Flying with children this season

It’s the Christmas season again and holiday time for children in most countries of the world. Parents around the world worry about the stress of flying with their young children. Some parents had recounted their experiences of carrying their babies and children while travelling. In fact, a mother of three recently spoke with BD SUNDAY on how her bag was stolen at the airport while trying to monitor her children, who simply needed freedom to play around the airport.

Another parent also disclosed that most times after flights, their child falls sick as a result of many challenges many travelers face while on air, one of which is dehydration. Children, just like their parents need comfort and when they are denied this comfort, they vent their spleen on their parents.

According to Mary ‘Mother of One Two’ Porter, “I make no bones about the fact that I have found flying with a toddler an absolute nightmare – in fact, a recent flight from Birmingham to Edinburgh with my two-year old baby proved to be possibly the worst 40 minutes of my motherhood experiences. He screamed all through the entire journey, much to the obvious delight of the suited and booted businessmen sitting nearby.”

In order not to repeat the flying-with-toddler nightmare, she had asked all her parent friends for their tips and advice and therefore, reveals her top tips for travelling.

She suggests that there is a need to Plan flight in 15-minute slots. For a three-hour journey parents need around ten activities to keep young kids entertained (as the first and last 15 minutes you can occupy them by looking out the window for take-off and landing). Beebies magazines, a favourite story book, drawing, Snap, and snacks are all good activities to keep them entertained. It’s unlikely you will need all ten (especially if you manage to get them to sleep) but better to have too many than too few.

Another tip is getting a portable DVD player or tablet. Without doubt, the one thing all parents seem to agree on is investing in some sort of video tech to keep your kid occupied – either a portable DVD player or, increasingly, a tablet computer. DVD players are a bit bulkier and obviously require a set of DVDs to go with them, whereas tablets are much smaller but often have limited storage space for videos. Parents also have to download all the videos they need before getting on board. Cartoons and movies can help to while away a sizeable chunk of the flight and allow parents some downtime too

Mothers can wrap up small toys that they can present to the child as a reward for being good every half hour or so. These don’t have to be expensive and can even be the child’s old forgotten toys. Small soft animals are ideal, as are little wind-up toys that can travel across the fold down table – although there is always the possibility that they may end up ‘driving’ into nearby passengers or a passing steward.

Downloading some kids’ games or apps just as important. Before parents board, it will be helpful to download some children games or kid-friendly apps to your smartphone or tablet (make sure to switch it to Airplane mode for the flight). Some good ones include Bubbles (where you simply have to pop bubbles with your finger, an endlessly fascinating pastime for toddlers), Toddler Cars (animations of all sorts of vehicles, complete with noises – make sure to bring headphones) and Peppa Pig Happy Mrs. Chicken (chances are the child is obsessed with Peppa Pig, so anything starring the pink one will inspire awe).

In addition to these, Stickers are great for keeping children entertained for a while – just give them an empty water bottle to decorate, or some scrap paper.

More so, taking pillows along is not a bad idea. Little children can sit on a pillow so they can see out of the window better, while older children may find sleeping more comfortable with a pillow. A blanket is also good as its familiarity will comfort the child as well keep them warm if it gets chilly on-board.

Parents cannot erase children’s love for sweets as they will always ask for them. Landing can cause painful ears – babies are often given a bottle to encourage them to suck and therefore swallow.  The same principle will work if you give your child a lollypop (ideally sugar free) for take-off and landing, which will also distract them from the potentially scary sensation.

A final advice for parents is taking longer lasting foods along. Offer foods that take longer time to eat which will occupy the child for long. A box of raisins is great because it contains natural sugars, while strawberries, grapes and cherry tomatoes are similarly healthy and fun to eat.

Ifeoma Okeke