genevieve.malarkey Today’s post is a wee bit different… I just got home from traveling across the country with my two daughters (4 and 2 years), and I received many comments on our travel days, such as: “you’re so brave!” or “you have your hands full today don’t you!” and the like. And while yes, you do have to have some courage to embark on a lengthy journey with your littles, for me the choice is simple: my family all lives on the west coast while I am in the East, and so if I want myself and my kids to ever see their grandparents, aunts and uncles, then fly we must. This last trip was one for the record books, with weather diversions, connection delays, and complete lack of sleep, which was very stressful, but it’s what inspired me to write this post. If I had not prepared adequately, the experience would have been so much worse! I don’t even want to think about it.
Here at Café Geneviève, we talk about living a French-inspired life, planning to travel to France, and experiencing French culture whenever and wherever we can. And, sometimes that includes needing (or wanting) to bring our kids with us on the experience. Not all of us have the means or opportunity (or desire!) to take a French vacation sans kids, and so I think the tips I’m about to share with you today would especially be helpful for long, transatlantic or other international travel. Or, if you don’t have an exotic trip coming up any time soon, my top tips for air travel with small children will get you through even the quickest of regional flights.
It’s all about the snacks
Want to keep them occupied and happy? Give them snacks. I’m talking pack an entire small bag full of their favorite snacks, fruits, and some protein like string cheese or a sandwich or two to keep them full. Especially during these days of pandemic, you will not get much food from the airline. On the cross-country flight I just took, we were given a bag of Cheez-its and a cookie on two occasions, and that was it. But that’s ok because I packed my carry-on full of peanut butter & jelly sandwiches (one for each of us), string cheese, blueberries, oranges, bananas, crackers, fruit snacks, etc. Any time your kids gets grumpy, offer a snack (my two year old is all about the snacks so this works every time). My snack philosophy was totally validated on our most recent flight, when we were rerouted from Atlanta to Huntsville due to weather, sat on the tarmac for an hour, then took off again and landed in Atlanta an hour later. I knew my kids wouldn’t go hungry, and they stayed better behaved than I expected with all that going on! You really can’t have too many snacks, so fill up your bags!
The Great Carseat Debate
Right off the bat I have to tell you: I have never brought a car seat aboard a plane. I know, controversial, right? My opinion is, if someone installs a car seat on a plane for safety, I would argue I’ve never heard of a kid surviving a plane crash because of a carseat while everyone else perished. This being my main reason to not wrestle with a giant Graco seat on an overly crowded plane full of people, I also want to make my day as least stressful as possible, and transporting said car seat through the airport, installing on multiple planes, uninstalling, and hauling off the plane, sounds downright miserable. It is with great pleasure that I check those car seas at the luggage counter (for free, might I add) and proceed with my journey.
Now, I do get the argument that kids are more prone to sleeping on planes in their car seat, because they are used to them and feel more secure when safely buckled into their seats. And, maybe this would be the answer to some of the issues that arise for me (described below) in terms of kids losing sleep on travel days, but I still feel that I can deal with a cranky, tired kid for a day (enter: snacks and screens), but sweating through clothes I will already be wearing for entirely too long of a day is just a non negotiable for me. So, it’s obviously a personal choice, and some of you may think I am irresponsible by opting out, but we all have to do what’s best for us and our kids, and for me I would go mad dealing with TWO of these things all day, with my kids who probably wouldn’t sleep anyway, and which would not keep any of us safer if the worst were to happen. There, I said it. Moving on…
Bring a stroller, and gate check it before getting on the plane
This one is pretty simple and most parents probably do it already, but it’s worth mentioning. Strap your wiggly toddler or baby into a stroller while in the airport (unless you like chasing small kids while loaded down with baggage), get a ticket for the stroller from the agent at the counter, and leave the stroller on the gateway before boarding your plane. This is totally free to do, and is so convenient. When you get off the plane, your stroller will probably be waiting for you at the same place you dropped it off; if it isn’t, just wait a few minutes and it will magically appear. Sometimes I don’t use my stroller the entire time I’m on a trip, but I bring it for the sole purpose of securing my kid while we’re at the airport, because I would actually go insane without it.
Any rules about screen time are off limits on travel days
Want to keep your kids from screaming on a plane? Give them a screen. There are days to battle over screen time or insist on a screen detox, but travel day is not that day. I am always monitoring my girls’ screen time (read: feeling guilty that they sometimes get way too much of it), but not on a plane. Give yourself maximum sanity on travel day, because you need all your energy for whatever might come up that day. Ergo: give the kids their tablets, and no one gets hurt.
I spend the week before our trip updating all their favorite games/apps, downloading a favorite movie or two, and any tv series that keeps their attention for a while. It might also be worth paying in advance for onboard WiFi in case your downloads don’t work properly- this happened to me when I hadn’t purchased WiFi, and on Delta you can’t buy the service while inflight, which is super annoying but c’est la vie. Suffice it to say, I had vastly fewer resources at my disposal to keep my two year old occupied, and she in turn gave me a few toddler meltdowns, had an intense case of the wiggles, and I clenched my teeth in stress the whole flight. Don’t make a mistake like me: prep that tablet and make sure it is running at full potential for travel day. And on the same note, BRING EXTRA CHARGERS. Also, bring headphones for each kid unless you want to annoy everyone on the plane.
Some excellent apps that entertain:
The PBS Kids Games app has a ton of games and stories that keep my kids entertained for a long time. There are a ton of other apps on the pbs Kids website as well, and they are all FREE!
Disney Plus is worth every penny, especially because you can download certain movies to watch offline (perfect for air travel if you don’t want to pay for Wifi).
Always bring at least one change of clothes (depending on the age of your child)
The first time my husband and I took our first daughter on a plane, she had a massive blowout before the plane even reached cruising altitude. I’m talking leaking out the diaper, everyone can smell it, what the heck are we going to do kind of blowout. My sainted husband took it upon himself and brought our new baby to the tiny airplane bathroom, cleaned her up, and changed her clothes, all while the plane was still ascending. I have never been more proud of my planning skills before that day. Bring extra clothes, people.
Have a kid who is potty training? Bring 2 sets of clothes. For infants, I usually bring at least 2 onesies and an extra pair of pants, and way more diapers than I think I will need. For my toddler and 4 yearold, I packed one whole extra outfit for the day, and it was a comfort knowing I had them, especially when I was pretty sure our flight would be cancelled last minute and I was calculating how long it would take to find a hotel room and get there, and what they would wear the next day since we wouldn’t have our luggage. With all that, it was at least one less small source of stress to figure out.
Oh, and on beach days, bring 3 changes of clothes. My 4 yearold got car sick and threw up (change of clothes #1), proceeded to run through the freezing ocean waves (change of clothes #2), and was too cold to wear the shorts I had packed her (change #3). Mom victory.
Your kids probably won’t sleep, and that’s ok
Are you a routine-oriented mom, like myself? Forget about it when traveling. You can’t expect your kids or yourself to stick to a strict routine or schedule when nothing is under your control, so just go with the flow and accept that your kids probably won’t nap, they will be cranky, but they will get through the day easier than you think. Sometimes interrupting a strict routine is exactly the right thing to do, and is the change everyone needs anyway.
Now, I know that is a lot easier said than done. I used to stress out to the max over my first daughter’s sleep schedule, refusing to plan anything (not even travel if I could help it) during her sacred nap times. But as they say, live and learn. You can not create you perfect flight itinerary according to your little angel’s schedule. All you can do is plan the best you can, and leave the rest up to chance. I was happily surprised that my youngest cuddled up next to me at one point in our 4.5 hour fight (which turned into 7 hour flight because: weather delays), and fell asleep for an hour while watching a movie, but it definitely was not expected.
How to get your kid to wear a face mask: put “Frozen” characters on them
This is a tip for traveling with small children, Covid-19 edition. My oldest would do nothing but complain when I had to put a mask on her any time we went anywhere, until my sweet neighbor made Frozen character masks for each of my girls before our trip. Even my 2 year old insisted on sporting hers most of the day. So, if your kids don’t like Frozen (do such kids even exist?), get a mask with some favorite characters on them, and they will be more inclined to wear them as a fashion statement. And if they still won’t wear them? Don’t sweat it. People generally don’t worry about making small kids wear masks (all the people we encountered were more impressed that my girls kept theirs on more than anything), and if they do care, just shoot some dirty looks right back their way. You’re doing your best and that’s all you can do.
My last tip is not so much a tip but advice: travel day with kids is a marathon, not a sprint. So conserve your energy when you can (like closing your eyes during moments of calm), try not to get overwhelmed when plans change, and know that whatever comes up, you will deal with it. If your flight gets cancelled, you will find a hotel to get you and your kids some rest. If your littles eat only chicken nuggets for two nights in a row, so be it. They will survive. Traveling with kids isn’t exactly comfortable, and while you can try to make it so as much as possible, remember that one day of travel will allow for several days of adventure, memories, and fun. As a lover of travel I have accepted that this is the way it must be if I want to continue going places while my children are young. And ultimately they have adapted and not only do quite well on travel days, but they get excited for it too.
Did I miss anything? What tips would you share for air travel with kids? Just remember: you CAN do this!
Bonne chance et à la prochaine-
geneviève
