5 Tips for Flying with a Toddler

5 Tips for Flying with a Toddler | Our Experience

We took Jackie to Boise last week to visit the Husband's family. There is no easy way to get to Boise so no matter what, it was going to be hard. We had already done the trip there and back once with Jackie but she was only 8 months old at the time and much easier to travel with. You can read my 5 Tips to Make Flying With A Baby Easier here. We learned a lot during our 4 flights (total round trip) so I am sharing my 5 tips for flying with a toddler with you.

5 Tips for Flying with a Toddler | Bring A Stroller

I cannot stress this enough. When you are going through an airport with all of the stuff you need for a toddler, including their seat, you are going to want a stroller. We basically used our stroller as a pack horse and it was the best thing we could have done. We had three carry ons, one each, and Jackie's car seat. This would have made moving from one gate to another very slow if we had not had the stroller. Most airlines will allow you to gate check your stroller when you are boarding the plane and you can get it back when you get off. I bought this travel bag for our stroller because it extended the warranty of our stroller.

5 Tips for Flying with a Toddler | Bring Their Favorite Shows/Movies

This was a life saver. I truly credit having Jackie's movies on my iPad as to why she was so good for the 6 hour flight. We had practiced using headphones but she just wasn't into it. I am not one to play a movie on a device without headphones, I think it is so rude, but we were all in the same row together. Even with the volume all the way up, The Husband couldn't hear the movie two seats away. So I turned on Jackie's movies and she was thrilled. I found the coolest iPad and iPhone holders to keep Jackie from trying to destroy the devices. You can shop them below.

5 Tips for Flying with a Toddler | Bring Lots of Snacks & Be Sure To Eat

I packed a snack bag for Jackie for the flights. I packed all of her favorite snacks to be sure that we had the things I knew she would eat. She is going through a picky stage right now so I couldn't guarantee that there would be something I could buy somewhere. I kept the snack bag in the diaper bag so I could access it easily. I used these snacks to make sure Jackie ate when she normally would.

5 Tips for Flying with a Toddler | Stick to Their Schedule

This goes back to the bringing lots of snacks. I made sure that Jackie ate at her normal time, no matter what was going on around us. Sticking to her usual schedule helped when we got to our destination so she wasn't as jet lagged as I was expecting. I also tried to get her to nap during the usual time. I got everything ready like I would when she naps. I even put her in her sleep sack. Then I put her back in her car seat and gave her a bottle. She did sleep for about 30 minutes. It wasn't as long as her usual nap (2 to 3 hours) but she still got something!

5 Tips for Flying with a Toddler | Find A Place to Play During Layovers

I found this to be so important. We had about a 3 hour layover in San Francisco. The San Francisco airport has a Kids Spot but once we got there we discovered it was aimed at kids a little bit older than Jackie. So we just found places for her to run around and get some energy out instead. One of her favorite things to do was run around on the moving sidewalks. Most of us have seen other parents on them with their kids. It turns out they are great layover entertainment.

5 Tips for Flying with a Toddler | Shop the Post

[show_shopthepost_widget id="3192482"]