Tips for Flying with Small Children

Flying with small children can be a frustrating experience. My wife and I have a two year old, and one year old that we took on two trips by air in the past month. We learned several important lessons about flying with small children that I would like to share with you. Hopefully, these tips for flying with small children will help make your trip a much more enjoyable experience.

Before you leave the house

One way to make flying with small children much easier is to do online check the night before your flight. Most airlines allow online check-in within twenty-four hours of departure.

The beauty of online check-in is that you can pick your seat assignments for your flight. You don't want to get assigned seats that are scattered all over the airplane when flying with small children. Use online check-in and you can ensure that you will be able to sit together on the airplane.

Drop off and parking at the airport

My wife and I have developed a system for dropping off and parking when flying with small children. I drop my wife off with the kids and luggage at the terminal. If there is curbside check-in or Sky-cap, we take advantage of these services. If not, I help her get the kids and luggage into the terminal.

After unloading, I take to the car to long term parking and ride the shuttle back to the terminal. Trust me, when flying with small children you want to drop-off as much as you can before you park. Parking with the whole family and taking a shuttle with luggage, two car seats, a diaper bag, a stroller, and other carry-on items is not fun.

Checking in at the airport

Even if you did online check-in, you will probably need to check your bags at the ticket counter. You will need to get an "infant in arms" pass if you are flying an infant that is sitting on your lap.

I recommend checking car seats when flying with small children if you are comfortable with your child wearing one of the airplane's seat belts. We did this the second trip with our two year old and he was much more comfortable (and a lot less cranky) on the flight. It also made traveling through the terminal a whole lot easier without a car seat on my back. Car seats don't count as a checked bag, so you won't have to pay a fee.

Getting small children through security

Going through the security line can be an unpleasant experience when flying with small children. You will be required to remove any sort of liquid from your diaper bag for inspection such as diaper cream, juice, milk, and baby food.

You will also need to remove your children's shoes and jackets. If you have a portable DVD player you will have to remove that from the case as well. Make sure you have everything prepared before you reach the end of the line and you will have a much better experience.

Boarding the plane with small children

Once you reach your gate it is a good idea to visit the nearest restroom. Make sure that your potty trained children use the bathroom and put fresh diapers on smaller children. The restrooms on the airplane are cramped and this makes for difficult diaper changes.

When flying with infants you will probably need to buy some bottled watered if you use formula. You will also need to get a luggage tag for your stroller if you used one to take your kids through the airport. I suggest using a stroller when flying with small children even when you have kids who can walk. The terminals can be very big and it is much easier to get from place to place with a stroller.

Fortunately, most airlines allow families with small children to board early. Take advantage of this opportunity as it will talk you longer than the average person to board the airplane. On your way down the boarding tunnel, leave your tagged stroller just outside the cockpit door to be put below.

Flying in the airplane with small children

Once you are on the airplane, you are still not out of the woods. Hopefully you checked in online and found seats together. If you didn't get seats together you will have to have the flight attendant rearrange seats for you.

Flying with small children can be difficult because your kids will want to get up and move around. Make sure to bring things to keep them occupied. We usually bring coloring books, a couple of toys, plenty of snacks, and a portable DVD player.

The portable DVD player is a life saver. It has saved entire cabins full of people from the vocal cords of my screaming kids. Usually the movie lasts almost as long as the flight and gives mom and dad a little rest.

When the airplane lands, we like to wait until everyone else de-boards before we got off. This way we can take our time, and we usually have to wait for the stroller to get unloaded anyway. The stroller should be right outside the cockpit door when you land.

Leaving the airport after flying with small children

Once our airplane has landed on our return home, we all head to the baggage claim. My wife waits at the baggage claim with the kids and I take the shuttle to long term parking to get the car.

I drive the car to the baggage claim and we load the kids and our luggage.

Flying with small children can be a bearable experience as long as you are prepared. Make sure to allow your self more time than usual when flying with small children.

Hopefully the tips that I have outlined in this article will help make you next trip flying with small children a more pleasurable experience.