Tips for Flying with a Toddler

Toys and Tiring Your Kids Can Help Make Traveling Easy

When I told some co-workers that I was planning a four week vacation to South America - and I was bringing my 20 month old son - I was met with skepticism. An onslaught of questions soon followed. "Why on earth do you want to put yourself through long flights with a toddler in a foreign land?" "What on earth will your toddler eat in Chile?" "Are you out of your mind?"

Trip planning consumed my free-time for a good month beforehand. This time, we weren't just flying to Grammy's house in New York; we were taking a (yikes) 12 hour flight to Santiago. I needed to be uber-prepared. I share with you the products of this resarch, including recommended parenting tricks and advice, as well as recommended travel-friendly products. Bon voyage.

Tips for flying with toddlers:

- Try to plan your flights around your toddler's normal sleeping times. Many international flights are late at night, which is a huge plus - they eventually fall asleep at midnight regardless of the excitement!

- Wear your toddler out beforehand. Run around the airport! No sitting allowed until they board the plane! Allow extra airport time for releasing energy before your flight's departure.

- Pack 3-4 healthy snacks in Ziploc bags. Pretzels, raisins and other dried fruit, crackers or cereal and granola bars work well. You never know how long you will be on the plane. I also packed a small bag of jelly beans (my toddler's all-time favorite, super special treat). Jelly beans can produce amazing results and changes of behavior. While I try my best to stay away from bribery, I'd rather treat my little one to a sweet than have them wake up an entire plane.

- Carry extra milk or formula. I was on a flight to Chicago once with my toddler and they only had creamer. Seriously. Horizon Organics makes a great product that doesn't need refrigeration.

- Pack extra diapers and two sets of clothes. If your destination climate is different, pack accordingly. Bring pajamas if you'll be on long flight. Toddlers really take their cue from routines - even if they won't be sleeping in a bed, putting on PJs will let them know it's sleepy time.