If you stay a military spouse for long enough, you’ll probably find yourself needing to fly on an airplane somewhere with your children by yourself, whether that be due to a cross-country PCS or visiting family while your spouse is gone. Flying with young children can be a daunting adventure that you’ll most likely want to prepare for to the best of your ability. Here are some creative things I’ve learned over the last six years of flying with my children, I hope others may find at least one of these ideas helpful, too!
- Schedule out your time with activities and snacks. Break your flying time into chunks, either by hour or half-hour intervals. Plan at least one different snack, activity and book for each interval. Maybe the first hour is a granola bar and audiobook players; the second hour is snacks and coloring books; the third hour is cookies and tablets; and the fourth hour is gummies and tablets. Even if those things don’t take up the full hour, they’ll at least break up the trip a bit for everyone. It’s also helpful to buy some new toys and books your kids have never seen — as this will keep them entertained for longer.
- Bring one large bag, rather than single carry-ons for each child. I find it much easier to bring one large bag that’s strategically organized, rather than allowing each child to bring their own. I’m a mother who’s usually all for responsibility and requiring my children to keep accountability for their things — but an airplane is not the place to do so. I like to be in control of all the items on the plane, and when each of those things comes out of the bag. I have an amazing bag my husband got me for Mother’s Day that has four different zipper sections that can hold several items each. The bag also has a laptop sleeve I use for books (coloring, sticker, reading books), three different strap options for carrying, a water bottle holder and some smaller zipper pouches for things like headphones or gum. My best advice is to pick your bag very strategically. Organize it as best you can, and continue organizing it on your plane ride, as things get mixed around. You’ll want easy access to everything and to know where each item is.
- Break your own rules, just this once. Throw the screen time and sugar limits out the door. Your goal is survival and silence, at whatever cost. You will not rot your child’s teeth or turn his or her brain to mush with one five-hour flight of endless movies and candy.
- Take special walks with each child. Give each of your children a “special walk” where you show them all the things on the airplane. Take them to the bathroom and show them all the funny things, like the airplane toilet and sink. Introduce them to the flight attendants sitting in the back. Let them walk down the aisle and wave hello to everyone. You will usually find that people are extra friendly to you when you have young children.
- Play “the gummy bear game.” To kill time during difficult moments, I like to make up fun games to play with the kids. One of our favorite games to play when our airplane starts descending is called “the gummy bear game.” I get out a bag of gummy bears and I place one gummy bear hidden in the palm of my hand. Each child gets a turn guessing what color it is. They have unlimited guesses. Once they get it right, they get to eat the gummy bear. This game is a win-win because it’s simple, the kids absolutely love it, the gummy bears get eaten slowly, and the chewing helps pop your kids’ ears on the way down.
- Set low expectations. Expect tantrums and blowouts, meltdowns and zero sleeping. Expect spilled juice, incessant whining and lots of turbulence. If anything goes better than this, you’ll be pleasantly surprised! And if your expectations are true, at least you won’t be disappointed. By setting low expectations, you set yourself up for success.
I hope some of these tried-and-true tips work for some of you other solo-flying parents out there. It can be scary to fly with your kids for the first time, but once you do it you’ll be so proud of yourself, and you’ll know how to do it even better the next time.
