Traveling with kids

My husband travels a lot for business, in like manner we travel a lot as a family too! We frequently go overseas and also love short trips with easy flight durations. Traveling this frequent with two kids has made me grow my patience, love travel even more than I thought possible and also pick up lots of tips and tricks along the way!
How to prepare for your flight with kids?
Well that greatly depends on the duration of your flight and the time it leaves as well! There is a very fine line between overpacking the carry on and not having enough stuff. I swear I learn something new everytime we fly!
Traveling on long flights with kids
Below, is a tutorial I made to show you exactly what I bring on our carry on bags for the kids and what I put in their busy boxes for the 16 hour flight to Australia.
What did I learn after this trip?
Aftering re-watching the video I made above – I would probably make a few slight adjustments as follows:
- I would have packed the busy boxes in the checked luggage. Although they were certainly used a lot on the trip during downtime in the hotels, not so much on the flight. The mess free color packs would have been enough and alot less weight.
- The pillows! They were really nice, I’m not going to lie and the kids slept amazing with them. However, it was such a pain carrying them in the airports, and all the different hotels we stayed at on the trip that I ended up tossing them before our flight home. Most likely in the future I would opt for the lousy in flight pillows just to save the space.
- 5 Pacifiers. In hindsight, I could have packed the others and just brought two on the flight.
- Snacks and pouches.. we definitely used a lot of them in particular I didn’t need the oreo cookies but I was happy to be over prepared in the event of needing to bribe them 🙂
- Ipads – They wanted to use the in flight TV screens and movies and therefore wanted nothing to do with Ipads! They were a great distraction while in the airport and lounges but next time I would leave them at home or pack in the checked luggage due to the weight and space they take up. ++ (Read on for shorter flights since this is different)
Traveling on short flights with kids
A shorter flight in my opinion is 5 hours or less. These flights are much easier to manage and you’ll prepare much differently!


- Make sure you have an Ipad and headphones because most airlines are no longer supplying screens for short flights. They do have free in flight entertainment but you’ll have to connect it to your own device.
- Download the airline app BEFORE you board the plane. cell phone signals are never great once you are on the plane. With this in mind, without the app you cannot access the in flight entertainment.
- FOOD! On shorter flights, they usually don’t provide meals and the ones they do have are not really great nor are they kid friendly. Make sure you eat before you fly and have snacks in your carry on bag. Sometimes we think oh it’s only a 3 hour flight – however in reality you are traveling in airports for 2 hours before and after the flight making it a 7 hour time span for the kids.
- For the shorter flights I pack as little as possible so we are light handed and don’t have to carry so much!
- Always bring a stroller if you have kids under age 5! Trust me, you’ll want it!
General Flying tips for parents with kids
1. I always bring the kids to the airport in their jammies when we do a big trip and leave in the morning or late at night. When we get to the airport we always go into the lounge and that’s when I get them dressed for the plane. It’s seriously so much easier getting out of the house. We all know when leaving for a trip it’s chaos, and not having to get the kids ready takes off so much pressure! Obviously, I pack the carry on the day before!
2. What to bring in the carry-on?
Well, I have learned to pack my own carry-on and two for the kids separate. Otherwise, it gets way to heavy and unorganized. My Carry on is not my regular purse it’s usually a tote with my purse stuff inside it. I always have a pen, comfy socks, neck pillow, makeup wipes, gum, lip gloss, and mascara.
3. Presents!
4. Ear pressure
5. The Blow up square
6. Snacks
7. Seats
8. Stroller
Lastly, give yourself extra time and don't get too frazzled! A relaxed traveler is a happy traveler and the kids pick up your vibes!! I have to remind my husband of this every-time 🙂
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2 Comments
Great tips Megan!
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