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Great
Tips for Flying on an Airplane with Children
Are
you taking a trip by plane with your
children in the near future? If so, here are
a few tips.
1) Think of everything
your children might wear, including shoe
wear, in the weather you will encounter on
your vacation. Make a check list. Then add
everything else you will need to bring. Such
as, goggles, tiny tube of sunscreen (You can
buy more at place. Sunscreen should be used
for sun and snow trips.), special snuggly,
hair brush, toothbrush, toothbrush carrying
case, any special medicated skin creams
(bring box with prescription details on it),
folding stroller, folding crib, etc. You
should call your local airport to find out
the rules for bringing liquids and creams.
If you are traveling to another country find
out their rules on prescription drugs.
Medicine might need to be in its original
container. Or you might only have to show
the prescription box with the information on
it. Find out. You don't want your child's
medicine taken away. Last time I flew you
could have only tiny travel size bottles.
(These should be put in a plastic zip up
baggies in case the contents inside explode
due to air pressure.) Also, all beverages
and packages with liquidy foods (yogurt,
melted cheese) had to be thrown away at the
security point.
2) Do not pack last
minute. Pack early. While shopping at the
grocery store you might suddenly remember
something you forgot to pack and need to
bring. Better now, then on the plane.
3) To keep your
children occupied have a variety of
activities for them. Each child should have
their own backpack with their own
activities. This is to prevent squabbling.
Think ahead. How many hours will it take to
get to your destination? Remember you will
need to keep your children busy in the plane
terminal as well as on the flight. (Lay-overs
are hard on most children, so try to avoid
them.) Ask each child what they would like
to put in their backpack. If they like to
draw, put paper, coloring books and crayons
in their bag. Items you might want to pack:
exciting new book(s) and magazine(s), new
book(s) on tape with tape recorder for
terminal use if other passengers don't mind
(if old enough, headsets), Ipod if own one,
Mad Libs, dot-dot books, cross word puzzles,
mini-games, mini-puzzles, hand held
electronic games, little toys, and small
stuffed animals. For extended departures and
lay-overs: If you plan on bringing your lap
top you can bring a couple of movies your
children have never seen. (Once at a
terminal, I actually saw four children
seated on the carpet in front of a laptop
quietly watching a movie. I'm not sure how
well they could hear the movie. I think with
animation, such as cartoons, the action
might make up for words so those type of
shows might be worth a try.)
4) With young children
you should get aisle seats for easy aisle
access. You don't want to bother other
passengers by frequently having to climb
over them to go walk the aisle with your
child. It's fine to walk the aisles if
allowed. Your child will get energy out.
Remember to rotate activities while on the
plane so your children don't get bored. Some
parents don't want to worry about this so
they take night flights, hoping their
children will sleep. You can try this. If
you do and you have young kids, you can put
them in their PJ's before you board the
plane. Then when you get to your hotel you
won't have to wake them up to put on their
PJ's.
5) For day travel: Once
you get close to your departure gate you can
buy a small box of little treats. I.e.
flavored jelly beans or healthy treats. (You
can also bring them from home. It's
cheaper.) You can tell your children the
trip will take X amount of hours and that
every half hour they will get a jelly
bean/healthy treat. This will break up the
trip in half hour installments. The time
might seem to go faster because they will
have something to look forward to.
6) If your child's ears
hurt when the plane is ascending and
descending they can try swallowing several
times during these times. They can also try
sipping on some water if they are allowed.
Or, if they are old enough, chewing gum may
help. Babies can suck on bottles. Talk to
your doctor about ways to help. I suggest
you do not fly if your child has a cold
because of ear problems that could occur. If
you plan to fly anyway see your doctor.
He/She can prescribe medicine if they think
it's necessary. Lastly, if your child is
going to be awake during the flight, for
hydration purposes they should drink
something.
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Parenting Blog at
parentingtipsandmore.blogspot.com
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