Tips for Summer Travel with Children

I have 4 children. Our grandparents live on opposite sides of the country, and neither is near us. We have become rather seasoned veterans in the world of long-distance travel and we journey from coast to coast in search of extended family memories. I will do a follow-up post with tips for road trips but wanted to start out with some  helps for plane travel. Most of our traveling is done without daddy. Not always, but usually we are headed out for a long stay (if you have to spend $2,000 to get there, you might as well stay a while right?) and daddy as the bread winner has to get back to work before we have to get back home. So more often than not, I am acting as the single parent on the flight. Here are some little bits of wisdom I have gleaned from our traveling experiences. Enjoy!

First, look at all of your flight options. Think about what kind of flight you want: Non-stop or connecting with one or more lay-overs.

Non stop is great for a shorter overall trip, especially if you have lots of baggage or baby equipment to haul around the airport from plane to plane. It also cuts down on the nauseating take off and landing times which is great for those with motion sickness. It also allows for nice long naps and for settling in. However, if you don't like the people sitting around you or feel a little claustrophobic in a small space, five hours with no break is a long time.

You may want to look for a flight with an hour or so layover if you don't mind a slightly longer traveling day. This cuts the time you have to keep your wiggly child in one place in half, since he or she will be distracted by the more frequent landing and taking off, the change in planes, seats, and airports. They will get to experience running through the terminal and most likely an escalator ride or two. If the person sharing your row isn't as thrilled about having young children as traveling companions, or there is a grouchy old man in front of you who winces, then turns and glares every time your child moves his feet, the endurance time for everyone is much shorter. However, this increases the chance of losing a suitcase, leaving Barbie behind, and having no time to eat anything but airplane snacks for about 8 hours, which isn't so good for digestion, calorie counters, or cranky kids who hate peanuts and soda.

Next, when booking your flight consider how one mother and three children under the age of 8 can be seated.

If you are brave and your children are a bit older, opt for the two-by-two arrangement. Put the older kids together behind you and keep the baby. Then it will be your seat they are kicking with every move, and the poor stranger sitting in the aisle seat will get to referee the sibling squabbles. If it gets really out of hand, you can put in your earphones and pretend not to know who they are.

You may also consider the whole-row arrangement, holding the baby in your lap. Who knows, your husband may find the bruises on your thighs from all those little kicks attractive upon your return and what mom can't use an 8-hour-long arm workout from holding, rocking, lifting, feeding, and moving that 20 pound bundle of joy? It makes it much more interesting to be presented with the challenge of finding ways to retrieve dropped army men, colored pencils, teethers, shoes, headphones, and pillows or to open snacks and drinks while holding a baby and trying not to bonk her head on the wall, seat, armrest, or tray table. And when one of you needs to use the bathroom, everyone gets a mini-workout and trip to the back of the plane. Resist the urge to make everyone wear pull-ups to stretch the time between potty trips. They probably don't come in sizes that big anyway.

Now that you have booked your flight and taken care of seating arrangements, its time to do some research. Head to your local library to find the answers to the following questions. Remember, no detail is to small to be left out or repeated at least five times.

Why do we have to stand in line?
Where is that man taking my suitcase?
What can't I follow it down the conveyor belt?
Why can't I take my juice bottle with me?
Why do I have to take off my shoes?
Why does that man have funny socks on?
Why can't I carry my doll/car/blanket/backpack with me through the metal detector?
Why can't I hold your hand as I go through?
Why can't I stop in the middle?
What is that funny beeping sound? Why do I have to go through again?
Why is that man holding a gun?
Why can't I have one?
Why can't I stop in the middle of the aisle and sit down to put on my shoes?
Why can't I run around and get lost or play hide and seek to make things more fun?
How much longer?
What does that sign say?
Can I have a t-shirt/mug/toy/(insert anything overpriced in a shop window here)?
Which plane is ours?
Why can't we get on that one?
What is that man/ woman's job? (this question will be repeated for all employees, from gate agents to flight attendants, to truck drivers, maintenance crew, etc, so be ready with answer for every kind of uniform you see)
Where are we going?
Where is the potty?
What is that part of the plane?
Where are the suitcases going?
Where is mine?
Why are we in line again?
Where does this tunnel lead?
Are we on the plane now?
Which seat is mine?
Why can't I sit over there?
How does the seat belt work?
How do I get it off?
What is an emergency landing?
Are we going to have one?
Will you save me if the plane lands in the water and I am not wearing my floaties?
What is this little white bag for?
Are you going to throw up this time?
Can I put the window shade up/down?
Are we going yet?
Where is my TV?
Can I turn on the light?
What happens when I push the orange button with the lady?
Can I turn off the air?
Can I turn it back on?
What is that noise?
Where is the engine?
Does this plane have a propeller?
Do I get to wear a parachute if we run out of gas?
Why are we driving instead of flying?
What are the wing flaps doing?
When is it our turn to go?
Why can't I put my hands up and yell "wheee!" as the plane goes up?
Why can't I kick the seat in front of me?
Why can't I put the tray table up and down a thousand times?
When are we going to get drinks?
Can I get in my suitcase now?
Can I take off my seat belt?
Can you trade me seats?
Does that lady have candy bars or chocolate milk?
Can I go to the bathroom now?
Why is it so small?
What happens when you flush the toilet?
Where does everything go?
Why is the water blue?
How much longer?
Can you sing me to sleep?
Does it count as a nap if I just close my eyes for a minute?
Why are we flying under the clouds?
Why are we flying above the clouds?
Why are we flying through the clouds?
Where are the care bears?
What are clouds made of?
Can I open the window and stick my hand out?
What is that down there?
Why is the plane bumping?
Is the plane bumping up and down because we are flying over the mountains?
Why do I have to wear my seat belt?
Why is the wing moving?
Why do the cars look like ants?
Where is grandma's house?
Are the wheels going to come down in time?
What if they don't?
When are we going to stop?
Why can't I get off yet?
Can I go see the pilot?
Where are we going?
Where are my suitcases?
Can I push the cart?
Can I ride with grandma all the way home? (Answer yes to this one and enjoy the few minutes of quiet!)

Be prepared with satisfactory answers to all of the above questions. You may want to consult a pilot or engineer or good book on the dynamics of airports.

Next, pack your carry-ons. Don't make the same mistake I did and assume that each child will be able to pull or carry their own bag from one plane to another. At each stop it is nearly guaranteed that at least one of the three children will be sound asleep or too groggy to handle their own luggage. Plan a way to carry an infant, a sleeping child, a stroller and all carry on bags (in our case three back packs and three roller bags) from one gate to the next in less than an hour, including a stop at the bathroom and a fast food place. Trust me, just fork over the extra $15 per bag and check everything but the essentials. It is worth every penny.

What essentials? Here is my recommended list:

diapers- obviously
wipes- to accompany the diapers, and to wash hands, faces, tray tables, arm rests, seat cushions, dropped toys, and your shoes after a child drops his lunch on them.
snacks- for when your kids won't eat the "yucky" "weird" or "funny" food in the $8 plane meal or the $5 snack box and can't seem to survive on peanuts and apple juice.
dvd player- because even with headphones or the fancy seat-back tvs, your kids won't be entertained by Seinfeld re-runs or Confessions of a Shop-a-holic.
a change of clothes for everyone- because when one kid spills his juice seconds after the flight attendant hands it to him in a lid-less cup filled to the brim (why? Do they not have kids? Do they know what "half-full" means?) you all will have sticky and wet laps.
lollipops, big ones- because when all else fails, even the baby can be quieted for five or ten minutes by sucking on some crystallized high-fructose corn syrup and artificial flavors. Just time it so you are at least on the descent before the sugar high kicks in.

Once you get to the airport, check everything you can. Stop at every bathroom you pass, just in case its the last one you might see. Do your best going through security. Know that everything will have to pass through the xray machine, so be prepared to remove babies and toddlers from the strollers (those kid leashes are helpful here) along with everything else and try to get it on the belt, along with all 6 pairs of shoes, while simultaneously holding on to your small child and id cards. Then after giving them non-stop lectures about never letting go of your and never moving more than 2 steps away from you- force them to go one by one without you through the security scanner and hope that your watch doesn't beep  and cause a delay while your four children stand on the other side of the detector sobbing while a guard has to pat down mommy for stray deadly weapons. Just practice smiling and saying "I'm so sorry, we are going as fast as we can." to everyone around you. Arrive at your boarding area a little early. Decide if you want to pre-board or wait to be the last ones on the plane.

I prefer to pre-board and make a pre-take off trip to the bathroom and galley and try to make friends with the flight attendants before we take off. You never know when you might need that extra bag of cookies. You are less likely to have to climb over people to get to your seat, will have first access to the blankets (only use the shrink wrapped ones, you never know what the guy before you was breathing on them) and plenty of time to start answering all those questions. Bring out all the toys, especially little ones that drop. This way you will easily get to know all of the people around you right away, since you will have to ask them to retrieve things for you throughout the flight.

Don't forget to charge the batteries for the portable DVD player, along with headphones and a few favorite movies.

Bring a book for yourself. You probably won't get to read it, but it might make a good prop for car ramps or Barbie furniture or something, or maybe a fan when the air is out.

Finally, make sure you have a few kind-hearted relatives meet you at your destination to help with collecting luggage, finding a rental car, and most importantly, to hug your sticky, tired kids while you breathe freely for a minute and remind yourself why you got on the plane in the first place. Bonus points if you can convince them to sit in back with the kids while you drive home.

Enjoy your flight!!

Little feet and a big sky. Trying some phone pics in desperate times.