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I recently flew on 4 flights in one week with my husband and two small children (ages 4 and 11 months). Now, when flying with children you expect people to groan to themselves, roll their eyes when they see you coming and then run from you as hey get off the plane. But at the end of our 4th flight we were waiting for our gate checked items and FOUR different passengers came up to me to tell me how great my kids were! So, while I am not an expert- I figure I should share what worked for us…
1. Come up with a snack that you know they love. For us it was pretzel rods. I don’t know why but my children love these and my 11 month old is very content while holding this and feeding himself!
2. New toys! I let my 4 year old pack his own carry on bag the night before we left, but after he went to sleep I added a few new things- card games, crayons, stress balls and activity books. He was so excited that just looking at the stuff got us through the first flight. For my 11 month old I bought a few toys that made noise and had them in my bag.
3. The Star System. You remember the little stars you earned as a kid. My 4 year old had a fire truck that he REALLY wanted before we left. We told him that he needed to earn 15 stars while we were gone to get the fire truck. He could both earn and lose stars as the trip went on (we were gone for 9 days).
If you aren’t sure what will motivate your child- go to the toy store the day before you leave and explain to them they can earn it. Keep in mind this will not work with a really young child.
4. Accept the fact that you are going to be working the entire flight to keep your kids occupied. At the first sign that their moods are taking a turn- change up the activity, snack or pace of what you are doing. With my 11 month old we would pass him back and forth, hold him up to the air that blows, give him a pretzel rod, give him a bottle, let him play peek-a-boo with the people behind us, hold him upside down (my child loves this) and let him play with the cups our drinks came in - this actually ended up being his favorite toy on the plane.
Just go into it with an open mind. Try your best to keep your kids in an up beat mood- and if they start to scream and lose it- then order a glass of wine (or two).
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I recently flew on 4 flights in one week with my husband and two small children (ages 4 and 11 months). Now, when flying with children you expect people to groan to themselves, roll their eyes when they see you coming and then run from you as hey get off the plane. But at the […]
I recently flew on 4 flights in one week with my husband and two small children (ages 4 and 11 months). Now, when flying with children you expect people to groan to themselves, roll their eyes when they see you coming and then run from you as hey get off the plane. But at the […]
I recently flew on 4 flights in one week with my husband and two small children (ages 4 and 11 months). Now, when flying with children you expect people to groan to themselves, roll their eyes when they see you coming and then run from you as hey get off the plane. But at the […]
I recently flew on 4 flights in one week with my husband and two small children (ages 4 and 11 months). Now, when flying with children you expect people to groan to themselves, roll their eyes when they see you coming and then run from you as hey get off the plane. But at the […]
I recently flew on 4 flights in one week with my husband and two small children (ages 4 and 11 months). Now, when flying with children you expect people to groan to themselves, roll their eyes when they see you coming and then run from you as hey get off the plane. But at the […]
I recently flew on 4 flights in one week with my husband and two small children (ages 4 and 11 months). Now, when flying with children you expect people to groan to themselves, roll their eyes when they see you coming and then run from you as hey get off the plane. But at the […]
I recently flew on 4 flights in one week with my husband and two small children (ages 4 and 11 months). Now, when flying with children you expect people to groan to themselves, roll their eyes when they see you coming and then run from you as hey get off the plane. But at the […]
I recently flew on 4 flights in one week with my husband and two small children (ages 4 and 11 months). Now, when flying with children you expect people to groan to themselves, roll their eyes when they see you coming and then run from you as hey get off the plane. But at the […]
I recently flew on 4 flights in one week with my husband and two small children (ages 4 and 11 months). Now, when flying with children you expect people to groan to themselves, roll their eyes when they see you coming and then run from you as hey get off the plane. But at the […]
I recently flew on 4 flights in one week with my husband and two small children (ages 4 and 11 months). Now, when flying with children you expect people to groan to themselves, roll their eyes when they see you coming and then run from you as hey get off the plane. But at the […]
