Flying with Little Ones | Tips from the Bloggers

25.5.16


Flying with little ones can seem scary, and I know many people who avoid it altogether. This doesn't have to be the case though! We've flown twice now with babies and once with a toddler, and both times the thought of the trip has been worse than actually doing it. 

You can see what we packed for our toddler Indiana (2) here, but honestly the best thing we did was take the iPad and of course lots of snacks! Then for Parker (and when Indie was a baby) a bottle on take off helped to settle him, and put him to sleep for a short while too. We then found taking it in turns with the baby helped. He was constantly entertained, and it gave each of us a break throughout as well.


This is what worked for us, but I'm very aware that all children are different. I thought I'd ask some fellow bloggers for their tips too, so hopefully with this list you'll find something that works for you! 

We filled a Trunki with various new toys, books, colouring etc that we got from cheapy shops and every so often got a new thing out to keep him amused during the flight - Beth Twinderelmo

Check what the airport has on offer to entertain little ones, a lot offer a free play area which can help with the boredom whilst waiting. - Laura dearbearandbeany

Pack a dedicated activity bag and just cram it with anything that you think your kids will enjoy and be entertained by. I crammed the iPad with fun games and downloaded as much Sarah and Duck off BBC iPlayer, sourced some inexpensive toys from Poundland etc, plus water pen drawing books. If possible, secure the waterpen to the notepad as we found pens and crayons to fall down and roll away quite easily. - Sophie sophieandlily

Put spare outfits/clothes into zip lock bags incase of accidents / spilt drinks / illness. Make sure mum and dad have them as well as the kids. Clean clothes go on and dirty ones into the bag so doesn't ruin anything else in the bag. - Ellie havingababyandlivingathome

Feed the baby on landing and take off if you can. It helps their ears adjust to the pressure. - Naomi lifebynaomi

Something we used different on the way back from Australia just recently was the insert bag for the Trunki. You have to buy it separately but it was great as we packed core things in that such as iPad, small toys, colouring books etc. Then you can leave the Trunki in overhead locker and then the insert fits over the magazine pocket. Always think a calm, relaxed attitude from mum and dad is the best advice ever. - Kerry allaboutamininorris

Use all your hand luggage space to pack games, toys, books, snacks for them... Anything that will keep them busy! And use bags instead of cases so you can pop them underneath the seat instead of the locker - Heledd yummyblogger


We bought the Usborne travel activity cards, they were fantastic, my daughter loves them and in the end used them the whole holiday, not just for travelling. They are wipe clean so can be used over and over. - Vicki cake escapes

Little magnetic drawing boards are a godsendOh and sticker books! - Lauren belledubrighton

We took a little miniature toy plane and talked all about it during out journey. Even though he'd only 2, Eli was obsessed and enthralled by the fact he was inside a plane like the little one he had. Take a fully loaded ipad or tablet - it WILL be your best friend, especially on a long flight. Be friendly to your fellow passengers .. you'll appreciate their niceness if your little angel kicks off during the flight - Cat rockandrollpussycat 

Plan flight times well, we always aim for 6/7 am flights as the excitement of the airport combined with a ridiculously early morning means they conk out as soon as they get on the plane - Becky themummyadventure

Never ever ever forget to put calpol into your hand luggage with a syringe. The one time you don't is usually the one time you need it on the flight! - Taslima Notmyyearoff

I think the main thing is to not overpack. It's good to have a change of clothes, a snack or two and a sticker book or game but other than that little ones probably won't need much. - Lauren mummyisagadgetgeek

Travelling with little ones is always going to be trickier, but it doesn't have to be stressful -  I really hope this list helps and gives you some ideas for the next time you fly. Thank you everyone who gave tips, I know I'll be using these next time we fly!

4 comments :

  1. Really helpful blog post. Thank you Emily. I am a little scared about booking a holiday due to the flight. But think I just need to go for it. What's the worse that could happen haha x

    ReplyDelete
  2. Really useful tips you combined here Emily, it will be sure to help a lot of parents xx

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great list. I will definitely take advice away from that list for when we fly in August.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely post and some great tips, thanks for sharing :)

    Cat x

    ReplyDelete

If you have any questions or enquiries email me at emilyandindiana@gmail.com or tweet me at @emilyandindiana