Travelling with kids - a complete guide for surviving the flight and beyond
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With travel finally opening up following the pandemic, many of us are taking much-needed family trips with our children. Here are my top tips for travelling with young children and surviving long (or short) flights.
BEFORE THE FLIGHT
1) Prepare all necessary documentation
Before your family vacation, check that everyone has passports and that all your passports have at least six months of validity. I can tell you from experience that it is no fun getting to the airport, only to be denied boarding the flight because one of your family members' passports was about to expire. If it is your child's first trip and he doesn't have a passport yet, make sure to apply for one well before you travel, as there have been many delays with processing times as of late.
Since the pandemic, many countries have introduced new steps for travel, so check the rules of your destination beforehand. Many countries require health declarations, arrival cards, or customs declarations to be filled up online before arrival. When travelling with children, the best thing is to do as much of that before the trip as possible to save time on the journey It is also a good idea to have print-outs of these forms ready or have screenshots saved on your phone, just in case you are asked to show them to immigration officers.
This should go without saying but please also check the visa requirements of your destination country. The rules around visas and their application processes change often, so make sure you have applied for a visa before you travel, if necessary. Some countries, like the United States, require you to fill up an online visa waiver form even if you hold a passport that allows you to travel there visa-free.
It is always a good idea to buy travel insurance for the whole family before any trip. You never know when someone falls sick while you're away and you end up racking up a huge medical bill. Depending on the plan you choose, most plans reimburse you for flight delays or any unexpected changes in travel plans due to medical reasons. It's always good to have for your peace of mind.
2) Choose the best flight timings and seats
I cannot stress the importance of choosing a flight time that works best for you and your family. Everyone you ask will give you different advice on whether it’s better to take day or night flights when travelling with kids, but ultimately it boils down to what works best for you and your children. You know your kids and their habits the best, so you will be able to tell if they’ll sleep through a night flight or keep you awake the entire night.
If you are fortunate enough to have kids that sleep on flights, then night flights are great as they save you travel days, and you don’t have to worry too much about entertaining your children on the flight. If your kids are anything like my younger one, Dayna, you’ll know how painful it is to take long-haul flights, especially at night, with an overactive toddler who does not sleep on flights. Unfortunately for us, we end up having to choose day flights, even for long-haul travel, as I’d rather deal with a toddler for 12 hours on a good night’s sleep than try to do it when I am exhausted from the day.
For long-haul travel, direct flights are my preference when travelling with small children. It seems like a nice idea to get off the plane and stretch your legs a little during a connection, but the added stress of not having much time between connecting flights and boarding another flight with kids in tow is best avoided, if possible.
As soon as you book your tickets, select your seats online so you can sit with your children. My preference is for the set of window seats whenever possible. This causes minimal disruption to other travellers, and children can be entertained for short stretches by looking out the window and sticking stickers onto the glass.
If you haven’t been able to get seats together, don’t be afraid to ask other passengers to swap with you. Most people will agree to swap if it means they’re not getting in the middle of a family.
If travelling with a child under the age of two, you have the option to travel with them as an infant where they do not get their own assigned seat. In my opinion, this is great for a short flight, but anything longer than nine hours warrants a separate seat for a toddler. I recommend placing your own car seat on the child's aeroplane seat to keep them safely buckled in. If that is too bulky to carry, then a foldable booster seat has also worked well for us on flights.
3) Pack your carry-on well
I would love to travel light, but when travelling with kids, I have to travel with a fully-loaded carry-on suitcase with all the essentials for the flight. I group my flight essentials into two categories: essentials and entertainment. I haven't done one with my family, but I'm sure all these items will also be useful for a road trip.
Essentials include a ton of snacks, a spare set of clothes for little kids, nappies (if your kids are still in them), baby wipes, water bottles, any medication you might need, and scarves or jumpers to keep warm. My best tip is always to pack more nappies than you think you need; you never know when you'll have a diaper blowout, food spillage or a flight delay.
For entertainment, I pack a car organiser for each child that includes books, stickers, activity books, etc. that are appropriate for their age. And not to mention the ever-trusty iPad pre-loaded with all the shows they enjoy watching and child-size headphones for each kid.
This is the car organiser I pack, one for each kid. I love it because it has a zipper pouch to store activities, a clear window to slide an iPad in, two bottle holders and a strap that’s usually long enough to go over the seat in front of us.
WHAT’S IN OUR FLIGHT PACKS FOR EACH CHILD
Toddler
A) Reusable sticker book
Stickers are a sureshot with young kids! A regular sticker book would probably last Dayna (my toddler) all of five minutes. She’d rip pages out or use up all the stickers quickly. That’s why these reusable sticker books are great. she can use the stickers over and over, and there are different scenes with accompanying stickers. I place all of these inside her car organiser, and she can use them throughout the flight and even while we are on vacation.
B) Mess- Free Colouring
Given regular markers, Dayna would have made a mess on her hands, clothes and probably the aeroplane too. I can’t deal with that mess on a flight, which is why I love the Crayola Color Wonder Mess-Free colouring set. It comes with 18 sheets for kids to colour on and four “magic” markers. When used on their specific colouring sheets, they show up in colour, but on any other surface, the ink is completely clear. It's really hand for flights and when on vacation; take my word for it!
C) Busy Book
This busy book was a new addition for me on this trip, and I have not regretted it one bit! Dayna is really into opening and closing things, and loves zippers and any kind of buckle. This book is compact, fits into the car organizer, and has a good assortment of buckles and zips to keep Dayna entertained. She has used it not just on the flight, but throughout our holiday. It’s a keeper!
D) Wireless Headphones
When all the screen-free activities cease to entertain, I keep my trusty iPad on hand. Dayna doesn’t get allocated screen time at home yet, so she isn’t really into watching TV shows or movies. She loves watching videos of herself and her family and friends on repeat, so I make sure these are made available offline for the flight. I bought a relatively inexpensive set of headphones for her as she handles them quite roughly. These Belkin headphones have served us well on our last few trips and are still going strong.
E) Cuddly Soft Toy
Unfamiliar environments and new places can cause anxiety in some children, so it is always handy to have their favourite cuddly toy on hand to provide comfort while on a family trip. Neither of my children has been particularly into stuffed toys, but if there was one that Dayna was most attached to at the moment, it’s the Jellycat Bunny. I like that it’s small enough to stuff into the diaper bag or even my handbag for the flight or a long trip.
School Age Child
A) Activity Books
Sticker activity books are excellent for older kids on flights and long journeys. We recently discovered the National Geographic sticker activity books and can’t get enough! They’re the best way to keep my son entertained for hours on end, are relatively inexpensive, don’t weigh much and are educational too.
B) Twistable Colouring Pencils
Pencils and colouring pencils are handy for activity books and journal writing on a trip. I love the Crayola Twistables Pencils as they have vibrant colours and do not need sharpening! They are mess-free too, as the colour doesn’t rub off on anything else. For slightly younger children, they have Twistable Crayons, which are great too.
C) Spirograph
The Spirograph Junior set is excellent for flights as it comes in a case with markers, papers, spirograph wheels, and a frame. It’s so fun to see what kinds of patterns kids can create, and to be honest; I have a good time creating with it too!
D) Water Painting Book
If you have followed my account on Instagram for some time, you’ll know that we love water painting in our home. These books are sturdy and offer portable mess-free painting to kids. I also pack brush pens with refillable water reservoirs to avoid filling a container with water on the flight. (The fewer spills, the better!)
E) Bluetooth headphones
I bought Ryaan a better quality set of headphones as I know they will be treated better than Dayna’s will. The POGS kids’ headphones are a good option as they are foldable and limit the volume to a safe level for kids. This gives me peace of mind as I know his ears will not be damaged even if he watches more hours of TV than I would normally like.
4) Invest in a travel stroller
While I have heard that they are excellent for travel since they are portable and leave you hands-free to do other things, a baby carrier has never been an option for me on long-haul travel as I have back issues and cannot load my back for long stretches. I highly recommend investing in a good travel stroller that folds down to cabin size. It has saved me lots of time and agony when travelling, as I have been able to keep Dayna in the stroller right up to the time we board the plane. Some flights even allow me to push the stroller right up to our seats and then fold it down.
Not only are travel strollers handy for the flight, but they are also very compact and nifty for trips to malls or even the beach. It is a good option to have a stroller handy in case you are out with your kids over nap time and want them to rest on the go.
We bought the BabyZen Yoyo travel stroller five years ago when Ryaan was a baby and still use it on all our holidays.
ON THE FLIGHT
1) Embrace technology
Admitting that you allow your kids to have screen time these days has become taboo. If you are a family that usually avoids giving your kids screen time, I urge you to consider it on longer international flights. It will make your life so much easier, and I can guarantee you that one day of screen time now and then will not do any long-term damage.
Some of our favourite shows for toddlers and young kids are:
This was the first TV show I ever allowed Ryaan to watch. It is a spin-off from the 80s show Mister Roger’s Neighbourhood and still retains many of the same lessons despite being animated to captivate young audiences.
Ryaan was introduced to this show in school, and I wish I had known about it earlier. It is a great introduction to letters of the alphabet and the phonetic sounds they make when joined together.
Similar to Alphablocks, but focusing on numbers instead, this is an excellent show to intoduce slightly older kids of preschool age to the concept of numbers. It is highly imaginative how they represent different numbers using blocks. In fact, Ryaan learned all his times tables and even the concept of division simply by watching this show.
2) Go for walks
You wouldn’t stay sedentary for eight-to-ten hours on a stretch on a normal day, and nor should you do so when on a flight. The cabin pressure and altitude make it even more important that you get up and get moving periodically. It is a good idea to take your kids on walks up and down the aisle of the plane to get them moving and give them a break from their screens. You might even bump into fellow travellers or air stewardesses who will willingly entertain your children for a short period of time.
3) Make sleep tents
It is important to consider your children’s sleep schedules on international travel across different time zones to make the transition as smooth as possible. It is generally recommended to start behaving as though you’re in your international destinations’ time zone as soon as you board the flight. Flight schedules and meal services often make this impossible as they turn all the lights up for meal services at the most inconvenient of times. Several years ago, I came across a hack that worked well for me with my son; it was to gather blankets on the flight and build a sleep tent. My daughter, unfortunately, will not even let me put the blanket up near her; she pulls it down in a second. Nonetheless, it is worth a shot and works like a charm for most kids!
AT YOUR DESTINATION
1) Go outdoors to combat jet lag
Once you’ve arrived at your international destination, there is a high chance you and your children will be jet-lagged, despite trying to control sleep schedules over differing time zones. One of the easiest ways to get over this is to spend time outdoors in natural daylight to give your body a chance to adjust to the local time zone.
2) Establish a simple routine
I recommend having some semblance of a routine even while on vacation, especially for younger kids. It doesn’t have to be too strict, just a general schedule of what comes after what. This helps kids know what to expect, so they are mentally prepared for what’s to come. For more tips on getting through the summer holidays, read this.
3) Establish rules around screen time
While screen time can be your best friend on a flight, too much of it is never good. It can be very addictive, for some personalities more than others. When children get addicted to screen time, it can result in tantrums when they are taken away from it. Also, they might be missing out on some great adventures if they are glued to the screen all day.
4) Plan one activity a day
I’ve learnt from experience that jam-packing a day full of activities and sightseeing can be overwhelming for small kids. One main activity a day is usually enough to keep them busy, while the rest of the day can be used to play in the hotel room or just chill by the beach.
5) Be prepared for changes
I have always been a planner. Before I head out on trips, I usually have an excel sheet documenting the entire trip and planning daily activities and meals. Since having kids, I have learnt to be more flexible and take the trip day by day. I make a list of activities I want to accomplish over the trip, but keep the actual schedule fluid. You never know when one child will wake up in the middle of the night and be unable to start early the next morning or when another may fall ill. It’s always best to be prepared for the unexpected.
6) Consider babysitting
Holidays with young children can feel like more work than rest. If you are comfortable leaving your kids with a babysitter, I recommend finding a local babysitter at your destination to watch the kids so you can enjoy a night (or two) out with your partner. Having kid-free time will go a long way in making your holiday more enjoyable and recharging you, so you enjoy your time with the kids even more!
I hope these best family travel tips have been useful and will help to make your vacation more enjoyable. I’d love to hear which of these tips was most useful and if you have any other tips to share with your fellow travellers.