We are an international family, which means we travel a lot!
Last week our now 3 years 8 months and 1 year 11 months old
sons completed their 25th and 16th flights, respectively.
Most of our flights have been pretty calm and the boys have often been complemented on their good behavior! Although this makes us proud, we have worked hard to get to this point. So, we thought it was time to share our top travel tips with all our readers so you too can enjoy travelling with your young children.
- Timing is everything - we always plan our flight so they coincide with the children's sleep. This means long hauls overnight and shorter trips when they are likely to take a nap. Even if they stay awake longer that they normally do, they are quiet and happy to cuddle on the seat.
- Have an abundance of snacks. Now our eldest son is almost 4, he loves having a little lunchbox with snacks which he will only open after the fasten seat belt sign is off! It also helps him stay still for take off as he is clutching it watching the light!!! We try to bring some fruit (raisins or bananas that don't make too much mess) a small carton drink and some child friendly biscuits (by which I mean low sugar - no hyper sugared up kids on the plane please)!
- Have a fun gift for them to open. This is usually an activity book for our boys as it keeps them busy and if you wrap it there are usually no issues at security.
- Empathy is everything. Like you, your children are really excited to be on the plane heading to their holiday destination. Unlike you, they find it really hard to contain this excitement. Try to avoid telling them off and instead embrace their enthusiasm by asking what they think it will be like or what they want to do on their holidays.
- If all else fails, take a walk to the bathroom. I find that when they get that little bit too excited by it all, tantrums can begin to brew. I try to nip them in the bud by changing the subject or making jokes but it doesn't always work. So we don't have total meltdown I take them into the bathroom for a little one on one. We have a little chat and I wait for them to calm down before returning to our seat.
- Make sure you have a change of clothes for everyone. There is nothing worse than sitting in smelly clothes because one of the kids vomited/had a nappy leak or worse (i'll leave that to your imagination). As an adult it's hard to sit in wet or dirty clothes but for a child it can be unbearable. Clean clothes and lots of wipes and you should be winning!
- Make sure you have a prescription for pain relief/fever medication in case it's needed. With all the excitement of the holiday, children can get temperatures very quickly. Make sure you have a prescription otherwise you may not be able to take medication onto a plane.
- If it all goes pear shaped, just think, tomorrow is the first day of our holidays and today won't matter anymore (and don't worry about the return flight. More than likely it will be much better).
The activity books for the latest flight
Happy flying :)
If you have any tips that could help us over the years please let us know in the comments below.
