Dear Flying Pinto,
I just stumbled upon your blog and I am fascinated! But as a mom of two-under-two I don't have the time I'd like to scour your old posts. My husband and I are planning a trip in a few months from Denver to Green Bay. Our daughter will be 23 months old and our son will be 9 months old. I am panicking! What on earth are we going to do with two babies for the duration of these flights? We are going to book a seat for our daughter and probably put her in her car seat, but any sort of advice you could offer would be so greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
NIchole
P.S. Thank you for what you do. Dealing with a happy flight attendant is one of the great parts of traveling.
Hi Nichole,
I posed your question to my followers on Twitter and Face Book and the overall consensus was, "Don't do it!!"
They were kidding...well, at least most of them were!
Ok, in all seriousness: Fear not! I have been a Flight Attendant for eighteen years, and as well as observing families all those years I have a three year old of my own who I really enjoy traveling with. Here are my tried and true tips:
- Give yourself oodles of time. Your kids feed off of you, if you're stressed they will be stressed. Have enough time to be able to get on their level and let them know what is ahead of them. Involve them in the planning as much as possible.
- Bring what you need. Your carry on should have: healthy snacks. I pack a cooler with frozen veggies, fruit, nuts, peanut butter and jelly etc. Pack reusable empty water bottles and fill them once inside security at the water fountains, enough diapers for every hour of your trip (door to door) plus a few more, a change of clothes, small blankets, toys/activities, ear plugs for your neighbors, a small first aid kit, disposable place mats, and ziplocs for wet clothes and/or dirty diapers. You may bring a reasonable amount of breast milk or formula through security. To read more of what's allowed through U.S. security check out TSA.gov.
- Sling 'em! Forget strollers! Carrying your kids in slings, leaves your hands free. You can purchase a cheap umbrella stroller at your destination if you really need one and leave it for future guests or visits. If your two year old is too big for a sling buy "this" inexpensive strap so she can ride through the airport in her car seat.
- But, I'd still ditch the car seat at the gate. I'm serious. I know some people disagree with me on this, because they worry about damage. I have checked my daughters expensive Britax Car Seat about eight times a year for the past three years and there hasn't been any damage. I've also never seen a car seat come up to the jet way after a flight, damaged. I'm not saying it can't happen, I'm just saying it's rare. (Don't bring a booster seat, they're not FAA approved.)
- What will you do without a car seat? Order the C.A.R.E.S. (Child Aviation Restraint System) If you fly once a year this product is worth the investment. It is safer than the aircraft lap belt, much easier to travel with than a car seat, and will give your child room. (You won't have to spend the flight telling your daughter not to kick the seat in front of her)
- Speaking of kicking the seat, if this is a real issue for you, you can request to have your husband sit in front of your daughter's seat. (or if it becomes a problem during flight, offer to switch with the person who's seat is getting kicked)
- And, about those seating arrangements. Be prepared to be separated if you bought the cheap seats. More and more the airlines are giving the middle seats to the lowest bidders, (discount travel sites) The flight attendants will work with you to get at least one parent with a small child, but may not be that helpful to get all of you together if the flight is full and there are many families separated. They do what they can. When I travel with my family, I try to ask my neighbors myself, I've been known to buy drinks, headsets and even pay cold hard cash to bribe people to trade seats.
- Use night time diapers while on the airplane. This way your kids can sleep in peace or it will buy you some time if the seat belt sign is on.
- You're lucky to be traveling with your spouse, take advantage of the extra adult by having one of you board the airplane during pre-boards. You'll be able to get your gear on board and your area all settled and ready while the other stays in the boarding area with the kids. This will allow your two year old to get out some extra energy and not be confined for an extra forty minutes.
- Don't hand the flight attendant a dirty diaper. We are not being rude when we don't accept them in our trash, we just can't bring them into the "kitchen" (galley) where our trash is stored for sanitary reasons. (same goes for throw up) Put it in a ziploc and dispose of it in the lav on your next visit.
- Don't change diapers on the tray table, also for sanitary reasons. (This does happen though as well as finger nail clipping, and feet resting, and is why I always bring above mentioned disposable place mats)
- Don't place any child on the floor to sleep. The thing about turbulence is sometimes it comes without warning and that is usually the worst kind. Always make sure your kids are buckled even when sleeping.
Here's what some folks via twitter and FB had to say:
@andybiggs Alcohol. And tons of it;-) (I'm pretty sure he's being funny at least about the "tons of it"), but he's right if you need a glass of wine to unwind go for it!) He's also a dad and an amazing photographer...check out his site at AndyBiggs.com
@FHxoxo give them something sweet/chewing gums before taking off because they'll focus more on enjoying it than the take off itself.
@rward75 Bring toys, dvd player, snacks. Ask FA for trash bag, don't change kid on seats or tray table. Be OK with kid crying!
@qfamily Read other family blogs (including this great one by them...The Q Family Adventures Travel Blog)
@qfamily Read other family blogs (including this great one by them...The Q Family Adventures Travel Blog)
Christy on FB (flight attendant) They may not put the car seat in an aisle seat and hold one of the children. It does not matter that the car seat is empty, it can not be in the aisle seat (this was a recent incident for me)
Above all don't worry about the other passengers. If you're relaxed your kids will be relaxed. You can also check out an article I wrote for Travel Mamas blog "here" and a few pointers from Travel Mama herself "here."
Happy Flying!
Questions? Become a fan on Face Book, email or follow on twitter! Also, check out today's article in USA Today's Travel section by Kitty Bean Yancey. "Flight Attendants Face Soaring Tension in the Unfriendly Skies." Kitty will be joining us this week in The Crew Lounge to continue the discussion, which will be available for download on i-tunes this weekend.




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