Today in the Tuesday Travel Tips edition, I am sharing 12 tips for travelling with toddlers. If you missed my post last week, I shared my tips and tricks for packing a toddler and baby for the flight, so check it out!
1. iPad Detox: No iPad for 3 days before traveling. This makes it super reinforcing on the airplane. I also download 1 new movie, 1-2 new tv shows, a new game, and download some shows on Netflix before each international flight. If it’s a short domestic flight, I usually just download stuff on Netflix and he can watch what is on his iPad already too.
2. Pack Early: I typically start packing a week before and I aim to be 95% packed 24 hours before departure. I personally like to pack in these packing cubes. By packing early you can lay everything and cut out things that aren’t critical. If I pack last minute I always end up with too much stuff that we don’t even use it all. So pack early, keep cutting down unnecessary items, and spend the last 24 hours getting everything straightened at the house so you come home to a clean house.
3. Arrive Early: Get to the airport early. We typically, with a 30-40 minute commute, leave our house 3 hours before departure. This gives us time to check in, get through security and have some time to eat and burn off energy.
4. Utilize the Car seat Bag: If you are traveling with a car seat, utilize this bag for extra room. We typically all take off our jackets, hats, scarves, gloves and put them all in the car seat bag. The car seat bag is a priority item so even if your luggage gets lost, you should still get this bag. And if you don’t, you’re already screwed not having the car seat, so might as well freeze too! Ha
5. Eat in the Airport: Always eat in the airport and skip the on flight meal. Especially if you are traveling from the states to Europe where you should already be sleeping when you board, getting the meal will delay everyone getting to sleep. It also takes forever to get picked up from your seat and it’s chaotic with a bunch of trays, open drinks, and little ones.
6. Run, run, run: The day of the flight, take your child to do something outdoors and let them burn their energy off. This is another key to being packed early, so ideally the day of the flight everything is already all packed and you can relax and work on getting the kids nice and tired if it’s an overnight flight. Also, once in the airport, utilize the kids play areas or find some stairs or an open area to let them climb and run!
7. Bring a Sippy Cup & Get Bottled Water: Although Eli is at an age now where he has mastered a real cup, we always bring a sippy cup on board and have the flight attendant fill it up. This way their tray table doesn’t have to be down for the drink and you can stick it in a bag to get out of the way until they are thirsty. Also, we always try to get us bottle water in the airport before the flight for the same reasons. If you forget, when the meals are being passed out, just ask for a bottle water. They have mini ones on the meal trays with British and American Airlines, so just ask.
8. Delay the iPad/snacks/good toys: When on board, if your toddler is anything like mine he will immediately ask for the iPad. I try to delay with some toys first and save the favorite toys, snacks, and iPad to disperse later on in the flight.
9. Bring Wireless Headphones: We have learned that the toddler needs wireless over the ear headphones or we are constantly replugging in his headphones to the iPad the whole flight. Also, if your child is interested in watching some of the in flight entertainment, make sure you bring toddler headphones with wires to plug in. The ones that they supply on the flight do not fit in little ones ears very well and will just constantly fall out. Eli uses my husband’s Beats over ear headphones then we bring the cord and can plug in if he wants to watch a show on the screen at his chair.
10. Last Flight Out: For international over night flights, we have the best luck if we book a flight that leaves past Eli’s bed time at 8 or 9 pm vs one that leaves at 5 or 6 pm. This way Eli is more tired going into the flight. We have taken some earlier flights where he didn’t fall asleep until 6 hours into the flight, and then we landed 3 hours later and had to wake him. It just made for some brutal days. So now, when we can control it, we book a later flight out and we give him some sleepy medicine when we get on board to try to fall asleep. (Make sure you actually are taking off before giving sleepy medicine. I made the mistake of giving Eli Benadryl one time after we pushed off from gate and then I had to deplane all of our stuff and a sleeping toddler for a delayed flight.)
11. Ask For Help: Especially if you are traveling alone. Smile, be nice, and ask for help. I have had gate agents that personally escorted us onto the plane to assist and have even had security agents hold a baby while I tried to organize stuff. So just ask for help and in my experience, people can be extremely helpful.
12. Breathe: At the end of the day, I have learned that the kids feed off my energy. If I’m relaxed, they are more relaxed. So regardless of how disastrous or how great it is going, you are surviving and as mothers we operate in survival mode. At the end of the day, you are hopefully going somewhere fun and you will survive, because that’s what we do best!
