1. For Starters…
We’re lucky in the East Herts area to have
two airports – Stansted and Luton – fairly close to us. If you can, use one of these and you’ll
obviously avoid any unnecessary additional travelling time.
I would also strongly advise using either a
taxi or a ‘park and ride’ service. Both will probably be cheaper than parking
at the airport for a week. And you’ll cut out the extra hassle of having to
jump on the airport parking buses – and having to search for your car at the
end of the holiday.
2. Food
If you’re travelling with a baby for the
first time, remember that you need to get through the security area – and that
means you’ll have to prove that any fluids are safe. So if you can, don’t make
up any bottle formula until you’re past the X-Ray machines or you’ll have to
take a few sips from it yourself. Same with yoghurts - so get your little one
to eat those before heading for security.
DO have a bottle made up for the plane
though. It will help comfort your baby and if you time a feed/snack at the
right time it will help equalize their ears during the descent.
Have plenty of snacks for young children.
And treats. Again, you need to make sure they’re sucking/swallowing during the
plane’s descent. Plus – go ahead and judge me – but they also help
distract/bribe kids during the flight.
3. Distractions
And talking of distractions, load up your
tablet/iphone with apps. If you have pre-schoolers you can’t go wrong with
those created by P2 Games who have apps based on CBeebies and other licences.
For older kids, try Minecraft. My son is
almost five and already loves it.
Other good, non-digital, options are LEGO
(although be careful with it, or you’ll be crawling through the aisle to
retrieve a missing piece) and loom bands.
4. Pay For Allocated Seating
Last year we flew with a certain budget
airline and hadn’t done this. When we got on the plane we discovered that the
only seats left were all two rows apart from each other – including that for our
three year-old son. Thankfully, a very nice couple offered to give Charlie and
I their seats. Lesson learnt…
5. Finally (And Most Importantly), Ignore
Other People
The first year we took Charlie abroad (to
visit my father), he was only eight months old. The combination of a missed nap
and a refusal to take his bottle meant that he SCREAMED for a full hour and 30
minutes on the plane, while I was glared and tutted at by two middle-aged
couples sat near us.
I was close to crying myself – out of
frustration, embarrassment at the situation, and concern for my baby. Those unsympathetic/unkind people chose to
ignore my discomfort and made the whole thing even worse for me. Thankfully, my
gallant husband came to the rescue, leant over and asked one of the couples if
they thought they could do any better. That stopped them (and amazingly,
Charlie stopped crying and took his bottle ten minutes later).
The moral of the story is that there WILL
be people who judge you as parents – in all areas of your life. Just ignore
them.
And enjoy your holiday!
Lisa
