This post is for all mums stressing out at the thought of travelling with a baby/toddler. If your child is anything like my daughter has been, I’m pretty sure you are googling away ways of keeping them busy during a flight. I’ve complied a list of things that helped me and my daughter stay sane during air travel. We’ve done 15 hours and 2 to 4 hour journeys, these tips have always helped me and my husband cope with the journey.
- 🏼 Get a trunki! They come in different colours and patterns and are an absolute life saver for tired, non cooperating kids who will refuse to walk when needed the most. They can sit on it, ride on it or just pull away.
- 🏼 Purchase kid-appropriate headphones, I got mine from amazon and they have been extremely handy.
- 🏼 Take along an iPad or a device and download plenty of cartoons or movies they love to watch. This is where the headphones will be put to good use hopefully giving you 10 minutes of peace.
- Have plenty activities to keep your child occupied during the journey. I’ve carried stickers, colouring books, loom bands, lacing cards, flash cards, books, cheap toys, gel window clings, play dough etc. You don’t need to spend loads on these activities, just nip in to the pound store and grab a few things. I’ve also wrapped a few toys to keep my little one excited. We all know that the wrapping paper is more exciting then whats inside.
- Put three or four nappies, wipes and a change mat in a large ziplock bag, so it’s easier to pull out and carry to the toilets during the flight. You don’t want to be lugging along a huge bag in small airplane toilets🏼.
- Always carry spare clothes for your child and a spare top for yourself. Babies can be sick on your clothes, drop their food on you, spill milk on your top. Don’t forget Murphy’s law – whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. So keep that in mind and pack accordingly.
- 🏼 Carry a ziplock bag with cal pol sachets, saline nasal spray teething gel, nappy rash cream etc. Ziplock bags are life savers, I use them for everything!
- 🏼 Always breast/bottle feed babies at takeoff and landing unless they are asleep. If they are asleep, don’t you dare wake them up. Enjoy a few minutes of peace. For 2 years and older I carried Yumearth UK organic lollipops for my daughter to suck on. Now that shes turned 5, she chews a gum, has hard candy or lollipops. I’ve also taught her to fake yawn to pop her ears open, something that’s always worked for me.
- 🏼 Last but definitely one of the more important ones is SNACKS! Lots and lots of snacks! I made small ziplock bags of little treats aswell as snacks that will be a little filling for through out the journey. Rice cakes, raisins, kinder eggs, sweets, fruit etc. My rule of not giving my little one any sweets doesn’t apply during the flight and my daughter loves it.
- 🏼 For 3 year olds and above, you can buy ear plugs from @bootsuk to drown out the noise and help with air pressure during takeoff and landing. These are brilliant!
- For kids 3 and over, you can purchase ear plugs from Boots to drown out the airplane noise and help with air pressure during takeoff and landing. These ear plus are absolutely brilliant! My daughter has always had very sensitive ears due to frequent ear and throat infections so these were great for her. Just as we are about to take off, I pop the ear plugs in, hand her a lollipop and pray for the best. These ear plugs are reusable and they come in a little container. Do the same when the plane descents, don’t wait for landing. So as soon as the pilot announces descent, I repeat the same steps. The earplugs are available here https://www.boots.com/boots-flight-earplugs-1-pair-with-carry-case-1011410
There you go guys, these are my most used tips for travelling with baby/toddler. Travelling with kids can sometimes be a nightmare, so what are the things you have found useful? Comment below and let me know, I can add your tips with your credit to this post if you want.