Our Maiden Voyage – 5 tips for flying with kids for the first time

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My kids had never been on a plane before our recent trip to Disney. I wanted to prepare them and myself as best I could for their maiden voyage.

The tricky part was that Disney was a surprise. So I couldn’t just sit them down to have a talk about how to behave on a plane and what to expect without the 6 year old getting suspicious. I crowd sourced on my Facebook page and got some great advice.

1. Activities
I bought NEW activities for them. Yep, I all capped the NEW, because that’s important. The same old same old isn’t gonna cut it. Triangle shaped crayons not round (they won’t roll away – brilliant!). “Magic” Marker sets, meaning the marker magically writes on special paper. No mess ;-) And of course electronics. I have what we call a ‘kid phone” which is an old iPhone, an iPad, and my laptop. I got a headphone splitter so two could watch a movie on the computer while someone was using the iPad.

2. Snacks
All of their favorites, plus gum and lollies for pressure changes. Surprises work well here too. Annie’s Gummies were a huge hit! Juice boxes will make it through security if you just tell them you have them.

3. Prepare them, prepare yourself
I prepared them in generalities because of the whole surprise thang. If we saw a plane in the sky we talked about how it flew what kinds of noises it made how many people it held etc. I prepared myself by asking for advice and reading lots of great blog posts about it. I also made sure I knew our particular airlines’ policies and those of the TSA so the were no surprises. We told the kids before we left the house that we were going to Disney, so we had some time there too.

4. Supplies
Think diaper bag on steroids. I had a change of clothes for everyone. More snacks and activities. Diapers, wipes, meds, tissues. Really anything you can think of that you might need. You might need different things than I did.

5. Don’t let ’em see you sweat
This was most important of all I think. if you’re scared or nervous or anxious  – they can tell. Those little buggers can smell fear. I’ve done a fair amount of flying and it doesn’t particularly stress me out. I don’t love it, but I don’t mind it.

We had uneventful flights both ways – thank goodness. Except for the last ten minutes of the flight back when the baby screamed  “I WANT MY BUCKLE OFF!”  That was super fun and not at all embarrassing. Apart from that we’re ready to go again – anytime!

What advice would you add?