There is an air of excitement that comes with an upcoming trip! The possibilities are endless! You get to leave your everyday life behind for a little while and go somewhere different. It is exciting! You are going on a trip! Then a wave of nerves hit as you think “what am I going to pack/what am I forgetting!?” We travel so often that we have adopted the saying “There are stores there and we can always buy it if we forgot it”. Let’s be real my lists have lists, and I never forget anything (knock on wood).
Things we have learned when flying with our kids:
- You cannot have 2 lap children in the same row due to the number of oxygen masks (4 per row). We found the best system was sitting in aisles next to each other, each with a child.
- TSA Pre-Check is truly a godsend. It is worth every penny and the time to be screened. If you travel often with your children you need this for your sanity.
- Some airports have a separate line for strollers and wheel chairs, you need only ask if you don’t see it labeled.
- You must go to full service when traveling with lap children. They need to see a copy of the child’s birth certificate. Factor in extra time for this, there is always a line.
- Family boarding is really the best time to board. You do not feel rushed by the 50 pairs of eyes behind you, and you have time to get on and settled. Between you and me (we fly Southwest a lot, cannot sing enough praises of them – but that is for another time) so we check in 24hrs before and your boarding order is decided then: A, B, or C boarding group. I always secretly am a little relieved to be in the B section. We don’t have to cram into the A line and constantly tell Harrison “Stop touching the person in front of you (read — stop touching that strangers butt).”
- Security, security, security…. now this is where the real headache with flying comes in. There is always a line at the security check point and anxiety spikes, I don’t care who you are, it spikes. There are ways to make security more manageable. Again, I am going to plug for TSA Pre-Check. But if you do not have it, don’t worry, you will still make through the “not as much fun as Disney World” line. Tips for security: have boarding passes and ID’s easily grab-able (you do not need to show birth certificate copy again, so put that away in a safe spot), little ones (12 and under) do not have to take shoes off & make sure you have breastmilk/formula/milk in a cooler or bag that is easy to pull out and send though the x-ray machine – they will “test” liquids, but not frozen. Bonus: They also check your hands if you are wearing a baby.
What can be found in my bag when traveling with kids:
- Stickers, coloring books, crayons, books & the iPad are the things we have found easiest to bring. I have tried puzzles, magnets, and many other items that seems too cumbersome to carry and too complicated for plane rides. Tip: Hit up the Dollar Store and dollar spot at Target, they always have seasonal fun things for kids on the cheap side.
- Easy & mess free foods: grapes, applesauce pouches, gummies (cough – bribery food), snack cups/ziplocs with snacks like goldfish & popcorn, or Lara bars.
- Thieves cleaner/Clorox wipes/hand sanitizer – Judge if you will, but before my kids enter the row I do a quick cleaning on the seat backs, tray tables, seat belts, arm rests, and seats. It is obviously not going to be perfect, but it eases my mommy mind. Airplanes are dirty and gross and germ hoarders. I always said if I designed airplanes I would have put a disinfectant spray in the air vents to clean ev.ery.thing.
- Empty water bottles – We buy a giant bottle of water in the terminal. Tip: open the cap slowly to the let the pressure out before popping up the water spout. We made this mistake once and created a sort of high pressure water hose with Harrison’s water bottle. The end result was our entire row and those around us being soaked. Oh, did I add that the flight attendant was taking drink orders in the aisle at the time, so we couldn’t leave him out of the shower now could we. (face.in.palm. mommy win)
- Diapers & wipes – you can never have enough. The secret here is to have them handy. Get that quick diaper change in before boarding. We all want to avoid the tiny airplane bathroom with the tiny changing table if we can.
- I am a stickler for binky/paci/nunu/insert name for pacifier usage. But when it comes to flying the sucking reflex is a must for little ones. Especially on take off and landing. If I am nursing at the time, I will nurse, but for my toddler we offer the binky or snack. If your children are beyond the binky years try a lollipop/gum/snack — something to keep their mouths chewing during take off and landing.
