Travelling With Children - Do We Dare?

Looking around an airport is always an interesting way to pass the time. People watching is a fascinating time waster and there is nothing more emotional than watching someone say goodbye to their family, or seeing a reunion between partners. Spotting the first time travellers is always easy, often they are the young people weighed down by their new backpacks trying to contain their excitement and playing down the fear as they say goodbye to their families for the first time. So many of us can probably identify with that young person; off on their travels with a mind full of expectations and a passport ready to be filled. Then there is another type of traveller, struggling with an overloaded trolley, two children and a face that clearly says “Why am I doing this?” How many of you can identify with this person?

So travelling with children, do we dare? The answer is yes! Before children, travelling is usually an exciting and self indulgent affair; however, once children come along it can be a whole new story. We tend to think that gone are the romantic or adventure filled getaways, and instead we think we have a potentially stressful situation where parents cannot fully relax and enjoy themselves. So what can we do to ensure that a trip away with our family can still be relaxing and enjoyable?

Planning is the key to any successful holiday and that is even more important when travelling with a family. Find a family friendly travel agency who are willing to talk over the most suitable family destination. Alternatively, if you book your flights online ensure that the airline you are booking your trip with has information relating to flying with children, and to what your restrictions may be. Most airlines now allow children under 2 to sit on their parents laps and on bigger aircrafts and flights, airlines will provide the use of a bassinet free of charge to the bulkhead passengers. But beware.... as bulkhead seats are allocated on a first come first serve basis and are usually only allocated to families travelling with small children. You are unable to pre-book these seats, so getting to the airport nice and early (4-5 hours before departure) should ensure you get the required seats. Angie, a bubs about town partner, went home to the UK for Christmas with her husband and 10 month old daughter. This was the first time for Isabella on a plane and Angie and Matt were quite nervous ''Matt and I found that with our Airline we were able to bypass the whole queuing process at the Airport by using their ''Online Check-In'' facility at home over the Internet, we didn't queue either way. We cannot stress enough to leave home as early as possible allowing for possible traffic hold ups to the airport. Even though you have a long journey ahead, try and arrive 4 to 5 hours prior to departure. It makes a difference feeling more relaxed than if you were to rush and set the whole journey off to a bad start, I find little ones certainly pick up on parents with anxious feelings. Relax and try to enjoy this family time together, and work as a team to settle and entertain your little one as it is a very long time up in the air.

Once your flight is booked it’s time to think about packing when travelling with an infant you are allowed one extra large piece of luggage and one extra carry on piece of luggage. Sara a bubs about town partner, went to New Zealand for Christmas with her husband and 10 month old son, “I wanted to be extra prepared and packed nearly all of my son’s clothes, this resulted in having one giant suitcase for him with his things overflowing into the suitcase I was sharing with my husband. My son ended up wearing a few things over and over again so most of the things I packed were unnecessary”. So ask yourself, will you have access to a washing machine and dryer? Also can you borrow or hire things at your destination such as portacots, strollers and car seats? What about blankets, does your child have to have their very own blankets or will blankets from your accommodation work just as well? Blankets are very bulky so eliminating these will automatically save you space in your luggage.

Preparing for the plane trip itself is just as important as booking the flight and packing the bags. You will need food and drink for your child/ren, wipes for the inevitable spills, at least two changes of clothes for the child/ren and possibly one for yourself! Anything that your child/ren need to help them sleep is also essential. After that you must then think about what will keep them entertained? Books, games, an exciting new toy or an old favourite? For older children a new travel pack with a colouring book, crayons, reading book, cards, a magnetic game and a new toy will prove very alluring. Try to keep your carry on luggage light, remember that your child/ren probably won’t be the ones carrying these around at the airport. Angie and Matt packed lots of Isabella's favourite board books with hidey pictures, and some small new toys that they gave to her for the journey. “Once on the aircraft we were given a glove puppet and a small toiletries pack, but I found that I used my own as I packed a nappy bag full of necessities that would always be close at hand. If your baby is eating solids take some of their favourite foods and snacks to chew on during take off and landing. If they are bottle ot breastfed, offer the bottle during these times and if baby is drinking water take a few sippy cups or bottle for during the flight. Be sure to dress your baby in something warm and comfortable for the flight, I put Isabella in a romper suit. Also take a couple of changes of clothes and a jumper as it does get cold during the flight, don't worry about blankets as they are supplied”.

Once you are at the airport it is important when checking in to stress that you are travelling with a family and ask whether there is a possibility that you have a row to yourselves (aircraft change tables are ridiculously small, only fitting newborns so having a whole row will help with this). After check in, the next hurdle will be passing through security, all strollers will need to be scanned at this point so you will need to take your child out and hold onto them while this is being done.

Once you are finally on the plane, you are strapped in and have everything within arms reach you will need to think about ears. To prevent ear aches associated with air pressure changes try to get your child/ren to chew and swallow during the ascent and more importantly the descent of the aircraft. Sucking on a dummy, chewing a teething ring or nursing your child will help to prevent this pain from occurring.

So does flying with children still seem like a daunting task? I hope not, but here a few extra pointers to help you along your way:

• A flight spanning your child’s naptime is ideal, if you are crossing several time zones, overnight flights can help a child who sleeps well, acclimatize to the time changes and reduce jet lag.
• Avoid putting young children on the aisle as they could be easily hurt by passing trolleys and people.
• If you can afford it, buy an extra seat for your young child and use their car seat to strap them in.
• Open bottles or sippy cups carefully as the change in air pressure turns some of these into water fountains.
• Get exercise, if you have a child on your lap, regular strolls are essential to keep your blood flowing. Plan your strolls around the beverage and meal times.
• Be inventive, decorate your airsickness bag and use it as a hand puppet, play peek-a-boo with a blanket.
• Be considerate of other people on the plane.
• Turbulence can happen at any time so when seated always ensure your child is restrained appropriately.

Once you reach your destination you can relax and start to enjoy your holiday and hopefully start to look forward to the plane ride home knowing what to expect and what can be improved upon.

If you are arriving into a different time zone, jet lag can be a nightmare with children; Angie shares her method for helping Isabella adjust to the time different in England.
-There are no hard and fast rules for your baby's routine on the flight so just go along with what baby wants.
-Once at your destination try to feed and put your baby to sleep at their usual times
-If your baby wishes to sleep for much longer than usual then wake them after their usual sleep duration to help them adjust quicker to their new time zone

We found that Isabella wanted to have long day sleeps for the 1st few days so I did have to wake her. During the night she was quite wakeful so we did end up doing lots of co-sleeping during our holiday, this allowed us to all go back to sleep easier and as she was sleeping in our room it worked well for us. We felt quite fortunate that Isabella didn't arrive at our destination with some sort of bug as we had been advised that it is common after such a long flight. As for when we arrived back to Australia, once again she seemed very sleepy so we continued as before to settle her quickly into her routine and after a week she seemed back to normal with the addition of a cough and cold.
Appropriate planning will cover most eventualities, but finally remember that this is supposed to be a holiday so relax and enjoy! There is no reason a family holiday can’t be filled with lots of fun, adventure and a bit of romance (after the kids are in bed of course!)

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