Traveling with one child is challenging enough, but traveling with two is on another level. The anxiety starts way before the actual flight as to what to pack, how to keep them entertained, how not to lose our sanity and actually enjoy the vacation, and the cherry on top, not annoying other passengers on the plane. Babies and children cannot be controlled in these situations especially when a flight is long and they have to sit still, so instead of changing their usual ways why not adapt to them? This is exactly what I did on my recent flight a few weeks back and I’m going to share with you my two broad header tips for staying calm on the plane that while seemingly simple, have a great impact.
Define the ages of your children and don’t make the mistake of packing for them as though they are one. Each kid is of a different age, at a unique developmental moment and has different hobbies, so tailor each of their carry-ons depending on what they like. What we want as parents is for them to be distracted long enough and to minimize restlessness, which means that more than one item is necessary. Kids have short attention spans so make sure to pack anywhere between 5 or 10 items. For example, my daughter (5 years) loves art and crafts so I made sure to get her activity books that allowed her to draw, color, and use stickers for all the different Disney princesses for the entirety of waiting at the gate, flight and bus ride. My son (2.5 years) has recently developed a love for puzzles so you bet that’s exactly what I got for him. A little hint though is to search for the inexpensive puzzles that are packaged in a file-like manner for temporary use as opposed to a bulky box. In addition to that I got tiny toy animals for him to play pretend once he got tired of the puzzle, and I also brought along his little cars and trucks. I had also hid a car themed coloring book for emergency in case he sees his sister and suddenly wants to color, and I believe that these small gestures save parents a lot of chaos while on board.
One thing that is often underestimated is hunger. Could you, an adult, function properly on an empty stomach? No? That’s what I thought, so how do we expect kids to sit still and not nag away if they’re hungry? For this reason, pack snacks and pack some more, for they will begin munching in the airport way before the flight takes off. Go for snacks that won’t cause a mess or stained hands and focus on individually packed items such as pretzels, cheese with bread sticks and the likes. By all means get two of each because the last thing you want is a scene where one sibling wants the other’s food, so duplicate is the way to go. And again I reiterate, pack a lot of food (more is less in this situation) and throw in a few juice boxes while you’re at it.
Children aren’t aware of social situations and won’t back down of a full fledged tantrum just because there are people around, but rather than avoiding travel with kids due to the hassle, it can be done and the chaos reduced by taking into consideration the pointers I shared. Happy flying moms and dads!
Maria Najem
photo: verywellfamily.com
