5 Tips: Flying with kids
“Are you really going to fly?!” is a question I have heard many times. Mostly from parents who stay very close to their home, or take the car when going to their holiday destination. As our baby hates sitting in the car seat, I would rather fly 10 hours than drive 10 hours with a screaming baby. Nevertheless, every parent knows their kids best, always choose what feels good to you! We have chosen to travel by plane. How does that go? Most of the time really well, not always… Remembering our first flight with son Mees having his own seat (2 years old), not wanting to wear the belt. Or the time Mees took a run for the emergency exit, starting to pull the handle. This was on our flight to Curacao, after 1 hour, with still 9 hours to go. These were some incidents, all in all, it goes fine most of the time. So there we go, 5 tips for flying with kids:
1. Almost holiday
When flying with kids, always remember: it’s almost holiday, almost! Yes, you can take books and magazines with you for the flight, as long as you don’t expect to read any of them. Don’t worry!! You have only a couple of hours to go before your holiday really starts!
2. Full bottle
Travelling with a baby? Make sure you always have a full bottle with you. When you are travelling with a little one, you are allowed to take this with you onboard. Even for older kids, sucking on a bottle can be a great help preventing pain in the ears. We always carry a bottle of cold water, a thermos with hot water and baby milk powder with us, to be able to make a bottle any time. Don’t worry about a feeding schedule. If you think your baby is in pain or hungry: give them a bottle.
3. Fellow Passengers
What makes flying with kids most difficult is the fellow passengers. You don’t want them to be annoyed by crying babies and running toddlers. Therefore, show them you are doing absolutely everything to keep your children happy and quiet. When boarding the plane, have a good look around: who is sitting next to, behind, and in front of you? Give them a smile and tell them you are travelling with kids, you will do everything to keep them quiet and apologize in advance, may there be any nuisance.
4. Entertainment
Make sure you have lots of entertainment with you: videos and games on the iPad, fruit (peeling a tangerine takes some time), books and crayons. When kids get bored, take them for a short walk through the plane.
5. Fun
The flight should be fun for the kids. As you need to fly back as well, it’s also in your best interest that he/she loves flying.
Our longest flight was to Curacao, 10 hours. Of course, flying with kids is not as relaxed as flying without them. We had a rough time for the first 1.5 hours, after that we were all fine, and we spent an amazing holiday on Curacao!
This guest blog is written by Romy. You can find more of her blogs on reisjeboomjefeestje.wordpress.com about travelling with her kids Mees (4) and Lot (1). Romy is a text writer and owner of Textvast. She travelled with her kids to Curacao, Aruba, Rhodos and Tenerife.