Travel is my favorite. Jet setting to visit family and friends, travelling to events for work, getaways with the hubs, you name it! I’m one of those crazy airline mile junkies always planning my next adventure.
Now parenthood has definitely brought a slowdown in the travel, but this spring, we decided it was time we take a trip across the pond with our little one, 11-months-old at the time, to Germany to visit family. Our logic was simple: the baby’s ticket will be free because he’s under two years old, he’s not walking yet so it will be easy to keep track of him and we’re totally still spontaneous and adventurous. Book those tickets!
Here’s a few tips I learned along the way:
Make Friends…Fast
Every step of the way, allies are extremely important on your journey. It starts from the minute you set foot in the airport…the front desk attendant, the TSA agent, the gate agent, flight attendants, the guy driving the cart, your neighbor, the guy in the line for the bathroom, whoever! Whether its help finding a more convenient seat, bring distraction reinforcements or just words of encouragement, your allies will help you get through it
Pack New Snacks, Toys, etc.
This was advice I got from some mama friends in advance of the trip. Find new snacks, toys, etc. that your little once has never seen. It will buy you a few extra minutes of distraction and quiet time on the plane. Our go-to snacks were Animal Crackers. They brought us a good 3-4 minutes of entertainment (in International flight world, that’s a long time). And don’t forget the distractions you don’t even have to pack. Big hits for us were the WiFi promotional card, cap to the food packets and the tray table (up and down and up and down – the poor guy in front of us).
Ignore the Side Eye
You’ll get eye rolls, hear people take a sigh of relief when you don’t sit next to them and even hear a few snarky comments. Shake it off! Know it’s going to happen and there’s nothing you can do to control it. You’ve got enough to juggle the next few (OK more than a few) hours so stay strong!
Don’t Sweat the Prep
I spent hours packing, re-packing, researching what to pack, thinking about packing and unpacking and rearranging. In the end, we didn’t use half of what we brought and most of the logistics I was worried about all ended up working themselves out one way or the other.
It’s certainly no easy task, but the memories we made once arrived in Germany were worth it. First snow, first time meeting new cousins and an official pretzel obsession!
Have you traveled internationally with little ones?
What other tips would you add to the list?
We’ve traveled with our two young boys to 4 different countries now. It takes practice, so if you can do a shorter trip first to test things out, do it.
The biggest tip is one you’ve covered of taking things to keep your child entertained. Or be OK with loads of movies/TV since most airlines have screens for each passenger, but don’t count on this for young toddlers. Movies were interesting to our then 18-month old for about 10 minutes on a 9 hour trip the first time we traveled to Europe with the boys. I would suggest two others: take a change of clothes for everyone traveling, including adults. If your child spills on you, that can be a long time in a wet whatever when it’s an international flight. And second, take snacks. Lots of them. If your child is not necessarily having fun, is trying something new food-wise going to help? Probably not. Take something he knows and LOVES, maybe even considers a treat.
I have written a few blogs on this, based on our experience. https://newbabybliss.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/tips-and-tricks-to-traveling-with-a-toddler/ and http://mompowerment.com/2016/03/10/travel-tips-part-ii-are-we-there-yet/ now that we’ve traveled with two.