In the past two months I’ve flown overseas with two children. I do think that requires some sort of medal. I’m not going to lie, before flying I was anxious and worried about how bad it was going to be. I mean, it’s no mean feat to keep your small children happy in a confined space for an extended period of time.
But it can be done, and I think the key to doing it with a minimal amount of stress is to be prepared. Here’s how I survive flying long haul with kids {because let’s face it, Hubby pretty much sits back, puts on his head phones and enjoys a mega movie marathon while I’m baby wrangling. Hard work if you can find it!}. I also interviewed the team at Emirates for their advice too. You’re welcome.
HOW TO FLY WITH KIDS AND QUITE POSSIBLY ENJOY IT
♥ First up, research your airline.
I’m like a mad woman on a mission with my search skills. Find out what they provide, what they don’t and then you can fill in the gaps yourself. Emirates provide lots for kids. You’ll get a kid-appropriate meal. You’ll get a toy {Lulu got a blanket with a cuddly toy, Lacey got an activity book which she loved}. You’ll get a kid-size headset. You’ll get an entertainment system {called ICE} with games, movies, TV shows. You can also watch the plane take off, land and watch as you fly too. You can even use their collection of Dr. Seuss books if you’ve got a keen reader. ALL THE THINGS. The long haul flight I did {not Emirates} to Hawaii didn’t have TVs or kids meals, so I brought them with me. Research.
♥ If you’ve got a baby under 6 months, reserve the bassinet. There are a limited amount of bassinets on planes so make sure you inquire as soon as you book your tickets. The perks to having a bassinet is that you will also get extra leg room because you’re seats are located at the bulk head. Emirates also has nappies, baby change tables and baby kits {wipes etc} available for your little people. If you book a seat for your child, you can also use an approved car seat {of your own}. Just check with your airline.
♥ Be prepared. Because I don’t like to solely rely on other people or services, I also travel prepared. These little bags {below} are what we use for each flight. I store them in the garage with little toys inside, so the girls only ever get to play with them when we’re traveling.
Each trip I go to the supermarket and check out their toy aisle. Coles has little things in packs for a couple of dollars. I also raid the girls toy boxes for small things they haven’t seen in a while, and toss them in. Stickers are also really great. You can stick them to the seat in front, which for someone reason is VERY entertaining for little people. You could also visit a cheap discount shop and grab a few things there.
♥ Let them burn off their energy before their flight. Don’t sit around waiting for the flight to board, walk around and let them get tired before you get on the flight. I learned {the hard way} that trying to keep Lulu awake so she would pass out on the plane didn’t work. She ended up overtired and didn’t cope very well. So instead on the way home I let her sleep {in the ERGO carrier} before the flight boarded, then had some awake time on the plane and then put her back to sleep a few hours later.
♥ Which brings me to my next tip, forget about trying to adapt to new time zones during the flight. Just let your child sleep or do what they need to do. Usually meals are served within the first two hours, so let them enjoy that and then go back to sleep or chill out as best they can for the bulk of the flight.
♥ Let them stretch their legs. Space on planes is limited, plus if there is turbulence you don’t really want to be hanging out without your seatbelts on. When we were having a toilet break, I’d take the girls to the very rear toilet where there is a little bit more room. I just let them stretch, explore a little {without annoying other passengers} before heading back to our seat. I highly recommend seeking out the disabled toilet, as it has more room.
♥ Dress them comfy. I know that’s obvious, but I get Lulu into her PJs before we leave for the airport, and bath her as well so that she’s super comfortable. I dress Lacey in comfy PJ-like clothes. I also change them into socks at the boarding gate and pop the shoes into our carry-on. Comfort is key.
♥ Stress less. Kids vibe off your energy. If you can try and be relaxed as possible {wine helps!} then you can all have the most pleasant time possible.
Flown with kids? Got any tips to add?
I traveled as a guest of Emirates.
Food! We loved Emirates but our fussy at the time 2 year old wouldn’t eat most of what was on offer. At that point the extra shopping bag of snacks and sandwiches that my husband was cranky about taking with us was a saviour!
I have a two year old, and we are off to Indonesia to see the inlaws. It’s his first long haul flight in his own seat (we did a practice from to Adelaide). I’ve bought some “kids” headphones that apparently operate at a softer volume and are customised to a smaller head. Unfortunately we will be flying Jetstar, but I have had fabulous experiences with them despite being budget.
Pleeenty of snacks. Our daughter was 13 months when we travelled to the UK and put away an unbelievable amount of food during the flight. We also found a cheap Winnie the Pooh magnet board from a discount store that kept her entertained well & took up next to no room.
HeY Sammy, the noise limited headphones won’t be suitable on the plane. I bought them when we last travelled and you couldn’t hear them over the sound of the engine.
Stickers on the seat in front? Genius. My boy would love it. We do a lot of domestic flying and he’s always been a great flyer and tends to fall asleep on takeoff. I pack lots of little snacks (especially things he can spend a lot of time eating one at a time; but also things like dried fruit, roll-ups or fruit sticks because he tends to get, ahem, a little bunged up from the cabin pressure), and a chunk of our black playdoh so he can roll out a little road on his tray and drive his cars all over it.
Probably the best thing we’ve done since he’s been bigger is letting him pick a special thing at the airport newsagency or shop; on the flight north last week, he chose an airport book with lots of little flaps (genius) and on the trip south he got a pilot’s hat, and pretending to fly the plane while we were taxiing and taking off.
This is going to help so many parents. Snacks and activities are essential! We’ve only flown domestically with our two oldest and it was to Adelaide but I booked flights that would work in with my girls nap times which worked a treat. This can’t be done on international flights of course but picking an airline that goes as direct as possible to your destination is also another tip I’ve heard.
For slightly older kids, pack black tights/long sleeve shirt to change into on board for a comfy sleep, then just before you arrive, change back. Their original clothes will still be fresh and clean for arrival. I also pack a spare set of underwear just in case. Chupa chups for take off and landing, their ears will thank you. I also attach a ‘moshi’ pillow to the outside of my carry-on with a clip so it doesn’t take up precious space and because they don’t weigh anything, no weight is wasted.
Good tips Telle. Have to agree research is key.The bassinette’s will go to the youngest children on the flight so they are not always guaranteed even if you request at the time of booking. We had this happen to us when flying and then on our flight home from the UK with British Airways 2 backpackers sat in those seats while Nick and I were split up and I wrangled a 12 month old on my lap. Will never fly with them again.
“Hubby pretty much sits back, puts on his head phones and enjoys a mega movie marathon”… could you please publish an interview on just how he manages this? 🙂
I think the real question is how he manages to survive the daggers I throw his way. 😛
the mind boggles at his powers.
Seriously though – good advice here.
We pack our 3 boys a backpack each which usually has something to read, something to draw on, something to cuddle (for the little ones) and snacks.
I then always pack a couple of ipads with headphone splitters so two of them can share one and both hear and the other one has the 2nd iPad. If the plane has in built entertainment we use the ipads less.
Now our eldest two are 6 and 8 they tend to occupy themselves pretty well between what’s in their backpacks and the ipad. Mr 3 is a bit more of a challenge but now he will sit through a movie it’s starting to get a bit easier.
We also swap seats around a bit too so Vanessa and I both get time with each of the kids and hopefully a chance to read or watch something too.
Mine soon got over putting on his headphones and doing a movie marathon, the last time we did a long trip. He was seated in front of me on an emergency exit, which left me and two kids behind him. My daughter ( 4 at the time) kicked the back of his seat non stop for 9 hours. I highly recommend this option for a cure!!
some great tips, we have done a few trips with the kids and they get a bit better each time. Stickers are always a big hit for my 2 as well. I love the girls bags, can I ask what brand they are? I usually have small backpacks for my boys but its so hard rummaging around trying to find things. My husband and I also try to swap around a bit during the flight otherwise I feel like I’m looking after them for the whole trip while he sits there with his headphones oblivious to everything! Another thing we do is board last…,they always get kids on first but we realised that means we are spending an extra 20 minutes waiting for everyone to get settled and the kids get impatient
A great read, thank you. Im about to travel to the UK solo with my 3 year old and 7 month old, on Emirates too. One tip I got which I used last time was to wrap a few things/toys and give them through out the flight, opening them made it fun 🙂
I agree. Being prepared is the key – heaps of little toys that the kids wont cry about if they get lost and little snacks really help on the long haul flights. I also find that back packs are every ones best friends when travelling…..it keeps your hands free to help the kids when they need it or to carry them when you are racing for your next flight. Most importantly – try not to stress when things go wrong – and they do go wrong. Have an extra pair of underwear and clothes for the kids in case of delay or spills and try to go with the moment. Sometimes those delays (the extra long ones) mean you get a chance to check out a city that you would otherwise have never seen. 🙂
Those are all mine in a nutshell. Have travelled alone 3 times from Australia to Germany and Canada then back starting from when he was 3 months. By my last trip I wasn’t worried and we both had a great time. I was even being called an incredible mother at the end of flights as we left by other passengers around me as they couldn’t believe how amazing my boy was and how horrible all the other kids were around us. I always fly Emirates. That’s my best advice. If you can do it. They are the most kid friendly airline:) happy travels