Are you feeling overwhelmed imagining ways to entertain a young child on a flight? Not sure how to handle time zone differences? Debating what time of day is best to fly with kids? We spent the last two years traveling to almost 20 countries on every continent (except Antarctica) with our children (who at the start were 10 months and 2 years) and we had no idea what to expect. When we started started this blog and our instagram page, one of our goals was to help other aspiring family travelers as we learned what to do and more importantly what not to do while traveling with young kids. We compiled some of the most common questions and concerns that we’ve heard from parents regarding traveling with kids and we would like to provide insight on what we’ve found helpful. Of course every child is different, so not every point will be tailor made for your kids, but after 30+ flights with kids under the age of 4, we’ve found these tips to be helpful. We promise with some preparation, it won’t be as bad as it may seem!
- How do I entertain a toddler on a plane?– Bring surprises, especially something little that they have never played with before. You can go to your local dollar store for 3-4 new items hidden from your child until you are on the flight. Anytime they are introduced to something brand new, their attention span suddenly exponentially increases. Look for crafts for preschool age, small dinosaurs or cars that they can play with on their tray table, or stickers. We have even brought an old roll of scotch tape that kept our youngest son entertained all the way from San Diego to Colombia! There are also lots of toddler friendly iPad games and shows that will help as well that you can download ahead of time.
Then there is the food entertainment. The snacks that you pack are critical! Don’t plan on them wanting to eat the unfamiliar airplane food. Packing snacks that take longer to eat, like raisins and cheerios, as opposed to squeeze pouches, helps entertain them longer too. - What seats should I pick for a flight?– If you’re flying with a baby, call ahead and reserve a bassinet seat. You typically will find these on international flights, especially the long distance flights. Not only does this mean you have a place for your baby to sleep that is not you, but it also reserves you the bulkhead seats that have more leg room. These are often free depending on the airline. If you are traveling internationally with a lap child, take this into consideration before you buy a ticket. If your baby has their own bed, your flight will be much more smooth and comfortable!Have your child sit at a window seat. Not only is this safer for them to avoid getting run over by carts or passengers, it is also much more entertaining for them to be able to look out the window. Grab some re-usable window stickers that they can play with on the window for some fun entertainment as well! Our son with no attention span spent many hours on the flight from Los Angeles to Sri Lanka playing with different window stickers.
- What time of day should I book a flight for when traveling with kids?– That depends on how long your flight is. For a long haul flight of 6+ hours, a night flight is the way to go so you don’t even have to worry about all the entertainment. The kids will be so excited to be on the airplane that at first it might seem like a crazy idea, but fairly soon they will get tired enough and sleep for hours which will make the flight go by much faster! If you have a shorter flight of 5 hours or less, then try to schedule a flight around their nap time to get a bit of sleep in as well. We realize that flight schedules are out of our control, but try to maximize sleep time while on the plane.
- How do I deal with sleeping schedules and new time zones once I’m at my destination? – Jet lag is one of the least enjoyable aspects of traveling. Allow for the first day to be a recovery day for everyone but fight the urge to take mega naps during the day. We all will take naps during the day but try to limit it to no more than 2 hours even if your body wants 8, to start getting on track. Use natural light to help everyone adjust. Be flexible with a new bed time. If you are a stickler at home for a 7pm bed time, realize that with a new time zone it may look more like 10pm but that is not necessarily a bad thing and kid’s can always go back to their normal schedule when you get home. The more time zones you cross, the longer the adjustment period, but just take advantage of being able to see more sunrises if your whole family is waking up extremely early the first few days to help bring some positivity to the situation. Also, napping on the go is bound to happen while traveling. Don’t stress about getting back to your room for every nap time. Here are just a few of the variety of nap locations for our kids!
Another trick we recommend is to try to adjust to the new time zone while on the plane. Try to eat around your destination’s mealtime and try to sleep or stay awake depending on the local time at your destination. Even if you leave first thing in the morning and it is just about bedtime at your destination, try sleeping or at the very least, not eating during the evening hours of your destination. This is difficult, but if you can prepare your body to get into its circadian rhythm on the plane, you’ll spend less time on your vacation jetlagged. While avoiding jetlag is almost impossible when traveling across many time zones, these are the most efficient ways we have found to mitigate its impact on you and your kids. We also noticed that kids tend to adjust much quicker than adults to new time zones. This is probably because they have no responsibilities and can sleep without worrying about caring for others, but it is worth noting. When we arrived to Sri Lanka from Los Angeles, our kids went to bed at 8pm the first night and my husband and I were jetlagged for days. - What do I bring in my carry-on/diaper bag for a family trip?– Pack a diaper for every hour of you’re flight + 2 more for non potty trained kids. Pack pull-ups for recently potty trained children (within one year of travel) to play it safe to avoid an accident on the seat. Other essentials include, snacks, a few toys/activities, a tablet for games and entertainment, kid’s headphones, change of clothes and everyone’s favorite water bottles for water or milk. Also, germs are everywhere in airports so packing lots of sanitizing wipes and hand sanitizer are a must!
- What do I have my kids wear on a flight?– I’m not sure why, but kids always end up filthy after a long flight. So much spilled food, drink and who knows what else. Save the cute vacation clothes for once you get to your destination and have your kids wear something you don’t mind getting dirty on the flight. You don’t wear your favorite outfit on a flight across the world, don’t expect your kids to. Comfort takes precedence, especially on long flights. Layers are a must, since it’s hard to predict if you’ll be on a cold or warm flight. And most importantly, pack a change of clothes (or 2 depending on age) for both the kids and you that you can easily change into on a flight in case of spills, blowouts, etc…
- Should I break up a long flight up to have layovers or do non-stop?– Power through a non-stop if you can! The more layovers you have, the longer the overall travel time and the more tired and cranky everyone will become. While 8 hours non stop on a plan with a young child might sound crazy, just time it right with some sleep time and you’ll be so happy to be at your destination sooner!If it is long enough though, a layover might be beneficial and a great way to have a mini vacation within your main trip. On our way to South Africa from Los Angeles, we had an 18 hour layover each way in Germany, which allowed us to shower, sleep, walk around and explore a different country and culture and eat really good German food. It took much longer to get to South Africa, but the kids acclimated to the new time zone and had the chance to run around and burn off a lot of energy in an exciting new place, which enabled them to sleep soundly on the flight from Germany to South Africa.
- Is it worth all the hassle bringing the kids?– Of course! Yes, it is more work and there is a lot more to pack, but traveling with kids can be so rewarding and create family memories that you all will remember for the rest of your lives. Not to mention, the more you travel with your kids, the more flexible they’ll become in trying new things, eating new foods, meeting new people and having a greater understanding of people outside of their comfort zone.
Additional Tips:
Research to see if your airport has a children’s play area. Those are great for getting out some energy in between the car ride to the airport and the flight ahead. We’ve found most airports do have a play area, but they aren’t always in the terminal you’re flying out of unfortunately. LAX for example, has a great one in their International Terminal but don’t have any play areas in their other terminals. If there is a play area, get to the airport a little earlier than planned to give them the opportunity to run around!
Don’t overpack! Security lines, bathroom visits and waiting areas in an airport are a hassle with a ton of gear. Plus if you’re bogged down with so much stuff in an airport, it will be hard to chase after the little ones!
Most importantly, don’t wait to book a trip until your kids are old enough to fully remember it! Even if they are very young, you’ll have great family memories, bonding and your kids will learn a ton along the way of how to be adventurous, adaptive little people. Our kids still talk about how much they love Africa, and maybe they wont remember a lot of it, but 2 years later, they remember the safari, national park and the huge playground on the beach with the really good ice cream.
