We recently made our way back to Dili from Seattle—logging nearly 20 flying hours and two full travel days. It was exhausting, but somehow easier now that the little ones are almost four.
They understand that flying is part of a journey and are usually pretty excited about the destination. They love checking out the airport scene, observing other travellers and befriending just about everyone they meet, from airport security guards to stern-faced business travelers.
Of course, 20 hours is still a very long time to be confined to a small space—with or without kids. But, it’s not as grueling as it once was.
We took our first family flight when the twins were seven months old, travelling from the US to the UK to visit our British family and friends.
The outbound flight was just about perfect. We’d booked the bulkhead row with bassinets, and the kind check-in staff arranged for us to have the whole row to ourselves. Since it was a night flight, the babies slept soundly the entire way. We smugly toasted our good fortune with a mini bottle of wine each and relaxed our way to Heathrow.
The return flight was a nightmare. For ten hours we soothed cranky babies, juggled baby food and made up bottles in our seats, dealt with hourly diaper emergencies and a record number of clothing changes. “Excuse me, I’m sorry”—we repeated over and over—passing toys, Tylenol and other supplies back and forth across the aisle (and our neighbors). We didn’t manage to eat a meal, let alone enjoy a leisurely glass of wine.
To top it all off, an hour before landing my daughter vomited all over me, the floor, and the nice guy sitting next to me. “Would you like a wipe?” I offered apologetically.
Since then, we’ve endured other trials, including delayed flights, 12-hour airport layovers, and patience-testing extra security measures.
Once on the last leg of a very long trip, when my then-two-year-old son was asked to walk through the metal detector by himself, he collapsed on the floor face down and sobbing. I felt his pain.
But, we survived. And for the most part, our kids have become pretty good little travelers. They have their challenging moments, but we have also received compliments—usually from the relieved passengers around us (who may or may not have cringed a little when they saw our small circus approaching).
In real life, moderation is my guide. When flying with kids, I believe in whatever works. If my daughter wants to watch the same Dora episode five times in a row, I will most likely say “absolutely!” If we need to employ a lollipop strategy to get us through a few tense moments, I’m okay with that. If the Silly Putty that kept my son busy for 30 minutes is now all over his clothes in a gooey slept-on mess, well, that’s a bummer. But, I’m willing to pay the price.
What are your favorite family travel tales?
This is an original post to World Moms Blog by Shaula Bellour in East Timor. Shaula can also be found on her blog, Notes From a Small World. Look out for Shaula’s next post, where she gives us her favorite family flight travel tips!
Photo credit to My Kaul. This photo has a creative commons attribution no derivatives license.
Ou travel tales are all short ones, we aren’t as brave as you. And I completely agree with your approach to travelling with kids long haul – whatever they need/want to get them through the journey sounds like a great plan to me. 🙂
Short ones count too! And you are absolutely brave in other ways 🙂 Thanks Karyn.
Stay tuned for Part II of this post, including tips for flying with kids. If you have any great advice, please share!
Shaula,
I love how having small children, twins no less, doesn’t stop you from traveling the world — US, UK, Australia, East Timor. These are the places that you’ve mentioned so far on World Moms Blog. And, now we’re getting to hear all about how you do it!
After reading this, I’m looking forward to your next post about your flight travel tips with kids in tow!
I can relate to you with the lollipops on the flight. We give those to my daughter on the way up and down to keep her ears from hurting from the pressure. I pack organic ones with real sugar and natural food coloring.
I also pack a foldable potty with disposable absorbent bags. It’s great when you’re on the highway — you can stop quickly after they tell you that they need to go. But, it was a lifesaver once at customs on the way into Geneva — there were long lines and no toilets in site, so we set it up in a corner for some privacy for our toddler at the time!
Great post!
Jen:)
Thanks Jen! I didn’t leave the US until I was 18, so our kids are definitely having a different experience. I do find it funny how normal it is for them…”and then the big airplane took us to Tokyo, and then to Singapore.” I’m glad you’re with me on the lollipop strategy – definitely a special treat for our kids but they come in handy. Great travel potty tip. I actually have one of those but never thought to bring it along.
Loved this post. Our longest flight with kids to date is six hours cross country, during which our youngest desperately wanted to run up and down the aisles while we did our very best to entertain, soothe, and restrain him. The planes we select never have a changing table, either! Very challenging. Exhausted, he refused to sleep until literally five minutes before we landed he passed out. Our oldest, age 4, is such a great little traveler now, though, so I expect we’ll continue to make travel a part of our lives!
Oh Sara, I feel for you! Somehow we magically missed out on the 12-24 month old window when travelling, which is the most challenging age in my opinion. Lap child? Yeah, right. But, you did it! And lived to tell the tale. So great that big brother is such a super traveler. Fancy a Bali meet up? 🙂
When my son was 3 we spent 6 months in Canada and when we were leaving Brazil he threw up all over my husband right when we were boarding! Today he thinks it is a really funny story 🙂
Oh no! Glad it’s funny now…At least my daughter waited until we were almost there – suddenly I’m grateful!
Oh, goodness! This makes me never want to fly with kids… I’ve only done it once, when my son was 5 months old. The flight was an hour long and he slept for a lot of it. 19 hours sounds like a nightmare. 😉 Sounds like you’ve got it figured out though!
If we can do it, you can too! The bad moments stand out, but overall our flying experiences have been positive. Getting them to sleep is key!
I too have been traveling with my children from an early age. My son was 9 months the first time we took him on a plane – a 6 hour flight to LA and then a 3 hour flight to mexico 2 days later. My daughter was around 7 month for her first plane – a 6 hour flight to San Fran, followed immediately by a 3 hour drive to the mountains. Now that both kids have had multiple flights, I completely agree with you. You do whatever necessary to keep them calm, happy and entertained!
Great to hear from another traveling mama(n). It’s never fun exactly…but the more you do it the easier it gets. And in some ways it can even feel empowering to fly as a family (when it goes well, that is). Glad you’re taking on the friendly skies too!
I have traveled with my little ones many times with all sorts of results. My favorite strategy is to have a new toy or book that I keep hidden until we are ready for the big meltdown, and then I whip it out to get us over the emotional hurdle. I also offer to buy drinks for any kid-less passengers sitting with us…although no one has every taken me up on this. I just want to establish some goodwill, though, in case things go off the rails.
And speaking of off the rails, one of my craziest memories came when my husband, my toddler and I were stuck overnight in Chicago without luggage when our connecting flight home was canceled. My son had peed out his clothes, and then barfed all over the extras in my carry on (having had an ear inection that we didn’t fully know about until getting home). We had to take a shuttle to and from a hotel for the night and make it work with what we had on us. I was drying out little pants and shirts with the hotel room hair dryer while my husband searched local stores for diapers. We made it back and my son recovered, but what an adventure that was!