You are such a good girl! You didn’t join in the orchestra of cries with the babies!
Yeah, life’s tough. Travelling with baby is tougher. Travelling on plane is… suicidal, especially if the baby or kid is not yours! (So avoid sitting at the first row with the leg room if you want a restful flight and to avoid a kid beside you because that’s where babies will most likely be!)
Here are some tips to keep my little friends happy:
Talk to us – Get a conversation going especially if your kids know how to talk already. We love to hear more about you and your life! Of course, listen to what we have to say as well!
Know what your kids like! If your kids are like me, kinetically-inclined, playing and folding the boarding pass can be fun too!
Let us plan the trip – We love responsibilities! If your kid is about 5 years old and above, pass him the guidebook and let him have a say on what to do, with your help of course. You can give suggestions to guide him along.
Share your music – Well, I love music! Music soothe me to sleep. You can even sing together with me!
Bring Toys and Books – I thought that this is common sense. Bring our favourite travel-size toys, and even a new toys to surprise us, which will keep us occupied for minutes, if not hours. Some other suggestions that doesn’t take up much weight or space includes crayons, paper, stickers .
Sounds from a cookie pack can be like rattle to babies too!
Bring my favourite snacks and water – Yes, babies like us get hungry and thirsty too! If you do not like airplane food, we can’t stand them too! Usually the security are kind enough to allow water for us to be brought onboard so fill ’em up!
Have lots of different food and fruits to keep us happy and full!
Bring Medicine – Daddy says he used to get air/car sick quite a lot! Not me though! Perhaps if this happens, you can administer anti air-sick drugs before flying, with doctor’s approval of course! Other items like panadol, handy plus (band aids), etc are life savers too!
Videos – I know some parents hates letting their kids glue to the LCD screen. (So do my parents.) But in case of emergency when the seat belt sign is on, this is a lifesaver! Do have some our favourite videos on your handphone and iPad just in case.
Bedtimes – There are 2 sides to this though: You can plan the flight time according to our bedtimes. But there are still plenty of distractions that will throw our naptime off. (eg. Planes switch on their lights to serve dinner even if it’s like 11pm.) Other babies will cry that wakes us up. The person next to you may watch TV and distracts us. Every kid is different so in this case, parents have to use their discretion to suit the habits of little fellows.
Be prepared! – Bring lots of wet wipes, tissues and diapers, trash bags and extra clothes, within easy reach, rather than in the overhead compartment or your boot!
Dress comfortably but warmly – Planes tends to be quite cold especially at night so dress warmly and comfortably, yet easy to undo clothes. I don’t really care about being pretty on planes!
Air Pressure on the ears– Everyone hates that! One way to combat that is to drink water / milk while the plane is ascending or descending. Daddy also found this device call Ear Planes in Sydney Airport that can be used to prevent this. This is available in adults and kids’ sizes and I quote the person selling it,”This is a very very good!”
Pack Smart – That’s a lot of things to pack right? Mummy likes to bring everything just in case, Daddy likes to bring the minimum. My stand? Pack smart! We don’t mind reading the book over and over again (BUT NOT CONTINUOUSLY!) or playing the same game repeatedly. You can also use objects around you as toys! We love imagining things, this is so much better than the usual tech toy!
My Next Blog: Tips on travelling on my most frequent miles plane: Singapore Air
Hacks for family travels especially to Asia and theme parks. 