Flying With Young Children - How To Keep Them Happy

by Maggie
(West Haven, CT, USA)

When traveling by plane I would strongly suggest JetBlue Airways if you have a child who is TV watching age. They have satellite TV at every seat. My three year old watched the Disney channel for most of the flight and though I don't normally like him to watch much TV it was a great way to keep him in his seat during the flight.

I also like to pack plenty of snacks for the toddler. I ensure that they are healthy - and not very messy! The healthy snacks allow you to not be concerned if they are wanting to snack often. For the baby I ensure that we have plenty of diapers, wipes, formula, etc. in a diaper bag/carry-on.

I also suggest a bag with the following items as appropriate by age: coloring books and crayons, small toys/action figures for pretend, a couple of their favorite books (they can "read" them or you can read to them).

My favorite item by far for traveling is a Story Reader. It will read the story for your child and you can use headphones so that there is no distraction to you or others on the plane.

These suggestions are the things that have worked best for us and we do a fair amount of travel with our two young children.