Flying has got to be the best method of transportation to arrive to your holiday destination. Having said that, have you ever tried flying with a toddler? I hadn’t until very recently. I took my one year old son on a two hour flight from Manchester to Mallorca. The shortest flight time that we could find!

If you are also thinking of getting on a plane with a small child then let me share a few tips to make your journey that little bit easier. I must point out however, the results may vary.

No Nappy Disasters

Make sure your child’s nappy is on correctly. This one can be done before you get onto the plane. Ensure that there is absolutely no way that there can be any accidents. I made this mistake and suffered the consequences. We had not one but two leaked nappies. Which meant two separate occasions of trying to change a squirming child in the two foot of space that is your seat. Austin timed one of his accidents perfectly when he positioned himself right on my crotch area, which resulted in a large wet patch which looked suspiciously like I’d wet myself. Bring some extra clothes for both you and your baby just in case this does happen.

Don’t Sit Down!

When you eventually get onto the plane, don’t make the mistake of sitting down too early. Once you are seated, the ticking time bomb that is your child has begun to tick, and you will be sat there for a long time before the flight takes off. Don’t sit down until the very last minute. Give yourself the best chance of keeping your child entertained for the long tedious wait for the stragglers to find their seats.

Entertainment

When it comes to keeping your child entertained, you don’t really have too much to work with. A few toys, the view out the window, you might even be lucky enough to have a plane with screens on the backs of seats. If you aren’t one of the lucky ones, then there are still other methods of entertainment. For one, try and sit yourself next to the crazy old guy that makes Donald Duck noises questionably well. Clearly a man experienced with children, or possibly has a lot of time on his hands. Austin was grinning away at him for ages. Luckily I am the kind of person that always manages to sit next to the crazy guy.

Another way to entertain your child is making use of the arm rest in between the seats. It may not seem like much fun, but if you have a child like mine that loves pressing buttons and watching little lights then it could potentially keep your child busy for a long time.

Food/Drink

The landing can potentially be the most challenging part, mainly because of the dreaded ear popping. As an adult you know how irritating and painful it can be, so it can seem even worse for a child. The best way to cope with this is bring plenty of snacks for them to munch on whilst the plane is coming down. Swallowing liquid will also help with the uncomfortableness.

This is all I have to help you, you’re on your own from here! Admittedly Austin was asleep for over half of the time we were flying on both occasions so my experience was mainly a positive one. If you know of any other methods or have recently experienced taking a child on holiday then let me know how it went for you. Good Luck.

Written by Stephen Yule for his blog, Yule Times!