Tips for Flying With Kids?

[RogueX]

I think most people have you covered with the best tips. Turbulence is always interesting with kids, some get nervous (same with adults) and others aren't phased by it. At 4 years old my daughter said the turbulent flight we had going to MCO was like a shakey ride. She raised her hands and said "weeee!"

 

[DisneyMama811]

Tablet with headphones - controversial depending on your views of screentime but we have no rules when it comes to flying; it's like survival mode for me

my parenting style is "if everyone is alive at the end of the day it's a win" we have no screen time limits on a good day let alone on 3hr flight

 

[DisneyMama811]

I think most people have you covered with the best tips. Turbulence is always interesting with kids, some get nervous (same with adults) and others aren't phased by it. At 4 years old my daughter said the turbulent flight we had going to MCO was like a shakey ride. She raised her hands and said "weeee!"

oh I watch way too many disaster shows, I hate flying and the turbulence will probably give me a panic attack..hence the ativan

 

[MamaMermaid]

my parenting style is "if everyone is alive at the end of the day it's a win" we have no screen time limits on a good day let alone on 3hr flight

We'd be friends in real life, mama!! Have a great trip!

 

[AprilsZoo]

do you know if you can use blue tooth headphones on a plane or do they need to have a aux cord

You can use BT but I would have aux cords with you just in case— Never seems to fail, at least for me… if you count on BT only, it won’t work right. You can also buy earbuds from the flight attendant in a pinch. (they may even give them to the kiddos if they behave well and say ‘pretty please’)

 

[Prince John Robin Hood]

For our January 2023 trip we will be flying from Toronto ON to Orlando Intl, the flight is approximately 3 hours. This will be the first time on a plane for our girls (6&8) I'd love tips and life hacks for air travel with kids please!

We went in December and March with DS9 and DD4 from Toronto to Orlando. We bring headphones for them and they typically play games or watch shows on the seatback tv's. We bring chewy candy and gum so they have something to chew. DD4 will complain about her ears if she doesn't have something to chew. We used to bring colouring books and stuff but they just want the seatback tv's. We don't mind as they don't typically watch tv while at WDW.

 

[nancipants]

my parenting style is "if everyone is alive at the end of the day it's a win" we have no screen time limits on a good day let alone on 3hr flight

Today my kid is home from daycare (our normal schedule) and he's already watching Toy Story while I work in my office. Whatever works!!!

 

[Lilsia]

My kids have been flying since they were 1 & 2 years old. At the age that your kids are, have them bring something that they know will entertain them. Maybe stop by the dollar store and have them pick up a couple of small, new activities. Also, I also had my kids pick out snacks that they wanted. 3 hours is not that long.

 

[Jobelle]

We live abroad so have flown with our kids many times since they were as young as 8 weeks. Some tips I've learned over the years ...
On the drive to the airport I always prep the girls for the process of getting from the car to the plane (luggage, check-in, security, etc.) So they know what to expect. We always tell them "Ok, the hard part is over but here comes the hard part" as we go through each step so they know that they'll have to be patient just a bit longer. I also take them through our special airport rules, which generally aren't that different from our regular out in public rules but we make them seem extra special and important (listen, stay close, don't touch things without asking, etc ).

my parenting style is "if everyone is alive at the end of the day it's a win" we have no screen time limits on a good day let alone on 3hr flight

Yes! This!
I used to bring so much stuff for my kids to do and play with ... It just made my bag heavy and they never touched it. I load up the tablets with shows and movies and they each have their own headphones. One long haul flight when my oldest was 3ish she watched Frozen nonstop, over and over again. Stopped only to eat and sleep.

 

[wdwrule]

1. Earplanes -- really helps with the altitude changes/ear pain. They make them kid sized.

Great list and we always used Earplanes for our kids when they were little. When DS was little and had his first flight we didn’t know about Earplanes and he had severe pain in his ears (he also has seasonal allergies which I’m sure didn’t help). Since then he’s used Earplanes each flight until he was in his late teens and they worked like a charm.

 

[mjkacmom]

This might sound weird, but I encourage little ones to use the restroom before they prepare for landing. It can take a bit to land, get to the gate, and get off, and then there is usually a line.

 

[Specter]

We took DD in March and we let her bring her backpack with a few toys in it, as well as an old tablet that had been repurposed as a video streamer/download device for her.

When we flew United (it was premium economy FWIW) there were a ton of options on the in flight entertainment that were age appropriate for her (just shy of 3 at time of travel), so we really only ended up using the toys while waiting at the gate but we were still glad to have them.

On the way home the in flight entertainment options were ok, not as good for whatever reason, but still sufficient.

One thing that served us very well was on the way there we had one of those mystery bag Disney Princess keychains from Target and she got to open that after we'd been waiting about 45 minutes or an hour, and on the way home we got her a wishable mystery at a gift shop in the parks and same thing, let her open that as a surprise while waiting for the flight.

Besides that, definitely earplanes, DD did very well with them and they certainly helped, though we were having a little trouble with them staying properly seated during descent and so she did get a touch nauseous, but they were better seated on the way home and no issues that flight.

And we brought a few small favorite snacks of hers for the flights too, including a Mickey rice krispie treat on the way home that we got as a surprise in the park. Good luck. The flight from Houston is just a little shorter than yours, and this was more than sufficient for our DD so hopefully yours do well too.