Four and a half hours in a confined space with two small children fills me with dread but when that confined space happens to be up in the air… Help me!
This year is the first year we will be setting off abroad with the girls and suddenly I am having a mild panic about the actual flying part of the holiday. I know many people fly regularly with kids and I am probably worrying over nothing. After all they are off on an adventure! It is probably because I hate flying myself that isn’t helping matters. Edd on the other hand is completely relaxed and unruffled about the whole thing.
To make sure the flight and travel times go as smoothly as possible I have decided to get a bit organised and make it as easy (and hopefully fun!) a trip as possible. I’d love to hear your top tips for flying with children too to make sure I don’t arrive on holiday too harassed!
Mini Suitcases
The girls both had a fabulous little animal design suitcase for Christmas which they love. I am hoping they will happily fill these with goodies to keep them entertained on the flight and be able to wheel them themselves. However, worst case they do have a strap on the bag so that I can sling them over my shoulder. The day before we set off I will be getting them to pop a few favourite toys and books in the case that they can easily play with on the plane.
Transfers
We are lucky in that we have good flight times and only live half an hour from the airport. This has meant that I have been able to get lifts from family thus avoiding the need for extra time for parking. I’m looking forward to just jumping out the car and heading off.
Seating
We are yet to decide if we are better having a 3 and 1 seat or a 2 and 2 formation. I’m thinking 3 and 1 will allow the girls to sit together and play, hopefully, but does anyone have any suggestions on what has worked?
Activity Books
I love little activity books and most holidays we get the girls a new sticker book and colouring book. The Usborne books are a real favourite as the stickers are big and easy to peel. They can often spend a good chunk of time working their way through these. A cheap and cheerful pack of crayons and colouring book will be on the list too.
Toys
I want to try and pop a few toys in that the girls can easily play with. I initially thought of a little lego set for Molly but then realised I may well be hunting under the seats for all the small pieces she will likely drop. The toys will need to be quite small so we may pack a few Playmobil figures and I’m pretty sure Molly will be adding her Barbie!
Technology
The girls love being allowed to use the iPad (in fact I’m pretty sure they are better at it than me!) so we will be taking this with us fully charged and armed with copious games and films. Edd bought them both a little pair of headphones which we have been practicing using and they are always asking to wear them. This means they can quietly sit and watch a film for at least a short portion of the film. We already have a few favourite apps/games such as the Toca Boca series but any other suggestions for pre-schoolers are welcome.
Comfort
I am very much doubting they will be taking a nap, after all we have daytime flights, but just in case they will be taking their Skip Hop neck pillows and a small blanket with them in case they get cold.
Surprise Bag
A friend of mine suggested this to me and it seems like a great idea. I’m planning on creating a little bag of treats and surprises that I can pull out at intervals during the flight to keep them amused. My friend wraps all of hers up like little presents but I wonder whether this may create a bit too much mess and chaos around us?! I’m thinking of popping in a few of the aforementioned activity books, a new little toy and then some treats of the eating variety.
Snacks
I think we will be needing quite a few snacks to get us through the journey so I’ll be making up various goodies for them. Although they would probably just like chocolate I think I’ll probably opt for something slightly less messy! Probably a few sandwiches, some rice cakes and some oat bars and berries. I promise I don’t only own Skip Hop products (we just love them) but these sandwich and snack bags are great. Molly has them for school and they fold up really flat so once they have eaten their way through the snacks I don’t have to worry about lots of tubs. We also recently bought the girls a little Camelbak flask which is probably the best flask they have ever owned. No leaking or messy lids. I love them!
Popping Ears
We all know the sensation of ears popping on take off and landing so I’m wondering how the girls will cope with this. I have read that giving them some juice to drink should help or something to chew on. Does anyone else have any wonder remedies?
Essentials
I’ll be packing an easy change of clothes for both the girls as knowing the mucky pups they will likely spill something down themselves. On that note I may just chuck in a vest top for me just in case! I will also be taking copious tissues and baby wipes. Just in case I think I should have some baby Nurofen or Calpol in my bag. I’m guessing I will need to buy these inside the airport so will have to make sure I remember.
Does anyone have any top tips to share on flying with children? Anything that I need to remember to pack in my hand luggage?
It sounds like your really prepared Lottie! My husband works abroad in America a lot so we tend to tag along with him quite often, my 18 month old and 3 year old have both flown around 4 times each, and the 8 to 10 hour flights fill me with dread but actually aren’t too bad. I tend to have pretty much everything you have above, only thing ld suggest and which l always forget is to pack a bag of goodies and toys for the return journey in your suitcase, l always focus on the “getting there” part and always forget new things for the coming home journey. Have an amazing holiday! X
Well done you on the long flights. Much braver than me! Yep, had completely forgotten about the return flight. Must pack a few extra bits and pieces. xxxx
My tip is hold something back for the return flight! It sounds like you’ve thought of just about everything.
I’ve flown a few times now with a very lively boy, it is way easier than driving without a doubt. My only concern would be will the girls fight over the ipad, if they will then I’d do the 2-2 seating arrangement and let them have it for half the flight each. This might also mean they get a window seat each – obviously aisle is more convenient but kids love the view in my experience. Then again with the 3-1 seating parents can swap and get some magazine/wine time!
I have thought about the possible fights which knowing these two is inevitable so maybe separating them would be a good idea! Either that or I’ll sit on my own at the back of the plane and leave Edd to it! xx
Calpol/nurofen, Ella’s Kitchen fruity snack pouches etc. Can be ordered from Boots and collected in the terminal once you have cleared security. One less thing to think about with the heightened security checks. Just make sure you select the Airside store when choosing delivery address. Good luck xx
Fab tip. Thanks so much. I’ll get on with the order xxx
You can also get sachets of calpol and nurofen which take up less room. If booking a collection at Boots make sure you do it at least a week in advance. 🙂
How did I not know about sachets? Amazing x
I’ve flown a few times with my husband and son – the first time when he was 6 months old – and most recently just my boy and myself (him at 20 months). The younger they are, the easier it is, but so much is dependant on the airline you fly with! Easyjet couldn’t do enough for us as a family, but Ryanair refused to even help me put my bag up in the locker (sorry not allowed). They refused to help me down the stairs to the Tarmac, saying that I had to ask other passengers to help me instead. I was 50% tearful and 50% considering head butting the woman. You’ve got everything else covered, but don’t be afraid to ask for help and insist on absolutely anything you need.
Blimey, that is awful. Rather thankful we aren’t flying with Ryan Air as that is not the best start to the holiday. I think I would have also been considering the head butting. x
Great timing as we have booked our first holiday abroad in June to Cyprus. Our little boy will be 10 months and I’m very nervous about keeping him entertained! He just won’t sit still and so another two months and I can’t imagine what a live wire he will be! He’s a little young for some of these ideas but drip feeding new toys and the iPad will hopefully work!
Fingers crossed some of our lovely readers will be able to share some tips for flying with smaller ones seen as I was a wimp and avoided it for as long as possible! Thank heavens for the iPad. x
We took our son abroad at 4 months and again at 9 months. It wasnt too bad as he is very inquisitive, so a lot of the time he just enjoyed looking around at what was going on! We downloaded some of his favourite shows for the iPad which helped. Coming home at 9 months was worst – we had a night flight and he fell asleep with a bottle in my arms no problem, but when descending his ears must have been killing, so we gave him more milk and when that ran out some fruit purée which seemed to help, but as soon as we landed he was sick all over me!! Lovely.
I just think for 4 hours of your life, even if it’s a nightmare, it’s only 4 hours!!x
You are so right, it is only 4 hours. I am slightly concerned about the sick factor as Alice has a tendency to get travel sick. Eeek. Spare clothes at the ready! x
Exactly, o keep reminding myself it’s only four hours. And as we are going on a family package holiday there should be plenty of children and babies on the plane and so noisy/crying baby shouldn’t be an issue! I think milk and Ella is going to be used in abundance!
Wow….you sound super prepared to me! I think it’s easy to forget how many new things the little ones will see on their first flight and how excited they will be. I know our eldest was enchanted by everything around him on his first one!
We did the present wrapping trick with him when he was 16 months old and we were on a 12 hour flight (while I was 7 months pregnant) and it really worked. Fun to see him opening them and playing with them every hour or so……little things, plastic mobile, puzzles, sticker books even snacks. We did a few walls up and down the aisles too. The last flight we took was 3 hours with our 6 month old and our 2 year old. Again, they were very taken in by there surroundings but it sounds like you’ve got all the bases covered……maybe a check list of things for them to spot in the airport and on the flight to tick off like a game? Also a friend suggested mints to pass out to nearby passengers where you’re sitting to sweeten them up a bit…!!
Good luck x
I do tend to over stress Poppy and you are so right that they will probably just be super excited to be at the airport and on the plane that they will be absolutely fine. I’m sure it will go quite quickly and they will love it. Great tip on the treats for neighbouring seats x
What perfect timing! We are taking our just turned 2 year old to New Zealand next week. I have been in total denial about the 24 hour flight (GULP) until this weekend! These tips are fantastic! I’m just hoping that we will be sitting around some understanding fellow passengers. We have booked the Air New Zealand Skycouch (look it up – it looks amazing) for the second leg so hopefully Annabel will be able to sleep stretched out rather than sitting up or on top of me! Wish us luck!!
Wow, go you with a 24 hour flight. I am in awe. Plus very jealous of your trip and that sky couch. Looks fab. Good luck! x
Definitely recommend doing the 2:2 seating arrangement as both of my big girls liked to be able to see out of the window…I also had a 13month old on my lap so it just meant I wasn’t trying to juggle three while my other half was dozing away over the aisle!! ? Sago mini games are good pre-school games on the iPad too if you’ve not tried them yet. I got them some sticker books too…the kind where you can buy extra sticker packs from the supermarket cos then fingers crossed, you can stock up on some more before heading home! Good luck!
I have started to think they both might like to look out the window so probably makes sense really. I’ll have a little peek at Sago thanks. xx
I have flown many times with my little ones (5 years and 16 months) and agree with all the above.
Depending on which airport you are flying from, security can be a bit of an ordeal so make sure they’ve been to the loo before you get stuck in a big queue and prepare your hand luggage with security checks in mind when you’re packing (liquids all together in clear, sealable bags, iPads easily retrievable etc) so that you have minimal faffing when you finally get there.
If they’ve never been on a plane then it might be worth chatting about what it will be like as it could be quite noisy/scary/overwhelming for a small person!
Finally, I’d dress them in layers as planes seem to only ever be boiling or freezing and uncomfortable children only make uncomfortable parents….
Have a brilliant holiday!
Thanks Katharine. I hadn’t even thought about security. It’s been so long since I’ve been on a plane I appear to have forgotten the whole palaver of getting to the plane. Definitely opting for layers. For me too as I always freeze on the flight! xx
Ooh very jealous, I hope you have a fab time.
A couple of things I would recommend would be to pack your phone/iPad charger in your hand luggage, as we were majorly delayed once and ended up buying one as we had a very irritable toddle on our hands. I always buy the calpol sachets for travelling as they take up less space and no worries about hand luggage.
I would try not to stress it will be completely fine and sounds like you are mega organised. Plenty of entertainment and snacks and you’re good to go.
Have a fab time. X
Great tip on the charger and I am definitely hunting out these Calpol sachets I think. I may sound organised but I’m pretty sure I will be running round like a mad woman the morning we leave! xx
Regarding the popping ears; the best tip we ever received was from an air steward herself. When taking off and landing ask them for 2 plastic cups that they serve drinks in and hold them over each ear like ear defenders. It is hands down the best thing for little ears!
Fantastic idea. Thanks for the tip x
We’ve flown twice with my little one – the first an hour over to Dublin when she was just turned 1, and we’ve just got back from mainland Spain, which was just over two and a half hours, and she’s now 19 months.
I’m a pretty organised traveller anyway, so some of these things I would do if I was flying without a little!!
On both flights we had presents wrapped up for Orla (although I didn’t think about a bag for the return flight, that’s a good tip!!) – we had them in a carrier bag and put the rubbish back in and kept the presents out, so at the end we just had a bag of paper left to put in the rubbish trolley!)
Definitely always have my liquids bag ready for security when we arrive at the airport, and then I put everything back in it’s right place once I’m through security (I get SOOO annoyed by people unpacking things and holding up the queue ahead of me!!). By the way, a normal bottle of calpol/nurofen is 100ml anyway so can go through security, but the sachets are handy – one thing to bear in mind though is that they’re 5ml sachets, so if your little needs 2.5ml or 7.5ml doses they’re a bit of a faff, and you have to use a spoon rather than the handy syringe!
Most airlines now allow a ‘personal item’ of hand luggage in addition to your normal allowance, to go under the seat in front of you. Where possible I try and have everything I think I’ll need in this bag at my feet, to minimise how many times I have to get up go rooting around in the overhead lockers!!!
Snacks – we have a little gel thing we keep in the fridge to go on bumps, and as it’s small I brought this with Orla’s snacks to keep her yoghurt cool as it’s small enough to go through security (and then we had it to use on holiday also if necessary!). She had little pouches of yoghurt that were 80g, so again small enough to go through security, although your can take through bigger liquids for babies – not sure what age this stops though!?
I second the stickers, they kept Orla and my nearly three year old nephew occupied for ages!!
Have a great trip!! 🙂
Last month I crossed the Atlantic solo with a 21 month old boy and 7 1/2 month old bump. I survived so I’m sure you’ll be fine! My saviours were lots of snacks, iPad time, a couple of new toys and books and everything had its own zip lock bag so it was easy to find. Have a wonderful holiday!
Hi seems like you’ve got it covered. I’ve seen an us borne sticker book which is designed for travelling spotting things at the airport etc.
I tend to break the flight up into segments first out tends to go quick. Walks to the loo and a chat with cabin crew. I’m not sure how old your girls are but on a previous flight they let little by meet the captain. Some airlines better than others.
Check to see if the airport has a kids zone so they can let off steam Beforehand or if you’ve got a long flight ahead the lounges are good.
Have a fab time and just remember it’s only a few hours xx
I travelled last year with my almost 2 year old and we had the iPad ready and snacks etc but he got bored after about 2 hours into our 4 hour flight and started climbing over us and the headrest in front. I kept apologising to all around us & thankfully people told me not to worry-except one old man who told me that fillies should all sit together at the back of the plane (not a bad idea!!) but he wanted the aisle and had prebooked it and my son wanted to stand up so we had to ask him to let us through numerous times. Anyway another mum travelling alone with 4 (yes 4!!) told me she gave all of hers half a spoon of piriton and they either slept or chilled for the flight. I frowned as would never drug my child……on the way back though I gave him half a spoon!!!! It’s not drugging as its a perfectly safe drug for daily use of hayfever and adults get prescribed stuff for a calmer flight. He laid on our laps, dozed half the flight and happy read a magazine the other half. I will probably get judged but it works a treat and made his flight home nicer for him too
No judging here Dee. Sounds like a good idea to me!! x
I’ve just returned from Spain with our 6 month old, he did two flights in three days! I read this post before we flew (thanks Lottie!) here’s what I found. Everyone is soooo nice to you when you’ve got a baby. We were flying Ryanair and I paid to go in the priority queue and chose seats right at the front, which I would recommend. I took Ella’s pouches and ready made bottles of formula, these breezed through security. I gave the bottle to the flight attendant on boarding and she warmed it ready for takeoff, the sucking action meant no popped ears and then he slept for most of the flight- result! When we go away in the summer though I’ll definitely have my iPad and Piriton to hand! X