Travelling with younger fliers can be both exciting and exhausting. Many parents often make the mistake of not listening to flight rules when traveling with kids, which gets them into unnecessary trouble. For instance, play-doh on board is never a good idea, and it’s always wise to board (and book) your flight early. Sometimes you might even need to break your own rules, such as the screen time rule doesn’t really apply during transit and irregular naps are just a part of pushing through jetlag. If it is your first time flying with kids, buckle in your seat belts, cause we are about to tell you 7 essential airplane tips for parents that will help you smoothly check-in, board your plane, and push through jet lag to get on local time with children.

1.  Choose Your Flight Wisely

It is very important to choose your flight timings wisely. Don’t book flights with early morning or late-night departures. This way, you won’t have to rush your kids awake during the early hours and disturb their sleep (which is something that more often than not, leads to meltdowns)

Choose flights between 11 am to 4 pm local time. Not only airports are less busy during this timeframe but plane tickets are also quite cheap for such flights. So, time your departure wisely to save both your sanity and your money.

And never book the first or the last flight of the day!

If the weather turns nasty and the airport needs to make changes in the schedule, it’s usually the first or the last flight of the day that gets affected. And if you have the last flight, it can be even worse, since cancellation means that you and your family will be stuck at the airport for the night -making you lose an entire day of your hard-earned family holiday.

2.  Bring Toys to Keep Your Kids Entertained

Doesn’t matter how old is your kid, long flights mean that you will need lots of distraction. So never forget to bring in a good mix of electronic and non-electronic devices to keep your kids occupied. Load their iPads and phones with all the favorite movies and games. And if that’s not enough, dole out small new surprises after every few hours to keep them excited.

However, when picking toys for flight, it’s important to pack small. While a jigsaw puzzle or a Lego set might keep your kid entertained for a longer duration, these types of toys are better left at home. Instead, you can bring toys that can be reused multiple times, for instance, an activity board or a joystick game set.

3.  Let Your Kids Pack Their Bags

Give your kids a sense of independence and let them carry their own tiny bag packs. In fact, don’t only let them carry it but also encourage them to pack it with things that they might want on the trip. Now your teenager might demand to cramp in his PlayStation inside a bag, so before you set off, check the content of their bags and remove items that you don’t think are necessary.

This way, they will have everything they need at hand and you won’t need to retrieve things from your bags after every few minutes.

4.  Ask to be Seated with Other Families

Another thing that might help you when flying with kids is sitting near other families with kids. Most airlines seat all families with kids in the same section. This is a great way to make sure that your kids quickly adjust to the new environment. When they are surrounded by other kids in neighboring rows, they will feel more at ease and you as a parent, will also feel more understood by other parents on board.

5.  Pack Lots of Snacks

Usually, while traveling with kids, the most imperative rule is to not over-pack. However there is one over-packing exception, and that is snacks. You should pack lots of snacks with you. Kids with picky pallets usually don’t like airline food. This is why you should always have a variety of their favorite snacks to keep them content.

Another great tip for food is to carry reusable cups and straws with you. Disposable cutlery on flights is one of the leading garbage contributors. So always carry reusable items and thermos cups to keep your hot water ready, just make sure that they are empty while you are going through airport security.

6.  Board Your Plane Early

Most airlines allow families with children to board and book their flights early. However, parents often question if it is really wise to get on the plane early when flying with kids.

Well, the answer to this question is yes. The reason why you should board your plane early with kids is because they need extra time to adjust to a new environment. Another reason why you should board early is because you WILL need extra time for everything. This way you won’t cause delays for other passengers while getting on the plane.

7.  Know that you are Not Alone

Last but not least, if you are traveling with young fliers for the first time, you should know that you are not alone in this. On top of the stress of managing a crying baby, parents also have the added anxiety of disturbing the plane. This can overwhelm parents very quickly.

However, you need to know that most flight attendants understand your situation. So when you have a crying toddler at hand, consider flight attendants as your allies. They will provide you with things to keep your baby calm, for instance, hot water for food or extra blankets if your kid is feeling cold.

While flying with kids, the best airplane tip for parents is to stay calm and collected. Once you start doing it more often, you will get the hang of it. Just make sure that you follow all the airline rules and give your kids some time to adjust.