Press Enter / Return to begin your search.

How to Travel with a Toddler by Plane

How to travel with a toddler

Worried about how to travel with a toddler on a plane? Fear not, with a few tips, it’s manageable. Keep reading to learn how.

This post may contain affiliate links that allow this blog to earn money without a cost to you. Many thanks if you use them. Please read my disclosure for more info.

How to Travel with a Toddler: Plan Ahead

To travel with a toddler by plane, the most important thing you can do is start thinking about it early and planning ahead of time.

Opt for a Direct Flight

We were going to Texas from California. The cheapest flight would have had us traveling for more than 6 hours (when the wait times were included). To save our sanity, we opted for a 3-hour direct flight instead. The great news was that we used our Southwest points, which cost us a few more points.

Opt for a Short Distance

I would love to travel internationally with my son, but at his current age, I don’t want to have to deal with him on a plane for more than a few hours. So, Texas is about as far as we’ll go for now.

If we wanted to go farther, we’d probably try to split our traveling up and make stops (for 24+ hours) along the way. If we did a long stint, we’d pay for a seat for him and do a red-eye flight in hopes that he’d sleep through most of it.

Buy Them a Seat

Ok, we did not do this, but in hindsight, it may have been better. On the way to Texas, we got an empty seat for my son between us because the flight wasn’t full. Unfortunately, on the way back, we weren’t as lucky. I think purchasing a seat and even having a car seat for them to sit in may be helpful because they’re held in one place. Also, my son does great in the car in his car seat, so it would probably make him feel more comfortable.

Bring Disinfecting Wipes

Everyone knows airplanes are full of germs. We packed plenty of hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes and cleaned the area that we sat in before we sat down. I am happy to report that he didn’t get sick after our travels.

Pack their Favorite Snacks

My son loves to eat. Eating keeps my son busy. Also, when my son is hungry, he’s not a happy camper. To avoid a total meltdown, we packed as many of his favorite snacks as possible. Worked like a charm!

Bring Lollipops

A friendly traveler that also had a toddler gave us some lollipops because he heard they could help keep toddlers busy and also help with their ears popping. I think that man was a genius! That Dum Dum kept my son quiet, happy, and busy for at least 15 minutes. That being said, I was worried the entire time that he would choke on it, and when the stick got soggy, I ended up eating the last part so he wouldn’t choke- so user discretion is advised.

Also, yes, I realized I took candy from a stranger and gave it to my child, but we survived! Yay!

Bring Quiet & New Toys

This is a no-brainer, but packing interesting new toys helped as well. I think new toys help because they are novel.

Load Books on Your Phone

Books can get heavy, but I was able to download the free trial of Epic! phone app, which allowed me to have an unlimited amount of kids’ books on my phone for my son to read. This kept him busy for quite a while, and I think he enjoyed the novelty of the books being on my phone.

Bring a Pacifier

My son has been weaned off of his pacifier for a few months now. However, I brought one as a backup because I know it used to help him fall asleep. I also knew there would be a lot of distractions to keep him from falling asleep on the plane. As I expected, toward the end of the flight, when it was past his nap time, he was overly fussy but couldn’t settle down. I pulled the pacifier out, and after a few minutes, he could lie down and go to sleep. After the flight, the pacifier disappeared again, and he has been doing just fine without it.

How to Travel with a Toddler: On the Plane

Here are some of the hacks we used while we were on the plane.

Allow More Screen Time

Normally we try to limit my son’s screen time, but on the flight, that rule pretty much went out the window. We pre-downloaded some of the Super Simple Song videos and let him watch those, which helped keep him entertained. We also let him watch a movie, but his attention span didn’t allow him to watch it for more than about 15 minutes.

Sing Songs

When all else failed, I would sing songs quietly near my son’s ears with him on my lap. We would dance in our seats and do movements with our hands to help get some of his physical energy out.

Rinse, Wash, and Repeat

Toddlers have a pretty short attention span. So, when one thing gets boring or doesn’t work anymore, move on to something else… Rotate between the toys, snacks, lollipops, movies, books, and singing. When they seem sleepy, try to get them to take a nap, and if you’re having a hard time, whip out the pacifier and give “old faithful” a try.

Conclusion

All-in-all I feel my son did great on the plane, all things (including his age) considered. That being said, it was tiring for my husband and me. I usually try to fall asleep on the plane or watch a movie, but with my toddler, that was not possible.

I hope these tips are helpful and make you feel like you know how to travel with a toddler. If you have a tip that you think I missed, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

Other Posts You Might Like:

Review of Scott’s Cheap Flights: Everything You Need to Know

Baby Registry Checklist: The Essentials

How to Save on Daycare: 16 Money-Saving Tips

13 Hacks to Save Money When You’re Expecting

Share:

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn

IN THIS ARTICLE

Related Posts

3 Simple Steps to Make $100 in Passive Income at Lunch: It’s Easier Than You Think, Here’s the Playbook

Here’s a story of how I made $100 in passive income at lunch and how you can too. Rachel: Did you hear about Grace? Michelle: No, what happened!? Tell me everything! Rachel: So, she broke up with her husband because she met a younger guy at work. “Cha-Ching” Michelle: No! Rachel: Yeah, and get this, the younger guy was engaged! Here, I have a picture of him! Rachel hands Michelle her phone “Cha-Ching” “Cha-Ching” Michelle: It says whiskeywiz just purchased your item. What is that? Rachel: Oh, sorry, let me turn my notifications off. Those are people buying stuff from

Read More

The Surprisingly Easy Way to Make $1,562 of Passive Income in a Week While You Vacation

These are strategies I use to make $1,562 or more in passive income in a week. Earlier this month, I went on a cruise to the Mexican Rivera. My husband and two kiddos joined me. We experienced beautiful sunsets from our balcony. We ate 5-course meals. We even saw a pod of 50 dolphins swimming by after we played pickleball on the top deck for an hour. It was a magical vacation, and we were able to unplug and unwind. Sounds amazing, right? It really was. We all experienced so much joy and felt fully alive in the present moment

Read More

The Stupid Simple 4-Step Formula You Can Use to Make $3,172.72 of Passive Income in a Day: Yes, It’s Possible

I made over $3,000 of passive income in a day while I was at an amusement park; here’s how I did it and how you can too. In 2020, I was struggling with postpartum depression and feeling lost. I had always dreamed of making passive income, but it hadn’t happened for me yet. via GIPHY If I’m being honest, I hadn’t invested that much time or energy into learning more about it and taking aggressive action. Deep down, there was a part of me that didn’t think it was possible.  I was skeptical. “Making thousands of passive income in a

Read More
Millionaire Money Hacks

Millionaire Secrets: 5 Simple Money Hacks That Will Make You Wealthy (Over 25% of People Don’t Do #1)

I’ve studied wealthy people for over 15 years. Steal the top 5 simple money hacks they use to become wealthy. “We’re going to have to let you go.” She never expected to hear those words. She had to hold it together while she did the walk of shame to her car.  Her shift was supposed to be starting, so her coworker, Maria, was confused. “Where are you going?” Maria asked. “I’ve just got fired,” she replied.  Chin quivering, welled-up eyes, she finally got in her car and imploded.  She had scrubbed the toilet in their public restroom for minimum wage,

Read More