How To Survive A Flight With Your Kids

Posted by Jeff on August 31, 2010 at 9:50 am

The Mouse, age 2, getting ready to board a plane

As we get set to embark on another journey skyward with the children, I figured now would be a great time to revisit my No Fail Kids-on-a-Plane Plan. I wrote that 4 years ago, just before we took the Bear, then 2.5-years old, to France for a couple of weeks. My idea to mentally break the flight into manageable 20-minute segments worked like a charm then, and has continued to work on subsequent flights with both girls since.

Part of the plan, as you can read here, involves a brand new (to your kids at least) toy. For our upcoming trip, I hit up eBay for a set of mini Madame Alexander Wizard of Oz dolls (photo below) and a modest Playmobil set including 2 people and a bike. I also splurged on a new magnet doll collection from the wooden toy juggernaut Melissa & Doug (see below).

Those, combined with a meal/snack, an animal hunt through the Sky Mall catalog, the girl’s cameras to take pictures of each other, the clouds, the seat back trays in their upright and locked positions, and the flight attendants, should be plenty to occupy them for the 2-hour sail through the sky to Tampa, FL.

How do you make air travel enjoyable for your little ones?