With summer coming up, travel is on many people’s minds, but traveling with a child takes a little extra planning. If your family is one of the many flying away from home this year for vacation, know there are things you can do to make flying with your child easier! Here are some tips to reduce stress and make flying more fun for you and your child.
Bring snacks
While many flights will have some snacks available, in addition to the vending machines in the airports, the choices are usually underwhelming and not the healthiest. To avoid the issue of a hangry or sugar-high child on the plane, plan ahead and bring snacks with you! Some great child-friendly, healthy, and relatively mess-free snacks include trail mix, fruit leather, and string cheese. If your child is a little older, dried fruit and granola bars can also be great healthy snacks!
Pack activities
Try packing activities for your child that can have a variety of uses! Dry-erase boards are one example of an item that won’t make a big mess, is lightweight, and can be used for a variety of activities. From simply drawing to playing tic tac toe, just one board and a few markers can provide hours of fun! While electronics aren’t necessary, a portable DVD player or a device with audiobooks on it can go a long way for keeping your child busy and happy during a long flight.
Try to only pack the essentials
While it may be tempting to pack a dozen changes of clothes in case of accidents, every comfort item your child has ever had, and a metric ton of books, that’s unlikely to really be helpful when you’re flying with your child! Try packing light and keeping the amount of luggage you have minimal. The less you and your child need to carry, the easier it will be to get on and off the plane and in and out of your seats for any necessary bathroom trips.
While these little things can go a long way, the basics of flying stay the same with or without children: get to the airport early to go through security, remember your identification, and make sure your luggage fits in your airline’s requirements before you get to the airport.
Now, take a deep breath, pack your bags intentionally, and have an amazing time on vacation with your child!
