How to Survive a Plane Ride with a Toddler on Your Lap

Flying with a little one can be downright inspirational. After all, who else but a small child can see the social value of waiting in security lines, or the aesthetic complexities of a spilled soda on the floor of the jetway? The thing is, though, toddler travel is also exhausting. Here are a few tips to smooth the ride:

1. Don't sit in the back of the plane. Your child is going to spend a large chunk of his travel time standing on your lap looking back over your head. The more people he has to look at, the more content he'll be. If you're really lucky, you'll have someone's grandpa sitting behind you making funny faces. But even if nobody chooses to make eye contact with BabyCakes, the faces alone will provide free and easy entertainment. So, if you have any control over your seating assignment, be sure there are a few filled rows behind yours.

2. Bring food. As with all of us, the way to a baby's heart is through his stomach. Most of the crying your tot is likely to do will be out of boredom. Snacks are great distractions. Of course, if you constantly use food as a way to appease boredom, you're going to have a fat kid on your hands. But travel calls for special measures, and it's unlikely that permanent bad habits will be picked up during the course of a day in the airport. Toddler crackers and cheerios are easy, but be careful: too many carbs can give anyone a case of the crankies. A banana works well. It's delicious, healthy, and not too messy.