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COMMUNITY
Family Flying Guide
What to Take
By Alice Cary, GORP Family Expert
Here are a few things, besides food and drink, that you may need:
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Car Seats
Some families with young children like to take these. It is the safest mode of travel, and the car seat keeps young children in place, instead of allowing them the freedom to stand and shout at the woman behind you, for instance. Be sure that your car seat is certified for airline travel, or the attendants may not let it on the plane. We experienced this once and were surprised to discover that our son's car seat was not FAA-approved. The downside of toting car seats is that they're quite bulky to handle if you have to change planes.
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Pacifiers, Bottles, or Chewing Gum
If your child has a cold, these may help prevent air pressure buildup inside their ears, especially during takeoffs and landings.
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Spare Clothes
These are a must for very young children who may have food or bathroom accidents.
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Not Too Much
There's a lot of stuff to take along on any family outing. Stuff you really need. But remember that you have to lug all of this and keep track of your kids. I find backpacks to be especially helpful, since they leave my hands free.
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Keeping Kids Happy
Whether we travel by air or land, I bring along some wrapped surprises for any major journey. I also have a small cabinet at home filled with travel toys and games, from which I load up our"travel fun backpack." Each of your kids will probably want his or her own.
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Infants & Toddlers
This is the toughest traveling age, since children this age have such short or nonexistent attention spans. Bring board books, little stuffed animals, anything small and safe. My 18-month-old twins were fascinated by a toothbrush and dental floss container, for instance. When our son was about this age, he once spent the better part of a flight with a sturdy Arthur flap book, one with lots of flaps. And when the going gets tough, grab that in-flight magazine and let them have a go at it.
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Preschoolers
This age gets a bit easier, as kids can actually focus for a while. Sticker books are often a hit, as are coloring and activity books. One of my son's favorites was a travel version of the game"Don't Wake Daddy." Some of the small handheld games are geared to this age; just make sure they're not too noisy for fellow travelers.
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School-age Children
Those handheld games are perfect, but once again, make sure they're not noisy. There are all sorts of puzzle and activity books that kids this age can do, and they can also read. Grab a deck of cards or some travel-size games.
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All Ages
Some of the best attention-grabbers for many ages are videos. Airports in major cities now have portable DVD players for rent; check the shopping area of the airport. Take along a laptop and load up your child's favorite CD-ROM game. Books on tapes with personal headsets are wonderful; they've entertained my son for many hours of travel. Drawing and art supplies are also a big hit.
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Best of luck with your family's flights, and here's wishing you easy layovers and no delays!
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