It’s finally here, the very last day of Take 5 in June! I hope you have enjoyed this little break from my normal posting schedule (but hopefully not so much that you’re not glad to have me back.) Tomorrow I’ll be back to my plain old boring self.
Our vacation is officially over. After a very long day of flying yesterday, we are back in Florida and very glad to be warm again. I will admit that I am more than a little overwhelmed by all the post-vacation stuff I now need to catch up on–unpacking, laundry, paying bills, re-stocking the fridge–but it was really nice to sleep in my own bed last night and drink my own coffee this morning. Oh Mr. Keurig machine, how I missed you!
I am also doing my best to sift through all the emails and comments I received while I was away. I will try to get to as many as I possibly can, but it might take me a little while.
In the meantime, with all these thoughts of flying with little ones fresh in my head, I thought I’d share a few of my own tips for arriving to your destination with your sanity intact. I am not a big fan of flying, but when you live on one coast and your family lives on another, there is sometimes just no way to avoid it.
1. Take a deep breath and try to relax.
It doesn’t matter how much you prepare, how many activities and snacks you take along, and how perfectly you time your flights, traveling with the 5 and under crowd is really not fun. The sooner you accept the fact that it is going to be a very long day, that your kids will probably get crabby, and that things will go wrong, the easier it will be to roll with the punches.
Do whatever it takes to stay relaxed and keep your sense of humor and your day will go much smoother. Yesterday, for example, when our connecting flight was delayed, we entertained ourselves by going around and around on the moving sidewalks in front of our gate. We must have gone back and forth at least 50 times, but as long as the girls were entertained and content, so were we. After all, no matter how long the trip (or how long you have to ride the moving sidewalk) it will end eventually.
2. Let your kids blow off steam when they have a chance
A lot of airports have play areas for kids, but even ones that don’t usually have some sort of open empty space that kids can run around in. Obviously you don’t want your kids getting in the way of other travelers, but letting them get all that excess energy out before you board is a gift to everyone on the plane. I usually find that the harder they play right before we board, the more they settle down (or faster they go to sleep) once in their seats.
3. Bring fresh entertainment
Video iPods and iPhones are the new portable DVD player and so handy for traveling with kids. If you don’t have one, ask around to see if you can borrow one for the trip. (I bought a used iPod Touch on Amazon Marketplace for less than $100.) Older iPhones that are no longer being used as a phone are basically the same thing as an iPod touch, and there are a huge number of TV shows and games that can be downloaded from iTunes for free. Be sure to get some kid-size headphones, though, since a lot of kids won’t use the earbuds. I bought these cute panda headphones for both my girls & they worked great.
You will want to be sure to bring some non-digital entertainment as well. Crayons or markers and paper are always a hit for Princess (age 4), while Trouble (age 2) just loves stickers. On this trip we discovered the wonders of WikkiStix, which might very well be the best toy on the planet. Another very entertaining toy for Trouble was a little stuffed dog called BuckleyBoo which features 3 different kinds of buckles on the front. It regularly kept her busy for 15-20 minutes at a time, which is pretty much a miracle.
4. Don’t worry too much about what the people around you are thinking
In all the times we have flown, I have been amazed by how nice everyone always is. Most people have had to fly with a child at some point in their life and can sympathize with your plight. In fact, yesterday was the first time we have ever encountered any nastiness from a fellow passenger, and her nastiness was so uncalled for that we even had other passengers stop us after the flight to apologize for it.
Don’t waste time or energy worrying about what other passengers are thinking. It doesn’t matter and you can’t change it. The only thing you can do is entertain and soothe your kids the best you can, given the circumstances, and to take a deep breath and try to relax. Getting tense won’t help you and your kids will sense it.
5. Be prepared.
Sure, going through security is a bit of a hassle, but it would be no matter what so you might as well bring what you need. I always bring a special backpack for each child, along with my own bag filled with necessities–wipes, diapers, band-aids, hand sanitizer, bib, extra pacifiers, water cups, & snacks.
With a 4 year old and a 2 year old, I also still bring the double stroller everywhere we go and just check it at the gate. For late flights, I’ve found that changing the girls into their pajamas helps settle them down and get them into “sleepy” mode and also makes putting them to bed easier upon arrival.
* * *
So tell me, what are your favorite tips for traveling with kids?
Affiliate links may be used in this post. Printing a coupon or ordering a product through this link may result in a commission, which helps pay for the cost of running this site and keeps the content free. Read my full disclosure policy here.
Tiffany June 22, 2011 at 1:08 am
Wow you girls looked very entertained with the iPods what a great idea!
My favorite tip for traveling with kids (I have a 3 & 1 yeear old girls) is to book the earliest flight possible.
When we travel, we book flights at 5 or 6 am (if possible). The night before we put all out luggage inside the car including strollers and diaper bags and in the morning all we do is put our girls in the car half asleep so when they wake up we are already at the airport! And during the plane ride they are usually so tired that they fall asleep during takeoff (or at least one of them hehe)
Amanda P June 22, 2011 at 1:44 pm
So glad that you had a good trip and vacation. I have missed you weekly shopping post. Cant wait to see the next post. I really enjoying see your post while you were gone too.
Shaidy June 22, 2011 at 6:42 pm
Loved the tips…! I am traveling next week to NY with 4…Althought mine are older…I do try to pack up stuff for them to be entertained. In the past I have packed them each a bag pack and filled up with “surprise” items. I would pack it in the car the night before and give it to them when we arrived at the airport “under the condition” that they are not to open them until the plane takes off! In better times…I remember buying them video games (on e-bay of course), nintendo ds, dvd players..and all that jazz! now that they are a little older we do more books and gift cards for music to download into their ipods and stuff! As the above post, I usually take the ealier flights. It is easier to travel with many kids in the am…when the airports are empty…
Glad to have you back Ruth!
you were missed!
Shaidy
Kelly June 23, 2011 at 9:24 pm
I had to fly back from Nashville with my 4-year old a few weeks ago and she had to go to the bathroom right as they put on the fasten seat-belt sign. We were descending and there was going to be turbulence. Unfortunately, we had to circle the airport for 45 minutes before landing because of the turbulence. My daughter was screaming and crying the whole time because it was really hard for her to “hold it” for that long. The stewardess came through the cabin one more time before we actually landed and let us use the restroom. This episode got me thinking. I will probably put my daughter in a pull up the next time we fly even though she has been potty trained for 3 years. If I have another emergency then she will be prepared even if she can’t get up from her seat. It will be weird for her but it’s better than having an accident or dealing with a sweet child that is in pain from “holding it.”
Kylie August 24, 2011 at 1:11 am
Great advice! My husband and I traveled with our 6 month old in June. Not quite the same (as in no iPods or anything
obviously). He is a really good baby, so it wasn’t aweful, but one thing I thought of right before the trip was to bring a light weight blanket to lay on the floor at the airport. The floor is so dirty, and we were supposed to have a 3 hour layover on our way to our destination. The blanket was PERFECT! We layed it out and let him roll/crawl around on it and play. It wore him out just enough that as we got settled on the plane, he took a bottle and fell asleep for nearly the whole flight! I know that if we ever travel with an infant again, we will do the same thing!