So just recently a friend of mines took her two year old son for the first time on a plane and from how she described it, it sounds like 5 hours of hell. She mentioned that as soon as she got on the flight he was crying and wouldn’t sit steal and the whole time she was praying that she would arrive at her destination without everyone around her hating her. When I think back to flying with my own kids when they were younger, I must admit that it wasn’t easy. I remember before I had kids I would always think to myself how fun it would be to fly with your own kids but this was hardly ever the case. If you’re looking for some tips that can help hopefully make it easier to fly with your own kids, you can try some of these things that I have done over the years that has helped.
Whether it being for a quick flight or for a longer one, you need to make sure that you bring things that will keep your kids occupied. I will admit as compared to my time, which wasn’t that long ago, it is a lot easier to keep kids entertained with the types of devices that are out today. One essential to have to help keep your kids entertained is an iPad. With this you can have a lot of different things that can keep them busy from games, videos, books and a lot more. With this one recommendation I have is scheduling different things you can do with them for your flight. For longer flights you might want to create a schedule of things to do such as starting off with some games in the beginning of the flight and then maybe watch a movie and followed by reading them a story to hopefully help them fall asleep.
Over the years with flying with my three kids, one thing that I learned to do is to bring something for the people sitting around you. When I first started flying with my one year old, I would bring ear plugs for everyone sitting around me just in case. As my kids got older and knowing that they don’t sit quietly for long periods of time, I would bring snacks or other types of things and hand them out to people sitting next to me before the flight took off. Another thing that you might think about doing is talking to the people sitting next to you and let them know that if at any time your kids become to much for them to let you know so you can handle the problem. While this might seem like a lot, it is always a good idea to make sure you think about the people sitting around you.
If your kids are anything like mine, it will also be important to pack some food and drinks for your flight. While some airlines still offer food and drinks, it is important that you pack your own as well in your carry-on. I know for me when I used to fly with my kids, this used to be my go to thing to keep them happy.
While flying with your kids for a vacation can be tough at times, I think it is well worth it as you get to take them some place new, where they can experience different things they can’t find at home. If you are interested, here are some more family vacation tips.