If you are about to embark on your first long trip with kids you will need to prepare for the time on the airplane. Very small kids might be comfortable in the seat for many hours but toddlers are known for making life painful for those seated around you. Don’t get discouraged if you see that people start to sigh when they see you and your team come aboard to be seated nearby. It is understandable that travelers get annoyed by kids on the plane ride. Here is what you can do to make it all more comfortable for everyone.
Travel with the Best Airline
Before you book your tickets you should investigate how well the different airlines cater to a younger audience. Do they offer inflight movies and if yes, are these movies displayed on a general screen or right in front of your child? You should also ask what special measures they take to make the flight easier and more pleasant for you and your kids. Usually the airline gives out toys at the start of the journey but don’t count on these to entertain all the way. You need to bring your own artillery of entertainment as well!
Bring the Right Sort of Toys
Don’t bring toys and activities that you think your kids will enjoy on the plane, bring what you KNOW they will love. There are certain things that they always love to play with and you should hide these away the weeks before the trip. When you bring that play dough or special car set out in the plane it will be a novelty worth many minutes of quiet for you and the other passengers.
Relax, Kids are Kids!
You are expected by your fellow travelers to take care of your kids but don’t let people’s annoyed faces bring your mood down. Kids are kids and they also have a right to travel. You can’t expect a 4 year old to sit quiet for 10 hours on a trans-Atlantic flight. You try to arrange his naps and toys as good as you can and the rest is simply not in your hands. If you are lucky you will get stewards and stewardesses with love for children if not this is also something to accept and not get upset by.
If your flight is full it gets cramped but sometimes there is extra space so that you can have more than one chair for your kids. In this case it gets easier to lay them down for a nap or breastfeed laying down if you need to. Make sure to ask the staff aboard the plane about these opportunities before take-off so that you can arrange your seating in the most comfortable way.
Have a great trip with your kids!