Airplane Travel Advice for Mom W/ 3 Young Kids

Leapsters and leappads are fabulous. Also ds lite rocks. Crayons and coloring books only last for so long. And a favorite of my kids was a new toy they got on the plane that i got at all a dollar or someplace like that. Good luck!

My daughter is now 25 with a 15 month boy of her her own. When I traveled long flights with her I would try to travel at night to help with her sleeping. I also packed a small bag with little wrapped "gifts" to help entertain her. May be a little harder to do now with the restrictions that we have. Nothing was expensive, but when she got board I would go into the bag and pull out something new to help entertain her. Worked very well. Items would be a deck of cards, mad libs, coloring book, my little poney, etc. Hope this helps!

I flew with 3 year old twins and an infant by myself. I made sure that I brought dumdum suckers, pacifier, & bottles. I got the oldest ones a backpack of their own, put a color book, writing book, something to play with, a favorite blanket (small)and a book to read and put it in their backpacks. They carried them and I carried the infant and a backpack and the steward and stewardess helped with what I couldn't handle. The oldest ones held my hand through the terminals and it worked like a charm. I had layovers, long terminal walks, and a couple of plane changes. The suckers are for their ears when the plane goes up. If they are sucking on something or chewing gum, that will help them with the pressure in their ears. I never had any problems and they were excited when the pilot gave them wings for being so good. The stewardesses took the twins and played with them while I slept once. I hope this helps. Kay

I have several ideas for this one!!! Topping the list, bring a large package of colorful pipe cleaners (make sure ahead of time that this isn't a item that is banned on planes !!!) On car trips these are awesome. The kids make crowns and shape them in all kinds of ways and it keeps even little ones busy. (On long car trips I also pack a roll of aluminum foil which can be molded in interesting ways.) A lso, before my son could read, he had a Fisher Price mp3 player (look in the toy section of any store) and it had little stories and fun songs preprogrammed. You may also program your kid's own music and books on tape onto an mp3 player. Mad Libs are great for everyone--especially when you read them aloud, and they have versions now for younger kids. Since you are making several stops, you might pre-plan little surprises for each one. Maybe they each get a special book to unwrap, or a favorite treat. It gives them something to look forward to. Also, check out the KLUTZ series of activity books. There is a series by this company for little ones as well. I believe any bookstore will have these. Finally, if you have a layover, try to get a little exercise by walking around the airport. Get the blood flowing--even if the layover is short.

Hope this helps!!

J.

I will pass on the advice I was given when taking our trip to Hawaii. GET A PORTABLE DVD PLAYER!!! Even if you aren't into alot of T.V. viewing for you kids (we aren't) it makes all the differece. You may need more that one for the 3 kids. But they are life savers! That along with non sugary snacks and water to keep them entertained. We rotated also with books and a potty trip on the plane every hour and we were fine. They can be very sleepy on the plane, too. This is about survival and it can be miserable with out the right tools. Italy is so worth it though!!!!

You have had a lot of great advice here. I would say that chewing gum is a great thing because it makes it so their ears do not hurt. I would also suggest getting to the airport early enough that you can sit at the gates and hear the planes take off. That sound is a little scary and if they are a little more use to it it might not be as scary on the plane. Also explain how fast it will go and that they will feel it in the airplane, kinda like when you go really fast on your bike and you can feel the pressure. Things like like will help.

I would also recommend snacks that they will like because the plane's snacks are catered to adults not kids. When I took my 6 year old and 9 year old on the plane I didn't think of this. The plane served some kind of spicy nuts that of course my kids did not like. Luckily they found something else the kids would eat, but it still wasn't too great according to them. So extra snacks would be a benefit!

Good luck and have fun! Remember, your kids will remember this trip for a long time! Make it fun for all of you!

I am traveling to Berlin with my 10 month old next month, so I can relate. I have asked this same question a lot of friends who have traveled with kids internationally. If you google flying with kids there are quite a few great websites dedicated to the topic that have great advice. My ideas:
1) Brings lots of food, snacks and drinks... enough for everyone. Even if you're getting meal flights, bring it, especially if you have picky eaters
2) purchase a few small new-to-them toys or books for each kid. For your younger ones you can even wrap them up (everyone loves presents) and take give them to them (one at a time) when they start to get bored or restless with what they already have on the plane.
3) Melatonin. I actually just asked my pediatrician about if for helping my little girl sleep and get over jetlag. He said it is safe that it can help. You can get it at the drug store and ask the pharmacist about proper dosage for your little ones.
4)allow them to run around and act a little crazy during your layovers. Yeah, it might annoy a few people, but I promise they'd be way more annoyed to be stuck on the plane with kids with pent up energy. You can almost always find an empty gate/boarding area near your gate to let them play in to get out some of that energy.

Anyway, hope thats helpful. Good luck and have a great time in Italy!

It sounds crazy, but a roll of scotch tape and a box of band-aids kept my daughter entertained when I last flew with her. I didn't think it would work but a neighbor had told me that her kids had loved it. I travel a lot by car now (rather than flying) with my 2 kids (ages 10 and 7) and I always make sure to pack some small favorite and new toys in a kid size backpack. Each of my kids can have their own toys and they have liked helping with carrying their things.

I traveled to Mexico with my 3 kids by myself, ages 9, 5 & 4 at the time and they each had their own backpacks with special goodies for the trip. They picked out their own special items (Nintendo DS, PSP, MP3 players, books, etc..), then we went to Target and looked through the $1 bins, Hobby Lobby had some great items as well - Magic Ink books are great! They also picked out special snacks and their own pack of gum. It was great! They also had hand sanitizing wipes in their bags.
Have a great trip!!

Hi F.,
I have been traveling with my 3 boys for years. All the responses I read were really good. In addition, make sure you bring gum, not to chew throughout the flights as it drives other passengers nuts but as you take off and land if the kids are chewing or drinking something it helps with their ears adjusting to the altitude changes. Make sure they go to the bathroom before getting on the plane, many airports have the family bathrooms now that help with that. Bring your own snacks, some with protein so they aren't just getting sugar on the flight, I like using nut, raison and m&m mixes, takes longer than just a bar to eat, also a bag of popcorn is fun and again takes longer to eat. Childrens version of uno is fun and easy and compact along with all the movie and video game ideas. Also a few crayons and paper, tic tac toe, you draw something they color in or bring a coloring book or have them do drawings of what they see out the plane. If there is extra space on the plane, especially for your night flight, pull up the armrests and move them to the nearest row that has multiple empty seats they can lay down across, still use the seat belts and the stewards generally don't mind. I used to travel with the liquid hand sterilizer but can't always get that on the plane so bring a ziplock bag of baby wipes just to help keep hands clean. A lot of airlines are not providing blankets or pillows any more, a small stuffed animal is a great pillow and a cold kid is miserable on the plane so at least a jacket they can take on and off easily. You may want to have your own earphones, cheap small ones are fine. I know some airlines show movies and some let you watch for free if you have your own head phones, generally a generic plug on armseat for each person. Don't be afraid to get up and walk with the kids, sometimes a steward says you can't others are fine with it, I always say they need a little movement and it won't take long up and down the aisle with you. Sometimes before or after a flight the pilot will let the kids look in the cock pit, just ask. Have fun!
S. M
S. M

To me there is nothing better than a portable DVD player. If you approve of your kids watching one there isn't anything better to captivate your child's attention for a period of time that they can't really move or leave their seats.

My grandmother gave me great advice the last time we went on a long trip. We purchased several inexpensive items (books, activities, matchbox cars, etc) and then wrapped them in bright wrapping paper. Every hour (or when my son started getting antsy) he got to unwrap a new gift. He loved it.

F.,
I am lucky because my little one is smaller so those little stuffed books that make noice are so great for him. I did just see the neatest thing in IHOP though and had to ask the mom where she got them because I wanted several for my baby when he is older. She has dry erase boards that had activities on them. They came with a plastic bag with 3 different dry erase markers that velcroed to the board. This mom just keeps them in her trunk and the little ones can use them only when they eat out. She got them at Big Lots. She told me they always have them and they are near the school supplies. I always travel with books for the baby because he loves to be read to and it is a quiet activity. I used to fly a lot by myself as a young child since my parents divorced when I was 5 and my mom moved 2100 miles away from my dad. My mom or grandma would always make me a suprise goodie bag to take on the plane. It had little handheld games much different then the ones we have now little coloring books and treats also they always made sure I have a tape player with headphones to listen too. Of course now it would be CD players. I loved to be able to open that little backpack once I was on the plane because I never knew what was going to be in it. Stay away from liquids though they are stinkers about those at security.

I haven't read the other posts but have you seen wikki stix? They have wax over string and different colors in a pack and they can make shapes, creatures, and people from them. You can get them at Utah/idaho supply or Lakeside school supply stores. My 3 kids ages 5,6,8 and all the kids around us at church have been mesmerized for the entire hour playing with them.Happy trails.

Having traveled overseas several times with my little ones, here are my most reliable tips. If you don't have one, a portable DVD player is a life saver. I know most planes have TV's but this will be invaluable for layovers, car time, or when they don't want to watch the airplane TV. I would also stock up on some new toys & books and save them for the trip so they are new and exciting. Sticker books, activity books, sodoku, tic tac toe, etc. I would also have more than enough snacks on hand, especially for your 3 year old. I have also found with my two that once you let them up to wander around the plane, its all over, they never want to go back to their seat. Portable music players, ie Ipods, are also a nice distraction. My son also loves his gameboy on long flights. A blanket from home might help your little one feel more comfortable and hopefully sleep on your night flight. One more thing, just remember you will never see any of these people again, so focus on your kids and not on anyone else. If things go haywire, I am sure there will be plenty of sympathetic parents on board. The flight attendants are usually very helpful as well. Have a great trip!

Bring lots of things! I would bring snacks they usually don't get for the plane and if you have time let them pick out snacks at the airport stops you will be making (if time permits). I brought a DVD player and took along a new film or two. I also brought a leapster or some type of video game with a new cartridge. I also go to the bookstore and get some fun suduko for kids or other type of fun books and I have the bookstore wrap it up so they can open their presents on the plane. Good Luck!!!

I took my 20 month dd to AZ for a week and to keep her busy we stocked up on color wonder books you can get them at walmart or target for about 8.00. they were great because the only thing they marked on were the coloring pages. We also took a deck of cards and some books. I hope this helps and have fun in Italy.
Also make sure you carry a bunch of snacks to help with ear pressure. gl and have fun

My husband and I traveled with our daughter when she was almost one. We bought a bunch of small toys to play with that we never showed her until we got on the plane. Also, there are some great books from Barefoot Books (they have a website, just google Barefoot Books). They have books for all ages. My daughter (now 14 months old) loves Dragon on the Doorstep, The Animal Boogie, The Parrot Tico Tango and Herb The Vegetarian Dragon. They have puzzles too. Go to the Dollar Store and get some small toys (cars, coloring books,ect.) and don't even show the toys to them until they get on the plane. It worked for us. Have fun in Italy. If you get a chance, Sardenia is beautiful! I also loved Pompeii!

I got magnetic games at Barnes and Noble. They have a few games like "4 in a row", "hangman", "Chinese checkers" and more. It's in a small metal boxes with and the magnetic pieces stick to the game. Great for car / plane / restaurants.

Gameboys / DS are very nice and keep them entertained for a while.

Coloring books for younger ones.

And, NEW small and inexpensive toys. Just the fact that their new to them will keep their interest for a while. Don't give them to the kids all at once. When they get tired of the other stuff, bring out a new one.

For sleeping, don't forget the favorite blanket and stuff animal they love! :-)

Hi F. -

This question was asked a little while ago and here are some of their responses. Good luck.

http://www.mamasource.com/request/1084638440219213825

http://www.mamasource.com/request/17830286671514435585

If you don't have a Laptop computer that plays Movies - get a portable DVD player. They aren't too pricey and they are great for keeping the kids occupied. You can plug headsets into them or just turn them up. Because of the Airplane noise, people around you aren't bothered by it. We've had other adults on the plane leaning over to listen! :)

That won't take up all your time, so I think the other ideas along with it are great! But, this gives them quiet, down time and they may fall asleep while watching a movie.

Good luck!
C.