The thought of having to travel for some people is hard enough, but to have children to be responsible for too can take it to a whole new level of stress. If it's your first time or you're trying to improve the experience, here are some tips to make travelling by plane easier with children.
Pick Your Flight Time Carefully
Timing is important because choosing the wrong flight might just spell disaster for the flight not just for your family but for everyone else on the plane! You ideally want to pick a time where children aren't going to feel restless, so just after lunch is ideal. It might be worth seeing if you can get a lunch-time flight so that the children can be occupied with food for part of the journey. If it's a longer flight, you may be limited by choice but it's a good idea to do an overnight one if it's a long-haul flight. You can tire them out during the day and then once they're getting on the plane, you can get them off to sleep, and hopefully, they won't stir then until you land!
Bring Plenty Of In-Flight Entertainment
Entertainment is essential to your sanity and to your children's mood swings. When it comes to entertainment, make sure to have an electronic device with plenty of their favourite shows or movies on there. Get a few colouring books and mini games for younger children to keep entertained with. Try to interact with them and to enjoy playing with them. If you ignore them, they're likely to become more restless and frustrated. So talk to them while they're colouring in or watch a show together so that they feel comforted.
Ask Flight Staff About Any Free Seats
A plane flight with children is not going to feel like an ACS would, so it's worth checking in with the flight attendants to see if there are any free seats available and that you could move to with your child in order to let them stretch out and sleep. This might be unlikely in most cases, but you will have the odd occasion where some people won't show for their flights, or there will be a flight that won't have been fully booked and so it'll be a winner for you and your children!
Have Home Comforts Available
Being and flying on an aircraft can be quite an unusual and alien experience to a small child and so to help them feel safe, it's a good idea to bring a few home comforts. Maybe this could be their favourite toy or a blanket or teddy that they comfort in bed or around the home. It's something extra, but it may come in handy at times when they're frightened or nervous.
Travelling with your children can be stressful, but it can also be fun. Use these tips on your next journey, and you'll find the process will hopefully be a lot easier and more fun for everyone involved.
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