Book the airline tickets. When choosing a flight, consider the times that flights are scheduled to depart and arrive. If traveling with children who are young enough to take naps, you may want to book an afternoon flight that coincides with nap time so the child will sleep on the plane. Avoid flights that leave very early in the morning or arrive at your destination late at night so the child can keep their regular sleep schedule during the trip.
After you've booked the flight, use the airline's website to choose your seats. If you're traveling with a potty-training child who is going to need to get to the bathroom frequently, make sure one of your seats is on an aisle. If you're traveling with a baby, choose a window seat so he won't be disturbed by people walking up and down the aisle.
In the week before the trip, prepare young children for what the trip will be like. Read books about taking an airplane trip and explain about going through security. Tell them that they'll have to take off their shoes and walk through a metal detector and then they'll have to wait for a little while before getting on the airplane. Explain about layovers if necessary.
Pack for younger children and make sure that older children have fully packed at least a day before leaving. Write a checklist of anything that can't be packed until the last minute, like the teddy bear your child can't sleep without, to be sure you pack it on the morning of your flight. Fill a carry-on bag with items to keep children entertained on the flight, like dolls, travel games and coloring books, as well as an inflatable pillow and a blanket. If possible, pack an iPod filled with child-friendly music. Bring plenty of snacks and buy bottled water once you're through security.
Get to the airport early. Traveling with children is stressful so allow extra time to make sure you have everyone and everything. Use rolling luggage to make getting around easier. If you're flying out of a small airport, give yourself at least two hours to get through security and to the gate. For major airports, get there three hours before your scheduled departure. If it's a busy time, like a major holiday, allow an extra hour.
Be prepared for children to suffer through ear pain when taking off or landing. Children over the age of three can chew gum or candy, which helps reduce ear pressure. Give them plenty of decaffeinated drinks like water before taking off and throughout the flight and tell them to yawn to help reduce pain. Give babies a bottle or pacifier to comfort them during takeoff and landing.
Let the child pick what he'd like to do from your activity bag. Let him listen to the iPod. If he's getting fidgety or bored, be ready with a different activity. If he's really agitated, let him walk up and down the aisle every half hour or so.
Encourage him to nap if he's at all sleepy. Blow up the inflatable pillow and get him snuggled up against you with the pillow and a blanket. Let him sleep for as long as he can; the longer he sleeps, the shorter the flight will seem.
