Pack contents are rarely suited to pre-schoolers but may contain crayons, a small toy, activity book to scribble on, or puzzle to scatter round the plane. Be inventive. Though your little friend may not understand the use of a ‘dot to dot’ or ‘magic writing board’ he may enjoy packing and unpacking the bag it came in – another five minutes will pass!

Baby packs usually contain some useful bits and pieces for you and baby – a bib, moisturising lotion, teddy, a wet wipe or two etc, but don’t count on it to supply your entertainment needs.

Remember, children of whatever age flying on an infant fare are likely to be offered a baby pack only. Sometimes obliging aircrew will ‘find’ a spare kid’s pack for a toddler, but be careful how you handle this. Toddlers can be very vocal if on one flight they receive a ‘grown up’ pack and not on the next.

There is usually a children’s channel on airline audio systems, but if you’d prefer to know the content in advance, a personal cassette player with a couple of tapes is a good idea. I can't help myself endorsing the brilliant personalised tapes for kids you can now buy from 'John and Sarah's Funtapes'. My kids think they are famous when they hear their own names in song - it's a real thrill for them and a great surprise to launch on a scratchy kid a few hours into an international flight!

In-flight video entertainment is less likely to suit pre-schoolers than older children. A few airlines  now provide individual video screens to all seats plus a children’s viewing selection. Some kids can be glued to the screen for hours – others (you know if you’ve got one) will only last ten minutes, but hey, you’re ten minutes closer to your destination! 

Contrary to popular belief just because the air crew are dressed like the staff of a holiday camp does not mean they can often spare time for entertaining. Even when apparently idling in the galley, remember that they must take regulatory breaks on long haul flights and will not be able to help you out, much as they might like to.

Be prepared to make your own arrangements for inflight entertainment. Sometimes all the baby and kids packs have been distributed before you board.  Don’t shoot the messenger, take a deep breath, smile at your children and fall back on your own resources.