Surviving Long Haul Travel With Kids Ages Zero to Two
By: Lemons
Tags: Baby, Traveling With Kids, Phd Student, Parenting, Long Distance Marriage

Surviving Long Haul Travel With Kids Ages Zero to Two

First hand tips from taking 13 long haul flights with my son in his first 2 years of life Lemons & Lemonade Apr 11, 2019·5 min read

Travelling with kids is by no means an easy venture and if life was straightforward and simple, I’d personally avoid travelling out of a country with a kid until they’re at least five years old. However, studying and living across continents from my husband, travel restrictions (resident alien woes), larger family reunions and somehow my son was on a long-haul flight every other month since he was 3 months old.

80 percent of these trips happened while he was under 1, as soon as he became a toddler, we quickly learned our lessons and drastically reduced how frequently we got on a flight with him if we didn’t absolutely have to.

The first time we got on a plane together I was naturally nervous and did a ton of research- the summary of which was- have your milk-filled breast or bottle handy, always. How I miss those early days- being able to silence a newborn a lot of the time with a boob or bottle.

While it’s unlikely that you can completely avoid loud crying on a long flight, you can be better prepared at anticipating and managing them. Here are some tips, categorized by age group, for parents who w̶a̶n̶t̶ need to travel with kids on long haul flights. These tips will be focused on how to best survive on the flight

· 0- 6 months- many parents generally agree that this is the best time to get on a long-haul flight with any child. At this age all most babies do is eat and sleep. A little entertainment and they are tired enough to eat and sleep again. Breast or bottle in their mouths and they are happy as a bunny. Another plus at this age for babies who are only fed breast milk or formula, is a near odour-free poop. Take advantage of this because this is when the feeding to poop ratio is also highest- stay in your seat and make a quick diaper change rather than “excuse me-ing” your way to the bathroom at least 4 times- damn window/middle seats!

· 6 to 12 months- introducing solids increases the propensity for a stinky diaper. However, bowel movements are now fewer and ideally, you shouldn’t need to go to the airplane bathroom more than once. I maintain that pee diapers should be changed on seat.

Bassinet hooks to the wall leaving your hands free for some time

Downside of this stage is- little ones have started to move more; crawl, roll and are more restless than newborns. They start becoming a hassle to carry on your legs on long flights. Ask if a bassinet is available (unlikely on low cost airlines), this will save you a great deal, especially now that they nap for 2–3 hour stretches. Even better, when you can, try to time your flight to align with their nighttime sleep; for kids who now sleep through the night, your flight can be a breeze. On low cost flights, your best bet is to find the perfect angle for the baby and DO NOT attempt to move for the duration of their sleep, do so at your own peril (the babies on the plane go wahh wahh wahh)

· 12- 24 months — snacks are the equivalent of bottle or breast in mouth for toddlers. While many parents swear by unlimited snacks (oh, please have a ton of options!), I find that toddlers are better at regulating their eating and can thus get bored of snacks quickly. Also, you don’t want to pack on high sugar snacks as there’s no space for a hyper kid to run around on a plane especially not with the many seat belt alerts.

Somewhere in this age range, I’d say at about the 15-month mark, kids are now able to express fear and anxiety. Boarding a plane may be scary for them. I always suggest showing them pictures and videos of the outside and inside of a plane, talk to them about it several weeks and days leading up to the travel. It helps ease their anxiety and makes for a better flight.

Also, at this age, little ones need so much more entertaining. I dedicate my entire rucksack to toys, books and snacks. We didn’t let our son watch TV until he was about 13 months old and since then it’s been for 30 minutes a day. The first trip since the rule, I was foolish to think we could follow it and best to say, a constrained toddler who couldn’t move about got bored very quickly with his books and toys and had no interest in food. I was at my wits end and ended up letting him watch stuff on my phone for over an hour. I felt like I had failed myself. Jokes. Now I know better. My inability to be flexible when it was necessary caused me and my son unnecessary stress. The conditions were different, the solutions needed to be as well.

General tips for any age

· Think “efficiency” at all times. Pack efficiently, check in most of your luggage and take on just one carry on luggage- I recommend a rucksack- it’s smarter and easier to manage in emergency situations than a sling over shoulder diaper bag.

· Use a baby carrier when you can. In the Unites States and a few other countries, parents are allowed to go through security without taking the baby off (this is a major plus especially when the baby is sleeping), some other countries are not as generous. Still, I think a baby carrier is more manageable than a push chair- probably because I always snatch up any opportunity to be close to my baby.

Traditional baby carrier when all else fails

· Ask the airline for as many concessions as possible, you will be surprised how many there are for people flying with babies.

I like to think of my son as a super-duper trooper. Travelled 11 long haul flights in his first year of life. It has been quite the experience.

Good luck flying with those kiddos!