Flying with Kids
Airplane travel tips and travel accessory store for when you fly with a baby or small child. Tips from parents for parents.

 

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Frequently asked questions

You'll find answers to frequently asked questions about flying with a baby or small children here:

Advice from FAA and TSA

Childproof your flight
(pdf from FAA website)
Families go to great lengths to keep children safe at home and in the car. But what about in the air?..

Traveling with Kids
(
links to TSA website)
This TSA webpage has four great videos:
* Traveling with Kids
* Traveling with Babies
* Infant Traveling Tips
* Kids to Kids.
It also includes advice on the security screening process, traveling with baby formula, and children with disabilities.

Answers to your questions

What can I carry in my cabin bag to feed my child?

 

How young is too young to fly?

We asked the Travel Medicine and Vaccination Centre for their answer to this question - and here it is:

There really is no absolute right or wrong to say "this is the cutoff". In reality, it is determined by the reason for travel.

Emergency evacuations of sick newborns can be done immediately and deliveries that have occurred in-flight have generally been OK.

Expat women returning overseas after being home to deliver are generally counselled to wait 2-4 weeks to fly, mainly so any problems with the child, breastfeeding, mothers health etc can be sorted out before the family is away from general services, rather than specific issues of baby and flight.

For holiday makers  we would argue similarly, but for women wanting to travel to somewhere where all the services are, there is no real contra-indication. Babies are largely protected against oxygen desaturation which can occur in the slightly hypoxic environment of passenger aircraft, due to the presence of fetal haemaglobin.

The major concern is ear comfort which means getting the child to suckle for ascent and descent. Your website discusses this already.

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How do I sterilise bottles on board?

Bottles and pre-sterilised teats will need to be carried for bottle fed babies.

A 'three bottle' rotation system works well if you also carry one larger seal-able container for sterilising :-

  • one bottle filled with cooling boiled water from the galley
  • one bottle in sterilising solution (use tablets) inside larger sealed container
  • one bottle ready for use

Remember, if your cooling water becomes too cool, fill the 'ready for use' bottle only partially and ask for a top up of boiling water before adding formula.

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What can I do to keep my toddler entertained on board?

Pack a small number of lightweight toys in an accessible place in your hand luggage.

Gift-wrap some of them to add to their interest and bring them out slowly so that each is a surprise, but leave one end of the wrap open so that you can show security or customs officers what's inside if they ask.

Include:-

  • Chunky crayons
  • Plain paper or colouring book 
  • Sheets of stickers
  • Plastic animals or dinosaurs
  • Fuzzy felts / re-usable sticker scenes
  • Small picture books like Usbourne's "Going on a Plane" (which also comes as a sticker story great for 3 and 4 year olds). 

Optional extras:-

  • Usborne's pack of 'Things for small children to do on a journey' --- these activity cards help you to think of the next activity when your tired!
  • Lace-up cards or cotton reels
  • Dress up doll
  • Finger puppets
  • Small toy cars, diggers, planes
  • Bendy dolls or stretchy aliens
  • Wind-up walking toys. 

These will give you lots of leads for improvised activities particularly story telling and role play. Use new and interesting environments around you to stimulate stories too. Talk about all the activities that go on during an airplane journey and discuss what different ground and air crew are doing - even if you don't really know.

Finally, toddlers sometimes play in the aisle to use up excess energy and many people recommend this. Keep watch on your child and the fasten seat-belt sign if you choose this distraction, as turbulence is a danger along with busy trolley-wielding cabin crew!

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Can I take my stroller onto the airplane?

Most airlines prefer to load strollers into the luggage hold of the airplane. This means you usually must part with your stroller at check-in, though you may be able to keep your baby in his stroller up to the departure gate - and concessions are most often made when baby is sound asleep at check-in!

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Do I need to take ID for my infant to fly?

Yes. You need a passport for your baby for international flights, and a birth certificate or other identification papers for domestic flights.

Need a Passport, Travel Visa or Birth Certificate? Click Here

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What can I do to stop baby's ears from hurting on the plane?

  • Encourage her to suck her thumb, fingers, or pacifier if she already has this habit. It sometimes helps to give her a cuddly blanket or special bed-time toy at the same time. This will both ease her tension, and encourage the sucking that she needs to 'pop' her ears.
  • Offer her some water to drink from a sipper cup or bottle. The swallowing action will help to 'pop' her ears.
  • Offer a chewy fruit finger as a good alternative to lollies.
  • Ask your doctor's advice about giving a small dose of paracetemol elixir before you leave the departure lounge. Some parents believe that this helps to minimise any ear discomfort during take off.

Basically any chewing, sucking, or swallowing helps ears to equalise to airplane cabin pressure changes. If your baby cries, although it can be quite distressing to you (and to fellow passengers), the crying action also helps her ears to equalise, so sometimes it's as well to just cuddle her through the uncomfortable phase --- it does end once take-off / landing is over and most babies then settle quite happily for the rest of the flight.

 

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