Trying to get ready for a kid-friendly flight soon? This list of tips for flying with a toddler will keep you and your little one cool, calm, and collected the whole trip, from the ride to the airport to the flight home.
Travelling and flying with a toddler can be, in a word, stressful. But it can also be incredibly rewarding. Actually, we should have led with this: Travelling with a toddler can be one of the most exciting experiences of your life, and, believe it or not, can come with a lot of benefits. That said, toddlers need a lot of attention. Flying with a toddler requires quite a bit of planning and preparation, but that’s why you’re here, right? Because you know we’re here to help.
Flying with a toddler: 11 travel tips
- Be prepared for ear pressure
- Keep them entertained before, after, and during the flight
- Keep your toddler involved
- Double-check everything for your trip
- Pack those airplane-friendly snacks
- Book a flight that leaves at night
- Give yourself time at the airport
- Know the local airline guidelines
- Handle jet lag like a pro
- Ask the flight attendants for help
- Be kind to yourself
1. Be prepared for ear pressure
As adults, we know that air pressure can make our ears pop. We may not like it, but we’ve learned how to handle this reality of air travel. Toddlers, on the other hand, have no idea what’s happening, so you can’t really blame them for crying when they’re in pain during take-off and landing.
If you’re flying with a toddler, be sure to have a plan for ear pressure —swallowing helps relieve the pressure, so be ready with some water, milk, or a pacifier.
2. Keep them entertained
When flying with a toddler, keeping them busy and entertained before, during, and once the flight lands is crucial. Aside from the obvious iPad entertainment centre (they can’t be staring at the screen forever!), bring some of their favourite toys, books, and games in a backpack for them and try to pack things that you know keep your toddler focused for longer. Of course, one can hope that a child might be so fascinated by the clouds and spend the whole flight peering out the window, but we know that’s pretty unlikely.
Things like colouring books, small puzzles, toys with buttons, and modelling clay are perfect for flights and help get toddlers’ creative brains working. Here’s another tip for you: Look for triangular crayons instead of round ones so they don’t roll away and provide some extra entertainment with the novel shape.
And if you can, try walking around the plane with your toddler to help them get some of their energy out and satiate some of their travel-related curiosity.
3. Keep your toddler involved
Speaking of travel-related curiosity, another important tip for flying with a toddler is this: Make sure they’re included in the process. A lot of children’s frustrations can stem from feeling left out or confused.
This is why before, during, and even after the flight, try walking and talking your toddler through what’s happening. Try to explain things and the process to them if they’re not fully understanding. Let them know when you’re going to board, how long things will take (take off and landing, for instance), and the rough schedule of things so they feel they have a bit more control and are in the loop for the trip.
4. Double-check everything when flying with your toddler
Flying with a toddler can be stressful, as now you’re packing not just for yourself. Before you head out the door, double-check everything: Make sure you have everybody’s passports, travel visas, travel vaccines, medications, and anything else that is a necessity if you’re taking your toddler on an international trip.
Make a packing checklist before you go, follow it thoroughly, and keep it in your bag to check against on your way back home.
5. Pack those airplane-friendly snacks
Even if you’re the healthiest family on the block, plane travel might force you to relax some of your rules. When flying with a toddler, you might consider packing more “fun” foods, things like organic gummy bears, animal crackers, and things with cool shapes and colours. Yes, we know they’re not supposed to play with their food, but this is different.
Definitely still do your best to avoid the sugar crash and burn if you can — there are so many sugar-free kiddie candies out there now — but also remember that airplane travel is stressful for everyone, and if there’s ever a chance to indulge your little ones and let them have more of their favourites that they don’t usually get, this might be the perfect time. Plus, this might help them associate the plane and plane travel with positive experiences, and help you travel more easily with them in the future.
Bonus points: To keep your toddler from getting germs all over themselves, bring a place-setting mat to put their food on and wipe the tray table thoroughly.
6. Book a flight that leaves at night
If you’re flying with a toddler, consider booking an evening or late-night flight for any trip longer than four or five hours. Booking an evening flight can increase your chances that they might sleep all the way through it. Kids crash much harder than grown-ups, so if they’re already exhausted from the airport adventures, you might get lucky and have them passed out before the plane even takes off.
If you have the space, you could even pack a small pillow that reminds them of home or a stuffed animal to help them sleep better.
7. Give yourself and your toddler time at the airport
If you consider yourself a frequent flyer, you might already expect to arrive at the airport three hours before your flight time, but flying with a toddler is a whole new ball game. Between the inevitable bathroom breaks, questions, random running, and of course check-in, baggage drop off, and everything else, you may want to give yourself a bit of extra time just in case.
The last thing you want to be when preparing to travel with your toddler is stressed — kids can pick up that energy, and you definitely don’t want your little one more stressed than they already are in a brand new environment.
8. Know the local airline guidelines
The Canadian Aviation Law currently states that only one adult can be responsible for one child under the age of two on a flight within Canada. So if you are going to fly with twins or multiple toddlers, you need to know and have another adult (or adults) with you for the trip.
9. How to handle jet lag
Jet lag sucks. While it’s tough on us as adults, it’s even worse on little kids who are hungry, frustrated, and angry without knowing what’s going on. According to Julia Mallon, a certified sleep consultant, “A child’s biological clock is much more susceptible to jet lag because the brain is so much less mature,” and children typically don’t respond to sleep cues (such as darkened lights or sleep routines) the same way an adult can. This means that your toddler’s jet lag can feel way worse for them than for you.
A good rule of thumb to deal with your toddler’s jet lag is this: For every hour difference, your child will need 24 hours to adapt back to their usual sleeping habits.
While you may never get your toddler to sleep “perfectly” on time, there are some things that you can do to help your toddler with their jet lag and help them transition to the new time zone easily.
First, even though they may not be tired at their normal time, focus on bedtime and sleep cues to help them remember that it’s nap or bedtime. Keep to the new time zone and keep bedtime as consistent as possible. If they’re really not falling asleep at their expected time, do as much as you can to bring them closer to falling asleep at bedtime and bring that time up by 30 minutes or so every day.
Natural sunlight is a huge help, so spend mornings getting lots of light and activity to help regulate their internal clock and tire your toddler out.
10. Ask the flight attendants for help
You might be wondering if the flight attendants are even able to help you out if you’re flying with a toddler. Well, the answer is here: Yes, they are!
Don’t be shy to ask the staff on the plane to help you out. If you need a short break to go to the bathroom, the flight attendants will be happy with watch your toddler for a moment. Oftentimes, planes carry specific activity kits and sets for kids, so don’t be embarrassed to ask for some type of activity if they have it. Remember when we talked about snacks? Planes have those, too, so go ask those flight attendants for some extra pretzels to keep your toddler entertained.
11. Be kind to yourself
Lastly, don’t forget to be kind and patient with yourself as a parent. You may feel like you’re doing an awful job, and we’re going to stop you right here: Toddlers are hard work. You’re not going to be perfect at flying with one right away, and, frankly, you may never be.
Especially if your child is crying a lot on the plane, remind yourself that sometimes, you can prepare as much as you want, but you still can’t help it. Always remember that oftentimes, people around you are much more understanding of children on planes than you think. You’re doing a great job, and you and your little one will have so much fun at your destination together.
When things start to feel stressful, take a deep breath and calm yourself down. You’ve got this!
Travelling and flying with a toddler can be rough, but it can also be incredibly rewarding. Whether you’re exploring a new destination with your little one or checking in to an old favourite hot spot, introducing a child to the world of travel and seeing the joy in their eyes will immediately make you forget all the tough times and instead – reminding you of why you were doing this in the first place.
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