We recently took a family trip to Arizona and got our first taste of flying with a toddler. Our eyes are wide open to the challenges that traveling with kids, particularly toddlers, can bring. Is it worth it to us? Yes. Traveling as a family is something we want to and plan to continue doing. We don’t fly often, but we learned some things from this experience and have ideas on how we would do it differently in the future.
Below is summary of how we prepared, pack, and handled the airport/airplane with our toddler.
Preparation
The first thing we did to prepare for air travel with a toddler was build out a packing list of everything we expected to need for our time away. We use a shared note on our phones to maintain our packing list!
We use shared notes on our phone for packing lists and it has been a game changer!
We started by including everything Leo uses day to day; things like clothing, jackets, shoes, diapers/diaper cream, pacifiers, monitors, cups, bibs, snacks, stroller, car seat, high chair, and crib/pack-n-play. Once we had this list built out we were a little overwhelmed at the idea of packing and getting all of these things through the airport, so our next step was to try to eliminate things. We reached out to our AirBnB host to see if they had a pack-n-play and a high chair or booster chair, fortunately they had both available (!!) and we only needed to bring a sheet & black out cover for the pack-n-play. Many hotels have cribs that can be reserved as well. It’s worth checking into this in advance if your toddler isn’t ready to sleep in a bed yet.
Packing
Once we had the packing list defined we started pulling things together. We knew we were all sharing a room in our AirBnb so we attempted to pack all of our things into 1 large very duffel bag – alas, we quickly determined that fitting everything in one bag was laughable.
In the end, we had the following items for 2 adults and 1 toddler:
- 1 large duffel (all of our clothes and shoes)
- 1 small rolling suitcase (diapers, toiletries, extra kid items)
- 1 diaper bag
- 1 travel stroller
- 2 small personal carry ons for laptops and snacks
- 1 car seat in a gorilla bag (linking for reference – though it ended up breaking, so I wouldn’t recommend it)
- 1 squirmy toddler
It felt like a lot… and it was even though we checked our large duffel, the small suitcase and car seat. We made sure to tip each person who helped us load and unload our things between our car and the airplane.
Airport & Airplane
Getting through security and loading the plane didn’t pose too much of an issue since we kept our toddler in the stroller most of the we were time moving through the airport, then gate checked the stroller as we boarded. Plus the stroller came in clutch for the rest of the trip too! Leo spent most of our hike along the rim trail at the Grand Canyon completely zonked out. We chose to have Leo (who was 18 months at the time – less than 2 year requirement to purchase a seat) sitting on our laps since we opted not to buy a seat for him.
Our flight was very early in the morning and we hoped he would sleep a little on the plane since he woke up at 4am, but he was absolutely not interested in sleeping on the plane. Luckily, we planned ahead had purchased an inexpensive Fire tablet and headphones so Leo could watch his favorite show (Trash Truck on Netflix ftw). We limit screen time at home, but when it comes to travel our screen time rules are out the window and that is a-okay with us. Leo wanted nothing to do with the headphones, but fortunately was content watching the show in silence. Between snacks (special snacks he hadn’t tried before), episodes of Trash Truck, a new-to-him toy and looking out the window he was pretty well entertained for the whole 3 hour flight on our way to Arizona, we were relieved to say the least. He was much more fidgety and uncomfortable on the flight home, but all in all we survived and we were truly pleasantly surprised!
It was still a little overwhelming to have so much stuff but were able to make it work and have a great time vacationing with family. If we didn’t have family around we would have searched for a luggage cart (often times near the baggage claims) to help transport our luggage.
To sum it below, below are the key items I would focus on packing for on an airplane in the future.
Key in flight items to keep toddler busy:
- Tablet (with headphones if your kid tolerates them)
- New low-mess snacks (toddler fruit snacks and jammy sammies were a huge hit)
- A few new (small) toys – car, doll, book, fidget toy etc. (at 18 months Leo isn’t into playing with a single toy for too long, so I didn’t pack many)
- A favorited folder of videos on your phone your toddler loves – Leo loves watching videos of himself, us, his dogs and this kept him entertained for a solid 30 minutes on our flight home, an eternity in toddler time
- Reusable sticker books and water drawing books – I didn’t pack these this time, but definitely will in the future
Other helpful items for the flight:
- Pacifier (if your kid uses one – helps with ears!)
- Toddler cup (we brought our favorite no-spill straw cup and filled with water after airport security)
- 4-5 diapers (expect either lots of poops or a blowout before or during the flight, and be pleasantly surprised if it doesn’t happen)
- Extra change of clothes just in case
- Snack wheel for a little extra snack time entertainment (have it, didn’t bring it because I forgot!)
What worked and what would we do differently to plan for flying with a toddler?
It’s a question we have discussed ad nauseam. We are planners and really tried to think through everything ahead of time and I’m happy to say most of what we did worked and there’s only a few things we’d do differently.
WHAT WORKED
Tablet/headphones were a hit for sure and will likely be even more so in the future as he gets older.
Bringing new snacks! This was key, especially when the interest in watching the tablet started to wane. I only brought out 1 new snack at a time and gave it to him in the packaging it came in for a little extra entertainment. Our toddler loves taking things in and out of the package so this was a bonus activity.
Backpack straps on non-rolling items. The large duffel we use has straps that allow it to be carried like a backpack, this helps keep 2 hands free for pushing the stroller or wrangling a loose toddler.
The stroller was absolutely necessary. It made getting our toddler through the airport easier than carrying or trying to coax him into walking along with us, but it also gave him a comfortable place to sit where he was strapped in and felt safe (the airport can be an overwhelming place!). It allowed us to skip a very long security line on the way back as families traveling with strollers were able to go through the security line for people needing assistance at the Phoenix airport – that was another huge bonus.
WHAT WE’D DO DIFFERENTLY
We wouldn’t check the car seat next time. We are glad we packed the car seat in the gorilla bag because the bag gives you the ability to carry the car seat like a back pack – but the bag won’t see another trip due to ripping at seams so I won’t recommend it. In the future we would look to rent a car seat along with our rental car to eliminate that hassle of lugging the awkward car seat around OR we would get a car seat travel strap to strap it to a carry on bag and take it on the plane with us to be used in the seat (just like the car) or gate check it. This would be very different for an infant and we’d most likely gate check an infant carseat, but toddler carseats just aren’t as easily transportable unfortunately. We are not car seat experts and are sharing what may work for our family. I always recommend following Safe in the Seat for expert information.
Bring more activity based toys. Reusable sticker books and water drawing books – I didn’t pack these this time, but definitely will in the future. Activities and toys will change as your toddler gets older so I’m sure this will be ever-evolving.
We learned a lot on our first flight with a toddler and we hope this post was helpful for you if you are also planning to fly with your toddler!
