I hear all the time, I’m so nervous to travel with my kids, how do you do it!? And while it’s normal to feel anxious about traveling, let me just tell you, you CAN do it. You’ve got this! Here are a few tips when it comes to traveling around with your kiddos in tow:
1. CHECK IT OUT: Most airlines check car seats and strollers for free. So give yourself another free hand and get your car seat checked from the get-go! However, I usually like to bring our stroller through security. So let me just warn you now that when you bring your stroller through security, you MUST take your child out of their infant carrier or stroller seat as you go through the detectors. Even if you have a precious, sleeping baby completely asleep (been there and almost had a throw down when I had to wake them up!) you still have to carry them through.
2. PLAY AROUND: Take full advantage of the kid’s play areas at the airport. We’ll have one parent grab food and snacks, while the other one takes kids to the play area. It’s a way to have your children confined to a smaller space than the massive-ness of an airport. Also, it wears those restless legs out before getting onboard. Our kids can’t get enough of it! We even have nicknames for the characters at our local airport (#shoutouttoourfriendpilot!) But then of course, I wash my children down in the free sanitizer near the exit when leaving, ha!
3. LET’S TALK iPADS: I love the iPad. So much so I pre download shows I can watch when we get on (Thank you Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc). Or I also love the free entertainment app (such as GoGo Inflight, or whatever airlines we’re on) to watch FREE unlimited shows and movies. But being parents, we never get to watch anything when traveling with our kids. SO…here’s what happens with our family. Harper watches a show for about 20 min, and then is done. I so wish I could just give her a device and have it keep her distracted for a few hours. But it’s a no go! But one thing she does like is games. We have the silliest games on our iPad, nail painting, dropping shapes into different containers, and we love, and I’m talking LOVE, the Usborne Sticker Dolly Dress Up app. I’m not one to pay for an app, but this one she loves dressing up each character on the screen. It’s definitely saved us a time or two.
4. QUIT TOYING WITH ME: The Target dollar spot is our best friend right before traveling. We spend a few dollars on the most random things: fidget spinners, coloring pads, window clings you can put on the airplane windows, little figurines, etc. Some of our other favorites are Melissa and Doug’s WaterWow! (paint with water pen), Color Wow (clear markers that only color on specific pages), and lots of sticker books. And obviously, we like to stock up on snacks. We splurge and bring ones in packages so they can eat them and then discard all packaging. We also don’t have a lot of space for snack containers. So I buy one container that has multiple openings (similar to a pill box) and put in craisins, cheerios, marshmallows, and fruit snacks. I’ll let you guess which of those gets eaten first…
5. THE BED BOX, WHAT IS IT? IS IT WORTH IT?: The BedBox is a small carry on suitcase that allows an airplane seat to be changed into a bed. The price is steep, and I’ve read people who have had problems with flight attendants asking them to put it away. But let me tell you, we’ve never had this be a problem. The “mattress” is much thinner than I expected, and I’ve been so worried that the wheels would fall off at times. But saying that, we have literally dragged it everywhere in the streets and it’s still held up so well! Now I wouldn’t travel without it! If you have a long flight 5+ hours and know you’ll be flying multiple times with it, it’s fantastic. It’s got plenty of space for the mattress and ALL of Harper’s toys, snacks, blanket, and stuffed animal she brings along. Here’s another tip, we also bought a toddler sized pillow and it even fits in there! The Bedbox also doubles as the most awesome pull along suitcase they can ride around on at the airport in between flights!
But let me warn you, just because you purchase one, doesn’t guarantee your child will fall asleep on the plane. Oh, but wouldn’t that be NICE!? However, if you’re lucky enough to have your sweeties fall asleep, it makes it a much more enjoyable nap for them, and for you! They’re not trying to twist and turn on your lap, and it helps my children sleep longer than they probably would have.
Really though, with flying, it’s just a few hours. You’ll do awesome! We work ourselves up so much that we forget this is an “experience” for our kids. Try to make it fun for them by pointing out new things. Give yourself plenty of time so you, and they, don’t feel anxious. If all else fails and they scream most the flight (hands up, it’s happened to us too) what’s a few hours in the grand scheme of things. Most people will be pretty understanding and will tell you your kids did great. And you get to feel like a freaking rockstar! Happy Travels!