Top tips for flying with a toddler

Travelling with a toddler *screeeam*. No wait, it's not that bad. Or at least it doesn't have to be. Having lived in China for three years we were often flying backwards and forwards to the UK and elsewhere and what started out as a ramshackle make-shift affair eventually became a military operation. Our last holiday abroad was to Walt Disney World in Florida and I finally managed to put all our experience into action. So here's my top tips for flying with a toddler:

#1. Request a booster seat.
If you're flying with Virgin Atlantic request a booster seat that comes with a 5 point car-seat style harness (and if you're not flying VA it's worth checking with your airline if they offer the same service). The booster lifts a small toddler up high enough to be able to see the seat-back television screen and keeps them snugly secure during the flight. As the harness is something that Curly Girl is used to wearing in the car she settled right in. It also has the bonus of not being able to be undone by little hands so that you can rest easy if they, and therefore you, decide to take a nap.

#2. Prepare a goody bag.

A goody bag is an essential piece of kit to take with you on the flight. Even the most tv fixated toddler gets bored of wall-to-wall cartoons so a goody bag of small, inexpensive toys can provide a welcome distraction. I also add in a few old favourites that I sneakily hide away for a few days. Seeing them again is like meeting an old friend! I tend to ration Curly Girl to a few toys each hour and usually have enough left over to use as emergency toys throughout the holiday. On our trip to Disneyland Orlando, the goody bag included:

• two small bean bag Disney characters (we bought a set from Disneystore before we left and gave her one each morning before we set off to the Disney parks, much cheaper than buying the toys in the gift shops) 
• sheets of different stickers 
• wirebound plain paper A5 pad for scribbling and sticker sticking 
• pack of washable crayons (don't need sharpening) 
• box of 6 mini Thomas the Tank Engine books - when you turn them over they make a picture of Thomas = instant puzzle 

#3. Take familiar food with you.
If your holidays are anything like ours they start with a very early start indeed. Curl Girl ate her breakfast an hour earlier than normal on our last trip and was hungry again by 10am. So I packed a bag with (fairly) healthy snacks (yoghurt raisins, breadsticks etc) that she could graze on while we were on the road and at the airport. Once on board the plane it's usually a good two ours before the first meal is served (and with Curly Girl there's no guarantee that she'll eat anything the airline supplies) so I also packed a mini-lunch for her with toast, a fruit pouch, banana, custard pot, crackers and cream cheese so that she could eat when she needed to. Getting over-hungry and over-tired are the two main factors in toddler melt-downs on flights in my experience. Unfortunately there's usually too much going on for Curly Girl to nap when we're travelling but as soon as we arrive at our destination I try to get her straight into the new time zone and back on schedule. It can take a day or so but it's worth it for everyone to get a good night's sleep when there's so much excitement during the day.

#4. Relax the rules.
Ok so I don't let Curly Girl watch too much television at home. And chocolate isn't an every day staple food. And that's fab when we're at home in a familiar environment with all things being equal. But when you're travelling all things are most definitely NOT equal. I'm not suggesting relaxing ALL the rules (as I mentioned above I believe that maintaining as much of our normal bedtime routine as possible is important to give some stability) but we do flex 'em a bit. So a bit more tv than usual is cool and the treats are, well, a bit more abundant than normal too. But that's what being on holiday is all about.

BUT - as soon as we're back at home the schedule is back with a vengence. I try really hard to get everything back to normal as soon as possible and Curly Girl feels secure that she's home again where she knows what happens when. It's not for everyone, but it works for us.

Do you have any top tips for travelling with toddlers? Or with a toddler and a baby? I'd love to hear them - leave me a comment below!

Image(s): FreeDigitalPhotos.net