We have now gone on several flights with Madeline, and we have quickly realized that there is definitely an art form to flying with children. Although it may seem a little rough at first, it does get much easier with practice. Your immediate instincts are probably going to tell you to pack way more items than you need. However, since airports limit the amount of stuff you can take, you need to be smart! Here are my top packing tips when you are going to fly with a small child:
First, ask yourself the following question – How much stuff can you physically move with the number of hands you cumulatively have? I know this sounds crazy, but please hear me out. How many people are you traveling with? This will be how many people you have to help cart around all of your stuff. Now, think about potentially having multiple bags of luggage, a stroller, a car seat and your child. Are you physically going to be able to handle that much stuff and move it all around? Also, will your vehicle even hold that much stuff? These are the questions you need to ask yourself BEFORE you pack! The amount of help you will have will determine how many bags you can take. Once you establish the number, it will be much easier to see how much stuff will fit into those bags. 🙂
Strategize before you pack – Now, I will tell you that this comes down to personal preference. I like putting people’s stuff together, so it is easier to find once we arrive at our destination. This means that all of Madeline’s items are together and separate from ours. This doesn’t necessarily mean different luggage bags. I just group everything together, typically in zip bags, to keep it all organized and easy to find. I do not want to be hunting for things, such as diapers and wipes, at the very last minute. 🙂
Keep all chargers with you and NOT in your packed bag – Those phones and iPads are great for keeping little ones entertained, but your kiddos will be very upset if they run out of battery and no longer work. Make sure to not accidentally pack chargers in your checked bag. If you do, then you will no longer have access to them after you check in your luggage.
Go ahead and put all liquids, wipes and food in a clear zip bag and have them in an easy to grab location – This will make security much easier when you can instantly find your bag containing all of the items the guards want to examine. Security is stressful enough with a child, so make your life easier and have these items ready to go.
FYI – A lot of airports will let people with small children and strollers go to the front of the line, so check and see if you can do this. It will save you and your family A TON of time!
Pack snacks & small toys – If you don’t listen to anything else I say, then please do this one thing! 🙂 It helps too if you can find small and inexpensive toys that they haven’t seen before. Make sure to keep them in your carry on, so you can access them during the flight. Don’t accidentally pack them in your checked bag, or you will be sorry during layovers – LOL!
Pack night time diapers, and put them in your carry on – I strongly recommend that you put your child in NIGHT TIME diapers while traveling, in case you cannot quickly get to a changing area. I know that it isn’t ideal, but it will help with accidental leaks (speaking from experience). Not all planes have changing pads, and you may not have time to change a diaper during super fast layovers. Hopefully, this won’t be the case for you, but I would put them in a night time diaper just to be safe.
Pack both a change of clothes AND a zip bag to put the dirty ones in – A lot of people pack an extra change of clothes, but they forget about where they are going to put the dirty ones if something happens. Make sure to have a zip bag with you to store those items in case you have a leak or blowout diaper on the plane. In my opinion, having extra zip bags is never a bad idea either (between spills, blowout diapers, etc). They definitely come in handy after life hands you a bunch of interesting situations! 🙂
What packing tips do you have for flights with children? Please feel free to leave ideas below, because I love hearing from you all! Have a great day, and safe travels!
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