Surviving Travel with a Toddler
Survival is a frame of mind.
As a busy American family living in Europe, we try to make the most of our time by traveling quite a lot. When Boo was under a year old, we made the journey from Switzerland to Hawai’i (where I’m from) twice: once at 6 months and once at 9 months. The first trip went smoothly, mostly because she was so little that she slept peacefully in the airplane bassinet nearly the entire flight. The second trip I made with no husband and a significantly larger baby who didn’t want to sleep, and it ended with me sobbing in the airplane bathroom.
Needless to say, I decided to wait a good long while before attempting another transatlantic voyage with the Boo.
Last month we traveled again, this time to Colorado with a 22-month old in tow. And I’ve got to say, while it was challenging, it definitely had its benefits over travel with a 9-month old! Since this topic comes up quite often, I’m giving my tips on how to survive a long flight with a toddler.
First, the details: We took advantage of the fact that Boo is still under two and only booked seats for us adults. We were going to fly from Zürich to Chicago on a direct flight, have a 90 minute layover, and then flew on to Denver. At least, that was the plan. In Chicago, getting through passport control alone took 45 minutes, and then picking up our luggage, clearing customs, changing terminals and getting into the TSA line took another 45. Getting THROUGH the TSA line took an extra hour, at which point we gave up trying to make that connecting flight.
The strategy:
Mentally and physically prepare: We made sure to get a good night’s sleep the night before, have a healthy dinner and breakfast the morning of the flight, and to talk about the trip with Boo. She knew that we were going on a ‘Flieger’ (airplane), to see Grammy and Big Bird (her grandparents), and that we were going to do some special things on the airplane.
Pack patience... I also had a talk with my husband, to set expectations about the flight. It was going to be difficult, I said, but wouldn’t last forever. Even if Boo screamed the entire way, we’d survive, and anyway, wouldn’t THAT be a great story to terrify future parents with! We shared things we were looking forward to and things we were nervous about, and strategized about naps and who would take the window seat and who would sit in the aisle and pace up and down with her. We went into the flight as a team, which really helped.
… and lots of toys. Boo is in full-on toddler mode, which means she has very strong opinions, a short attention span, and a knack for knowing how to push our buttons when she needs attention or sleep. I researched a bit online and found the idea of a ‘busy bag’, or a bag with lots of activities for long trips. I decided to make my own version, and included some small ‘Wimmelbücher’ (literally, swarm books- picture books with lots of things going on to find and talk about. Like those ‘Where’s Waldo’ books we had when we were kids), pocket-sized storybooks, a bag of stickers, a set of stamps, and new markers (Boo is very into coloring). We also packed five or six kinds of snacks in small bags. The idea is to dole out snacks and activities one at a time, to keep the little one busy during the long flight, and it worked well! The stickers (simple office stickers) were a big hit, and since she doesn’t yet have the dexterity to peel them from the backing, I could draw out the process by letting her choose one, slowly unpeeling it, and handing it to her to stick onto the paper.
Don’t forget the special items! Pacifiers, special blankets, and baby dolls. These all helped Boo to feel at home and relax on the plane. She was able to fall asleep, and slept for about three of nine hours on the flight.
A few perks to traveling with a 22-month old vs. a 9-month old:
The ability to walk rather than crawl meant we could spend a lot of time walking up and down the aisles getting those wiggles out. This was a lifesaver!
A long(er) attention span. We put a nature documentary on the in-seat TV (we don’t normally watch TV, so it was a special treat), and Boo had a great time pointing out all the animals.
Language: Now that the little one is able to tell us what she wants and what she doesn’t want, there is less guess work. We can also tell funny stories, talk about the airport and planes, and remember things together. We also sang a lot of songs to pass the time and wind down for napping.
