My tips for flying with kids

Nowadays, we travel more, and over longer distances with more or less comfort than before depending on the class we are in (in economics, there are more seats on the same row with fewer space on the legs, which does not help the situation for the parents).

As the milesopedia community has mentioned,it is not necessary to be a child to harm the space of others. Not all adult passengers are disciplined and will never be seen to appear on the aircraft seat plan 🙂

They can be quite as unbearable! Adults who will certainly be noticed are sometimes those who are out of the norm and who will not have been used to travelling frequently by air. Others will simply have no way and will do as they please!

For 4 years now, we have known the joys and horrors of travelling with Alexandra and for 2 years with Arthur. We travelled miles and miles with them. Whether it’s by car, plane, taxi, boat, train what else do I know: we’ve adapted.

It has not always been easy. Alexandra is a very lively, laughing, intelligent girl who likes to decide everything and direct or even control her parents and Arthur is in the middle of his terrible two, the “no” and affirmation phase!

Or not…

It is up to parents to managed their children or minimize their crises, to anticipate what it takes to keep them in place is a fact.

Each parent will be advised to arrive prepared, calm and fit for the flight.

A good tracking of the cabin layout with the toilet will also help. A parent can always prepare for any eventuality and role-playing is the best way to learn. But sometimes you can’t see things coming!

Example, when our daughter vomited on our flight to San Francisco recently: I didn’t have the reflex to take out the vomit bag immediately having Arthur asleep in my arms. To late. Who would have had the reflex in less than 10 seconds?

When a child vomits, few passengers will think about giving a bag to the parent … everyone will focus on looking elsewhere rather than helping the parent.

For example, as a passenger, you could notify the flight attendant and ask for paper for the parent and maybe a bag of coffee to stop the smell 😉 The flight attendants are used to this type of situation.

On the Montreal-San Francisco route, the hostess confessed to me that she had a sick person EVERY time because of the turbulence. The seat cushion can even be changed, check with the crew. There are usually always 1 extra one.

Let’s make a distinction and not judge anyone.

As you prepare your trip, you also prepare your children!

The preparation phase is more for parents with children from 0 to 6 years old, as they have more difficulty managing their emotions and patience. As Sophie Reis of the BBJetlag website says, a child should be usually prepared well before the flight, when he starts to walk.

Travelling with a baby from 1 month to 8 months is usually very good (especially if you are breast-feeding, it helps a lot!), while the most difficult period is between 18 months and 3.5 years old in my opinion.

Explain the different phases of the journey. Try to involve the child at each phase of the airport rather than run without reasons (check-in, security, customs) and make sure that your child gets some exercise before getting on the plane. If your child is easily tired, take a stroller until you arrive at the aircraft door (choose a compact preferably to take it with you on board, check out with the company).

A bag to keep close to you will therefore have be to prepare, ideally at least the day before departure. If several trips follow one another, such as around the world for example, try to always restock according to this list (snacks, games, clothes).

Think of the baby carrier too, very useful for travelling around the airport in order to have your hands free (you will have to untie your baby and remove the harness to safety in general) as well as on the plane in order to rock your baby and manage to put him to sleep by example.

This general list is of course to be adapted according to each family, the age of the child and each trip. For me it is enough, maybe others will like to take more.

Always ask the crew if they have a little something for your child. It could be a stuffed plane, pencils, decals.

A child who is tired or hungry will be more likely to have a temper tantrums. If you start to see these signs, don’t wait until the last moment. Take him in the arms if possible, go for a walk with him or give him a snack he likes.

Depending on age, recreate the evening ritual to make it easier to fall asleep.

For some long flights where they had to sleep on the plane, after meals, they were changed into pajamas or more casual clothes, brushed their teeth and stopped the screens to read a story before trying to put them to sleep. Sometimes it worked other times no, but if you don’t try, you don’t get anything!

A parent for a child: Divide the children if you have 2 or more and do it according to affinities. Temper tantrums will be easier to calm if there are. When we see vacant seats, Jean-Maximilien does not hesitate to settle down with Alexandra apart in order to avoid an outbid in excitement.

Some moments of games or videos together are good but can sometimes also turn into crises.

Avoid noisy, oversized games or small, hard-to-find parts. I recommend that you put all the games in a small canvas bag that you put in your backpack or that the children can wear. This bag has to weigh more if you buy other games during the trip so don’t load it too much from the start!

Avoid jealousy if you have 2 or more children! Having paid the price several times, one lesson I learned on our last trips is to take the same thing for one and the other: for snacks, meals, juices … Also plan an electronic device for everyone! A crisis can quickly occur because of the desire for what one has and the other does not have.

Just like your baggage, compartmentalize your backpack well to find your way around easily and especially quickly!

Finally even if you do your best, do not take for granted the contemptuous looks of some passengers. The vast majority of people will understand.

Accept not having an answer to any crisis and learn from your mistakes for the next time!

Tiredness is quickly felt with the children so be courageous, take breaks and take turns if you can.

No secret, you have to take your pain in patience!

And between us, parents also “hate” their children at times when they don’t listen. When a child is hit by something, the task is difficult for the parent. A parent already gives 24 hours a day with his child. So there are releases that happen and sometimes … it’s on the plane because of the accumulated exhaustion!

Be understanding.