Flying With Babies and Toddlers
Posted on 03 03, 2006 under The Manual by Noodad |
My kids have flown many times in their short lives. In fact my daughter is not even 4 and she has flown to Hawaii twice, California 4 times, and Florida at least 6 times. This is due to the fact that we live in Boston and our families do not. Vacations that involve flying with kids can best be summed up for me by, "Great being there, miserable getting there." It can be the most stressful thing in the world.
If you are going to fly with your children there are a few things to consider based on my experiences:
Lapsit Vs. Purchased Seat
Depending on the length of the flight, how mobile your kid is, and the sheer cost of it, you should always consider buying a seat for your kid. Most airlines allow you to "lapsit" your child if they under 2 years of age. (Special note: Southwest Airlines is the only major airline that requires you present the check-in agent with a birth certificate of a lapsit child.) The benefits of purchasing a seat is you can install the carseat and your kids will sleep better. Of course the disadvantage is you need to struggle with installing the seat before takeoff and the seats are not equipped with LATCH.
Security
You aren't flying solo with no checked luggage: you will be using every available checked bag and carry on opportunity. (Another advantage of buying a seat. Paid seat=2 more pieces of checked luggage) Last time my family flew together, my wife was carrying the diaper bag, her purse, and pushing my son in the stroller which we gate checked. I had my laptop bag, 2 carseats, and my daughter holding my hand. My daughter had her Dora backpack. At security, we had to breakdown the stroller, take out my laptop, and take off the shoes of all 4 of us. This entire process took 7 minutes. Some airports have special lanes just for families with small children. Most do not. The point is you can't count on breezing through security 10 minutes before takeoff anymore. Prepare to be early.
In Flight Entertainment
JetBlue and Song are nice because each seat has it's own TV, but for anyone else, you need to prepare the bag with in flight entertainment. The rule I heard was 1 new toy per hour per kid on the flight. From my experience, you are more looking at 1 1/2 toys per hour. And that can get expensive especially when we had an 11 hour flight from Boston to Honolulu. Good thing we had a layover in San Francisco. Pick out a variety of toys mixing up books with actual toys. Avoid things with many pieces like puzzles and things that make a lot of noise. Those will annoy you and fellow passengers. Hide the toys from view and pace yourself. The last thing you want to do is blow your whole stash in the first 2 hours. If your child is old enough to hold attention with a movie, portable DVD players are well worth the price and the space on your carry on luggage.
Seating
When choosing seats you must remember a carseat must be installed on the window seat. And it cannot be in an exit row. Although tempting, do not sit your wife and kids together and then you 3 rows up. That's uncool man.
Noise
They say your kid always cries the loudest. This holds true in the air as well. Your kid might cry and scream but remember an airplane cabin is pretty loud while in the air. And although you may feel compelled to worry about what other people think, just remember, most of them have either been through it themselves or will be and you paid for your seat just like they did. If it still concerns you (it use to for me) fly Southwest Airlines where customers choose their own seat. That way the fellow passenger either chose to sit near you or they were too late to get a good seat. There. No guilt.
Pressure
The worst problem I have had with my kids in the air is not motion sickness it is the change in air pressure. Especially if your child is sick or has a predisposition to ear infections, the change in air pressure could make your kid feel like their head will explode. The old trick of swallowing to pop your ears led us to bring lollipops with us on the plane. Licking the lollipops forced my daughter to swallow repeatedly for the first 30 minutes of flight. Also, if your baby is nursing, it helps to have them nursing during takeoffs and landings.
Changing Tables
Most airplanes do not have them. Get ready to change your kid in the foyer area by the bathrooms. Most flight attendants, in my experiences, have been helpful.
Food
If you do lapsit a child, this can be a problem once the food trays come. There simply is not enough room to put the tray table down when there's a kid on your lap. Be prepared to not eat or get stuff spilled all over.
Now make sure your tray table is stowed and your seat is its upright and locked position. Good luck and enjoy your flight.
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Consider your detination before stressing about your kid making noise. If you\'re headed to see the Mouse, the plane is going to be filled with families anyway. If you\'re heading to some other vacation destination, people are generally going to be in a good mood and more understanding. A midweek flight to a major city would likely have more business travelers, and a lot of those suits might not find your kid\'s antics endearing--not that you should give a frog\'s fat ass what other passengers think anyway. As long as you\'re doing your best to keep your kid happy and quiet, there\'s not much else you can do.
On car seats, make sure it is FAA approved. Some of the approved car seats don\'t meet FAA muster--especially the booster seats with the back support. You can\'t use those. I think there\'s a label on the side of the car seats that has the information.
DVD players: if you don\'t want to buy one, some airports rent them. You drop them off at your destination airport. Check the airport\'s website to see if the service is available.
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Thumbs up on airlines with in flight TV. If you want to fly to HNL from Boston, trek down to EWR and fly nonstop via CO on a 767-400 with personal TV\'s! 10 hrs nonstop may be a nightmare with babies though?
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