We’ve all been there – you’re trying to make your flight on time and you’ve got kids that aren’t quite behaving the way you would want them too. Your first instinct might be to get frustrated and embarrassed; surely everyone around you is judging you. Well, as you’ll learn today, that might not be the case! Here are Travel Maker’s Top Five Travel Tips for traveling with children!
Leave Yourself Plenty of Time
Look – we all know how much of a rush we are when you’re trying to get to the airport on time, and that’s even when we’re not traveling with our kids. Our first tip is a multi-part one, and the first part starts before you even wake up on travel day.
If your schedule permits it, pick a later flight. It’s much easier to get your children up, bathed, clothed, and fed when you have to leave for the airport at 10:00 AM than it is when you have to leave at 6:00 AM. While you might be tempted to take an earlier flight to get to your destination sooner, the extra hours you leave yourself will make your day, and your kid’s day, much easier.
The second part of this tip is an extension of the first: make sure you give yourself way more time at the airport than you normally would. Checking your bags, getting through security and finding your gate is complicated by the fact that you have to drag your little ones through an already-crowded airport. While most airports recommend that you arrive an hour-and-a-half before your flight if you’re checking bags, we’d say give yourself an extra half hour to forty-five minutes before your flight if you’re traveling with kids.
Bring All The Games and Books (Within Reason)
This tip is much easier today than it was in the past, thanks to the prevalence of electronic devices like iPads and the Nintendo Switch. An experienced parent doesn’t leave the house without something to distract their kids for a period of time, and traveling is no different.
If you decide to bring electronic devices for your children to entertain themselves with, think ahead and bring extra power. Long gone are the days where you could throw a few extra AA batteries in your bag and be done with it, however. Nowadays, you’re going to need to find an outlet, and those are normally very hard to find in airports.
There is a way around this, however. There are some great battery packs on the market, like this one from Anker, that allow you to charge devices on the go. If you’re going with electronics, make sure you pick one of those up.
Books are also an option, but there’s one problem – they’re heavy. I’ve found the best bet is to transcribe them onto a word document with images and then print them out and staple them like a book. Of course, this only works for smaller children, but it can save you precious space and weight with all that you already have to carry.
Think Twice Before Giving Your Kids Luggage
You might think it’s a bright idea to give your child their own backpack or suitcase to pack their stuff in, but realize that you’re counting on your child to want to hold that backpack or roll that suitcase for three hours before your flight.
We can’t count the number of times we’ve seen Moms and Dads carrying a bright pink, child-size backpack around the airport. Most of the time they’re carrying the kid the backpack should be attached too as well. Having your child carry all of the things they’ll need to keep them entertained might be handy but understand that you might end up carrying both of them.
Don’t Get Frustrated, People aren’t Judging You
There’s nothing more frustrating than having a child that won’t stop crying. This goes doubly so when you’re in a public place. You might think all those looks you’re getting are judging you, but odds are they’re not. Most people have children or have experience with them, and it’s important for you to understand that they’re probably sympathizing with you.
Even if there’s someone with no experience with children, understand that they’re in the minority. Almost everyone knows how difficult it is to travel with children. Take a deep breath, and understand that once you’re done traveling, you’ll be on a wonderful vacation.