Katrina

Flying with children

Flying with children?

My children are now 11 and 9 years old but have been flying since they were only 4 weeks of age!

Here are a few tips to help you when flying with children.

• If you have a newborn and are planning to travel within the next year or so, it's best to fly before he or she can walk, once they start we all know they don't want to stop!
• If travelling with a baby under 10kg make sure you book in early to reserve a bassinet, it's first in best dressed
• For babies it's best to feed them on take off and landing to ease the pressure on their ears
• Pack plenty of nappies, wipes and a couple of changes of clothes in your carry on luggage - accidents do happen!
• I will pre-order your baby or child's meals, most international airlines will offer this and it means your little ones will be fed first before the main meal service
• Pack age appropriate paracetamol in your carry on luggage, a lot of airlines are not permitted to supply this nor are they allowed to ask other passengers for any - I learnt this the hard way!
• Some airlines will now charge for pre-seating, I will advise which airlines charge. Personally I think it's a money grab and completely disagree with these charges, however it is important to pay as some airlines have split families up into different parts of the aircraft
• Most international airlines will have seat back entertainment, take your little people shopping before your flights for some headphones, the airline ones are not of a good quality
• For the budget international airlines that don't have seat back entertainment, make sure that your Ipads are fully charged and favourite books and or toys are packed in your carry on luggage
• Lastly, don't forget everbody needs their own passport, gone are the days when children could travel on a parents passport