have car seats now that have wheels specifically for airports.
your tips will be of good use to us. Were planning on a out of the country trip with a 5 yr old and one under the age of 2. Ill read your tips again and again so i can get it in my thick head,heheheehheeh
Those are good ideas, though I still prefer NOT to fly with my children. LOL I am a coward.
Great tips! I took a trip by myself with my two kids a year ago, they were 5 & 1. It was hectic.
One tip I have, the very best shoes for travel: CROCS!! They slip on and off easy for going through security and let your feet breath during the flight!
Yea! I found this post. This helps a lot. I am actually getting on my first plane ride by myself in June and there were lots of things that will help me as well. I do have three kids and I do not want them to have the same fears as I, so I will be back to re-read this when I take them on a trip.
Where in update is your family from. Mine lives in upstate NY as well.
GoGo Babyz Travel Wheels are the best! It attaches to the back of a lot of different car seats and you can strap your child into their car seat and wheel them through the airport. We have done this with our son on many occasions. The other helpful thing is even if you haven’t paid for a seat for them (before they are 2) if you take their seat to the gate and ask if there are any spare seats they will always give you a seat for your child’s car seat and this has helped many times before he turned 2 I think we only had one leg (of many) that we didn’t get a seat and then you just gate check it and pick it up at the gate when you get off. The wheels can be a pain at security because you have to take them off to put the seat through but worth it!
Thank you for the great tips! I have to travel in February with a 6 year old and a 1 year old…One tip I have from the last time I flew with my 6 year old (who was 2 at the time), is to bring an empty cup, you can fill it up after you get through security—it makes getting through security checkpoints so much faster. If you don’t want to buy water, milk or juice you can fill it up at the water fountain. I also plan to bring just one carryon and a diaperbag. Thanks to the other readers too for the great tips about the lollipops!