Tips for Traveling with Toddlers

We recently returned from a trip to Budapest. This involved an 8 hour flight, a four hour layover, and another 2 hour flight. Here are some things we've learned over the years of traveling with Nick:

Preboarding can be a curse rather than a blessing. Imagine you are about to sit on a plane for a 4 or 8 hour flight. Would you rather A) Preboard and have an extra half hour of sitting still while you watch all the other passengers file on, or B) Have your child run, jump, and otherwise exert themselves in an effort to get rid of as much energy as possible before boarding? For us, the answer is almost always a resounding "B" - and Nicholas is usually quite ready to sit by the time we're on the plane.

For a longer flight, we travel with 2 sippy cups that we won't be upset to lose. We fill one and leave the other empty. Most airport security lines will allow a filled sippy cup onboard, but occasionally we've been asked to ditch one. I also regretted not having an empty sippy on a long flight when the milk soured, causing me to need to clean a cup in-flight. This was quite annoying. However, they do make bottle sanitizer wipes which can be handy to have along and can help in these situations. If, due to space, you can only bring one cup, you might want to wait until you are on the flight to fill it.

We use plastic baggies to organize our carry-on and bring a few empty ones as well. Snacks, small toys, a changing kit, and a change of clothes each get their own baggie. (The gallon-baggie changing kit removes the need to lug a diaper bag into a tight airplane bathroom.) Empty baggies get used for trash, keepsakes, dirty clothes, etc.

A note about the bulkhead: At times sitting here is desirable, at other times it's not the best place to be. If you are on a short flight or traveling with a lap child, the extra space provided by the bulkhead is wonderful. When I flew home alone from Germany on a full flight with Nicholas as a lap child, I was thankful to have floor space for him to play. Unfortunately, the armrests cannot be raised in the bulkhead, making it impossible for a sleeping toddler to stretch out on a long flight. We hated to trade our legroomy seats on our international flight for a middle row, but when Nicholas stretched out and slept for 6 hours of the flight, we knew we had made the right decision.

Still to come...
Favorite travel toys
Handy airplane snacks