Are you dreading your next flight with your kids? Anticipating the crankiness? Rethinking the whole thing? Here are some tried a true tips…but no guarantees.

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None of the content contained in this post is intended as medical advice. Consult with your own medical professional.

For many people traveling is stressful. How often have you heard people say they need a vacation from their vacation. Add in traveling with kids and the stress level goes up. And flying in this day and age!? 🤯 Here are some great tried and true tips to address the 5 main issues that arise when flying with kids.

• Unsettled Toddler
• Ear Pressure and Pain
• Jet Lag
• Hangry
• Bored
• Bonus: Motion Sickness

Unsettled Toddler

One problem that many people face when flying with kids is the fact that small children have a hard time settling down on the plane. The seatbelts don’t really fit them so they climb out. They like to climb around or run up and down the aisles. Their schedules get out of whack and the get cranky.

So? Take a car seat with you on the plane. Most car seats are FAA approved to fit in the seat. It is a bit cumbersome to carry the car seat through the airport. We’ve been known to put it upside down over the stroller (with the baby in the stroller). Now we have a backpack to carry the car seat. There are advantages to checking the car seat as a piece of luggage (see 5 Advantages of Flying with a Toddler).

However, the advantage of taking the car seat onto the plane is that your child will be contained in something familiar and will most likely sleep. It’s important to note that you will need to put the car seat in a window seat.

You may balk at the idea of spending money “unnecessarily” for a seat for a child under 2, but sometimes it’s totally worth it–especially on international flights where you have to pay the taxes and fees anyway. I recently bought a ticket for my toddler. The ticket was $87, $61 of which was taxes and fees. So, best $26 I ever spent was to get him his own seat!

Ear Pressure and Pain

We’ve all been there. The pain and pressure in our ears, primarily during take-off and landing can be really uncomfortable for some people. Since small children aren’t able to do the Valsalva maneuver (hold your nose, close your mouth, and blow out), you need some other options. Some of my suggestions are only good for very small children and some will even work for adults.

For babies, try to schedule their feedings for take-off and landing. If they can nurse or suck a bottle during take-off and landing, the sucking motion will help to relieve some of the ear pressure.

Another option along the same vein is a pacifier. The pacifier option works if you can’t time a feeding, as well as for older children (I’m talking about a 2 or 3 year-old, not a 12 year-old). Depending on the child, you may even consider holding the pacifier in his/her mouth. Our oldest child didn’t use a pacifier, but we kept one handy for travel days.

Gum works to alleviate some of the pain and pressure due to the chewing and sucking motion involved.

We also like to use a homeopathic remedy called Kali muriaticum (or Kali mur) to help prevent the pain and pressure in the ears. It’s intended to treat colds, so it works to decongest and therefore prevents the pressure due to clogging. We usually give each of the kids 3-5 pellets (adults too) to dissolve under the tongue right before the flight or even during take-off and again before/during landing. If it’s a longer flight, you may want additional doses every few hours. No big deal if small children end up chewing on them.

Jet Lag

When flying with kids, they (and you) often get hit with jet lag. Sometimes we blame jet lag when in reality it’s just exhaustion because you didn’t get enough sleep in the day[s] leading up to the trip. However, if it is truly jet lag, there are some things that can be done to prevent or reduce some of the symptoms.

The main thing to do to limit the effects of jet lag is to try to get accustomed to your destination time zone as soon as possible. If you can’t do this before you leave home, at least do so once you’re on the plane. How can you get your kids (or yourself) to sleep on the plane if it’s broad daylight where you are but already nighttime where you are going?

Try to make your kids as comfortable and ready for bed as possible. Use sleeping masks, blankets, and anything else your kids like to sleep with (ex: stuffed animals, etc.). If your kids are ok with it, change them into pajamas–but not too early.

If you’re comfortable with the idea, give your kids melatonin about 20-30 minutes before you want them to fall asleep. It comes in many different doses, as well as in liquid, chewable, and gummie forms. Remember to keep the TSA limits in mind if you’re taking liquids in your carry-on.

Hangry

We all know that when kids (or adults) get hungry, they get very cranky. When flying with kids, you can’t just send them to take a walk or walk away yourself. Also, when you have cranky kids with you, you may get embarrassed which adds to the stress of the situation.

So, make sure your kids are well fed. And don’t rely on the airline snack and meals–do those even still exist? Bring food and snacks that your kids like. Ration it out. You  don’t want to be 1 hour into a 15-hour flight and run out of snacks. Maybe even hide stuff in your carry-on.

Check out Why Jews (Can’t) Travel Carry-On Only for tips on what you can take on-board to feed your kids

Bored

There’s always a certain amount of boredom on the plane. Some parents are ok with their kids using a screen for the duration of the flight, some don’t want them using it at all, and some are ok with a little bit. Everyone has to do what’s right for them. But, bear in mind that if you don’t have a plan ahead of time, it is more likely that you will give in to whatever your kids’ “plan” is.

Having said that, if you want them to do anything other than sleep, eat, or watch a screen YOU need to be prepared for that. You need to bring things to keep them occupied/entertained. I recall when my children were little, taking a carry-on suitcase full of [cheap] games, toys, puzzles, activities, and prizes to keep them entertained. We never gave them any of this stuff at home, they had no idea we had it, and we rationed it out throughout the flight. It was a lot of work for us, but they were at a stage that we didn’t want them watching a screen and they couldn’t keep themselves occupied (they couldn’t even really read yet).

Amazing Lasting Family Memories Game

Bonus: Motion Sickness

Motion sickness is not generally a problem for air travel. Nonetheless, it does happen–there’s a reason those bags are in the seat pocket.

If you feel your kids will suffer from motion sickness, you can give them Dramamine or some other medication ahead of time (usually about an hour beforehand). There are regular and non-drowsy versions. Keep in mind there is a small percentage of kids that have the OPPOSITE reaction to “drowsy” medications and it makes them hyper.

Peppermint essential oil rubbed on the temples is a natural remedy in the moment for nausea and motion sickness.

When all else fails, be prepared. In the most easily accessible pocket of each of my kids’ backpacks there is a “barf bag kit”. This consists of a quart-size ziplock bag inside a gallon-size ziplock bag. Both bags are left open to ensure they are immediately usable. They use the smaller bag, when needed, and then seal the smaller one in the larger one. Additionally, they have several baby wipes in another ziplock bag to keep them moist and ready to clean up afterwards.

You probably won’t need any of these solutions when flying with your kids, but better safe than sorry.

Flying with kids can be overwhelming. But addressing the 5 main issues that arise can help prevent a lot of the crankiness and get your trip off to a great start!

Drop me a note to share how you handle flying with your kids.

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