Helpful Tips for Flying with Kids from a Mom of 4
Thanks to Wally Park for partnering with me for this post! Parking at the airport is one of my favorite ways to make flying with kids easier. Use the code TRAVELHACK for a discount on your next airport parking reservation at WallyPark.com.
We sure enjoy adventuring around Southern California in our minivan… but we love exploring the rest of the world too! We’ve flown on short flights to San Francisco, 16 hour flights to Dubai, and everything in between, and it’s true… flying with kids is no small feat!
However, if you’re looking ahead to flying with your own children… I promise, you can do it! We have flown with babies as young as 6 weeks old, and flew halfway across the world - four times! - with 3 kids under 3 (and a 5 year old too!)
Here are some of the tips I’ve picked up along the way:
Before You Go - How to Prepare for Flying with Children
Start talking about your flight so your children know what to expect. You can talk about the fun of the airplane (“you’re flying up in the air!” “someone will bring you juice!”) and also your expectations (“we’ll go through security, and we’ll need to use calm voices and wait patiently in line”“when they dim the lights, we’ll snuggle up with a blanket and go to sleep.”)
Read books about the airport — our favorite is The Airport Book by Lisa Brown.
Carrying luggage, car seats, diaper bags, and more around the airport can be one of the most challenging parts of flying with small kids, especially if children outnumber parents like they do in our family! Practice how you’ll lug everything through the airport. When our kids were really little, we’d use the double stroller as a “luggage cart” to hold our bags and car seats, and we’d have the kids walk or go in a baby carrier (like an Ergo). Then we’d gate check the stroller (and sometimes a kind fellow passenger would help us carry the bags and car seats on board.)
Know How Airport and Airline Policies Affect Kids:
Although flying with children can feel tricky, there are also a few logistical benefits!
At TSA, anyone flying with children goes through just the metal detector, not the big scanner that spins around you. (I don’t like the scanner’s possible health effects so this is a plus for me!)
You can carry extra liquids if you have kids with you… with some caveats. Breastmilk, cow’s milk, applesauce packets, etc. are all okay to bring, even above the regularly allotted amount. But, be prepared that this will likely require extra screening time (they often swab my hands) and they usually require you to open the container (so don’t bring juice boxes that you’ll have no way to seal up afterwards). You might consider whether it’s worth the extra hassle… maybe not for a single box of cow’s milk that you could easily pick up at Starbucks after Security, maybe yes for your precious pumped milk or the only fruit juice your toddler will consume.
Many airlines allow you to fly with children’s items, like a pack-and-play, car seat, or stroller for free. Check with the airline’s policy to be sure.
If you have TSA PreCheck or Global Entry, your children can participate with you free of charge. So with kids, that essentially cuts the price in half per person or even less (since the cost of TSA PreCheck or Global Entry would get used by one or more children as well.) In my experience, getting Global Entry is a better value (because it includes the cost of TSA PreCheck), but TSA PreCheck is much easier to get (we got a same-day appointment at our local Staples for TSA PreCheck, whereas you need an appointment at the airport for Global Entry and they often book up well in advance.)
Know that children from ages 2-18 do not need ID at the airport if you’re flying within the US. Of course, if you’re leaving the US, you’ll need a passport. Children under 2 usually need to provide a birth certificate to the airline if they’re flying as a lap child. (If you bought a paid ticket, no birth certificate will be required).
Children don’t need to remove their shoes at TSA in the US. Though, my children LOVE going through security and usually want to remove them anyways. (We did have one experience with one of our toddlers in Asia who was required to remove shoes and this child just did not want to remove. It was kind of a mess! But these days, they are very excited to take off their shoes!)
Also, here are a few policies that apply to everyone, but may especially help you with kids:
You can bring as much (non-liquid) food as you want! I’m always surprised when people think you can’t take food through security. We pack all sorts of snacks and meals — cheese and crackers, grapes, carrot sticks, granola bars, chips, etc.— to enjoy on the flight, especially in case of delay.
If you are flying through Ontario International Airport (in San Bernardino County), you can have a companion join you in the terminal and go to the gate with you even if they’re not flying with you, kind of like the days before 9/11. A few times when I’ve been traveling solo with the kids, my husband has joined us while we waited for our flight or to pick us up afterward - it was so helpful to have some extra support! They just have to register online, and of course normal security measures apply.
What to Do at the Airport When Flying with Kids
In my experience, paying for parking at the airport is easiest when flying with kids! We have tried just about every option — getting a family member to drop us off, taking Uber, etc. — but these days we just pay for parking and it’s just so much easier: no transferring car seats or boosters to a new vehicle, no feeling indebted to a family member for waking up at 5am to get us to John Wayne, no waiting for a scheduled Uber that decides at the last minute to cancel when they arrive and see how many car seats and luggage you have (that really happened to us once! It was so stressful to find a plan B).
For our Paris trip this summer, we parked at the Wally Park LAX lot thanks to my partnership with Wally Park. We easily made a reservation online that morning, drove into the lot and scanned a code on my phone, and then they provided valet parking. We strolled out of the minivan, loaded our bags onto the shuttle, and they dropped us right in front of the international terminal. It felt so easy and the valet part especially made me feel so fancy and stress-free!
Wally Park has locations at LAX and San Diego airport (and other locations around the country.) Use the code TRAVELHACK for a discount on your next airport parking reservation at WallyPark.com.
Once you’re at the airport and have gone through security, make sure you take time to go to the bathroom (more spacious than the ones on the flight!) and fill up the water bottles that you emptied before going through security.
We usually use any extra time at the airport to walk around, watch airplanes out the window, and use up a little energy before boarding. I usually try not to have my kids read, listen to audiobooks, or go on screens during this time — we save it for the flight itself! One adult will stay with our bags at the gate while the other walks around with the kids.
If you’re gate-checking a car seat or stroller, make sure you stop by the counter at the gate to get a special tag to put on the car seat/stroller — that helps label it as yours and makes sure it makes it to your destination with you!
What to Know about Being On Board an Airplane Flight with Kids:
I know some parents like to board at the last minute so their kids aren’t on board the plane as long. Personally, I prefer to board as soon as possible so we have time to get situated in our seats and with our luggage. It flusters me to be the last to board and feel like we have to rush.
If you can choose your seat assignment, I personally prefer the aisle so we aren’t tripping over strangers to use the bathroom (of course, the best is if your whole row belongs to your family!) We have 6 people, so we tend to enjoy doing 3 people in one row and then 3 people right behind (on the same side) — this is a great arrangement if you have a child who may kick the seat in front of them, because they’ll be kicking a member of your own family, not a stranger. If you have a child in a car seat, they usually have to be in the window seat. Also, usually they will not allow two lap children (babies) in the same row on the same side due to not having enough oxygen masks.
I tend not to pack a ton of toys or activities for the flight, especially when I had babies/toddlers. They can be very entertained by simple things like an empty cup that your beverage came in, or tearing pages out of an in-flight magazine. When I packed loads of toys, I find that it just weighed down my bag and meant I was retrieving stuff from under our seats all the time.
With that said, I’ve been eyeing Mini Voyagers’ travel kits for years — she has such a well-curated supply of developmentally appropriate toys! — and I think it could be worth the investment of some special '“airplane only” toys for a long travel day or a squirrelly little one!
Plan to walk the aisles with your little ones when the seatbelt sign is turned off. This is a great way to use up some time on the flight and be active. Sometimes the aisles get clogged with the food/beverage carts, so if the seatbelt sign is off and there’s nothing in the aisles — take advantage of that time to get out of your seat!
If you’re flying internationally, know that there is usually a general flow to the flight. In my experience, after takeoff they keep the lights on and serve a meal (unless perhaps on a really low budget airline). Use this time to eat and play. As soon as the meal is over, get ready for a nap/bedtime. Make sure you use the bathroom and possibly change into PJs and brush teeth, and have whatever you need from the overhead compartment. They will likely turn off the cabin lights for several hours, and it will be dark and relatively quiet — so you won’t want to be the person rustling around for more diapers in the overhead bins, if you can avoid it. Then an hour or two before landing, they’ll turn up the lights and usually serve a final meal.
Think about your own needs as a parent, especially before you’re trapped by a sleeping child. Even if your kids usually sleep independently, you may end up with a sleeping baby in your arms or a toddler on your lap… and of course, you won’t want to wake them if you can help it! Even if you may not get any sleep yourself, it’s nice to use this time to rest and relax. Consider bringing along a pillow to make it easier to hold a baby on your lap (especially if you’re a nursing mom). Make sure you get to the bathroom before they fall asleep (and consider not loading up on drinking water if you can help it), and make sure you have your phone, tissues, water bottle, etc. within arms reach. Before your trip, download some audiobooks or podcasts to your phone and charge up your earbuds so you can quietly listen and rest while you’re trapped… bonus points if you get an adapter so your earbuds work while you watch a movie on the in-flight screen (or, wired earbuds work too). I like to have a sleep mask handy to make it a little easier to block out light, too.
Know that if your kids don’t fall asleep, that’s okay too. They may not fall asleep, or it may be a daytime flight, or your kids don’t nap anymore… that’s okay too! The good news is that if they don’t sleep on the plane, the time change adjustment at your destination will likely be easier. (I wouldn’t intentionally keep them up, but this might be words of comfort on hour 6 of your toddler being awake on the plane). Even if you don’t do a lot of screen time at home, this may be a good time for watching movies, playing a game on your phone, listening to audiobooks, etc.
You can do it!
Flying with kids may feel overwhelming, but you can do it! Go in with a positive and flexible attitude, and know that the flight won’t last forever! Soon enough you’ll be at your destination — visiting family, exploring a new city, riding rides, playing at the beach, etc. — and it will be worth it!
And, sometimes you’ll not only “survive” but actually thrive on your travel days! I was looking through photos of past trips as I put together this post, thinking about some of the sweet memories we have of chatting with friendly airline employees, watching movies together on board, stopping for a special treat at the airport, meeting the pilots and visiting the flight deck as we boarded… there’s something special about getting away from some of the distractions of everyday life and just being focused on time together, even as we fly.
Have a great trip!
What other tips or questions do you have for flying and traveling with children? I’d love to hear from you!
