10 Essential Tips for Flying with a Toddler

Traveling with your toddler can create some of the most incredible memories you’ll ever make. But getting to your destination can be a little stressful. I’m sharing my top 10 tips for flying with a toddler to hopefully make your flight a little smoother.

1. Board Last

The best piece of advice I got before flying with our toddler was to board last with him. I assumed boarding first would be best because they always offer to let families do early boarding. But that can be an additional 30+ minutes you are sitting on the plane before even taking off. And 30 minutes in toddler world can seem like a lifetime.

This was how we boarded: I stayed at the gate with Kirk, letting him crawl and walk around so he could get his wiggles out. Logan boarded earlier to make sure we had our seats, and so he could put our carry on above our seat in case we needed something out of it during the flight. Then I waited until they called final boarding and got on with Kirk. That way, it was only about 10 minutes of waiting on the plane to take off.

If you are flying solo with your little one, getting on early might be a better option for you!

2. Get Out of Your Seat

Once you are on the plane, you are not glued to your seat the whole flight. One of the things that made our little guy the happiest was putting him on our shoulders and walking up and down the aisle. Nobody minds, in fact, he was a hit. Kirk loves to wave and just waved at everyone as we walked up and down.

We also got up and went to the bathroom more times than we needed. We looked in the mirror and he didn’t have to touch anything in there to be entertained.

3. Bring All the Snacks

Possibly my most essential of all my top 10 tips for flying with a toddler is to have plenty of good snacks. Traveling on a plane with your kid is not the time to set limitations. You’re in survival mode and need to do what you gotta do to make it through the flight. Bring lots of snacks, give them a sucker, let them have the binky longer than they might at home.

The most important thing to have with you is snacks. It keeps your little one happy and gives them something to do. You can divide them up ahead of time so there’s some variety and make it a little more fun. One idea that was a hit was picking up a weekly pill container and putting a goldfish or yogurt raisin in each tab. Takes them much longer to eat the snacks, and anything that takes up time is a win.

Another important thing to know is when you are taking off or landing, the pressure change will hurt their ears if it doesn’t equalize. To do that, they need to be swallowing. If your little one likes to breastfeed, nurse them during these times. Giving them their sippy cup or binky also works. I found it easiest to feed him grapes as we were going up and down.

Here’s a list of some favorite snacks for my one year old:

• Quartered grapes
• Raisins
• Annie’s cheddar bunnies
• Animal crackers
• Yogurt covered raisins
• Applesauce pouches

4. Bring a Variety of Entertainment

Finding things to keep your toddler entertained for longer than 2 minutes can be tricky. I found that the best things were new items that hadn’t played with before. I went to the dollar store and picked up a few items that he ended up loving.

By no means do you have to go out and buy anything new for the flight. If you don’t want to buy new toys, I would suggest picking out some small toys you already have and put them away for a couple weeks before you leave. Then when you pull them out on the plane, it’s like brand new toys!

Screen Time

Everyone is going to have their own opinion on whether they want their kid to watch a screen on the plane. I personally am all for it, as a last resort. I don’t have any problem with him watching tv, but he is not at an age where he can watch it for hours and be okay. He gets bored quickly, so we pulled out our phone after he got tired with all the toys and snacks. We downloaded a couple tv shows he enjoyed and it was great!

Here is a list of some fun toys I picked up before the flight that were a hit:

• Sticker books
• Bubble pop fidget toy (this was his favorite and kept him occupied for the longest)
• Window clings – I found these at the Target Dollar spot
• Doodle pad – I picked up a cheap one at the Dollar Tree

5. Fly at Night

If you have ever driven through the night or your toddler does well sleeping in the car seat, you might want to consider booking an overnight flight. Our flight home was a red eye, and it was amazing. We drive from Salt Lake to Las Vegas (5 hours) at night all the time because Kirk sleeps the whole time. So I had a feeling a night flight would work out great. We did have his carseat on the plane with us and that helped a ton.

Our flight left at 9:15pm. The day of, we went about everything like normal when it came to naps. Kirk normally goes to sleep at 7:30pm. We arrived to the airport around 8:00pm. We had Kirk in our Ergobaby Carrier through the airport. When we got to our gate, we let him play like normal. Being around people energized him and he wasn’t cranky at all, even though he was up past his bedtime.

Once we got on the plane we put him in the car seat for take off. By this point, he was tired and didn’t want to be in their. But I gave him his binky, and turned on his sound machine. The plane engines are pretty loud, but I still turned it on just to make sure I covered up anyone talking or crying nearby. This is sound machine we always bring when we travel. It runs on batteries or can be plugged in which I LOVE!

6. Bring Your Carseat

We went on this trip during the pandemic, and one small perk of that was Delta did not seat anyone in the middle seat. This meant we could bring our car seat with us for no additional cost. This is great because your little one has their own space and you can have some time without being crawled on. Kirk mostly sat on our laps but he did take a short nap in his car seat. Having the sound machine helped relax him and sleep.

You are able to check your car seat at the gate for free. So if you are traveling at a time when airlines are not leaving seats open, I would recommend bringing your car seat to the gate with you. You can ask if there are open seats and if you can bring the car seat on with you. The airline employees are very accommodating and do what they can to help when you have a child.

It’s not a bad idea to bring a travel bag to put your carseat in to keep it from getting scuffed up if it does get gate checked. I brought this one and it is very highly rated.

7. Plan What to Pack in Your Carry on

It’s important to be smart about what you pack in your carry on because you are able to have access it to the whole flight. Also, on the off chance your checked bag gets lost or delayed, you want to have necessities in your carry on so you can make it a couple days without your main luggage.

The carry on I use for all of my flights is the Osprey Porter 46. It’s dimensions work for all domestic airlines, and even for some international. I love being hands free in the airport so I’m a big fan of the backpack style. My husband and I both used just these packs to travel around Europe for 3 weeks.

Here is the main things we packed in our carry on for our flight with a toddler to Hawaii:

• Portable Sound Machine– If your baby sleeping with a sound machine, i definitely recommend packing a portable one. Whether you’re flying during the day or at night, a sound machine can help relax them and fall asleep a little easier. I found this to be an essential and definitely one of my crucial top tips for flying with a toddler.
• Medicine for us and Kirk- I had a little bottle of tylenol and baby ibuprofen for Kirk. You can bring liquid medicine in your carry on even if it’s above the mL limit. They just test it at TSA
• One or two outfits including underwear- Like I said above, you want to be prepared in case your checked bag gets lost. It also is nice in case someone gets dirty on the plane from spills.
• Diapers and wipes
• Travel bag for Car Seat– if your car seat gets gate checked
• Electronics– Bring a device with shows downloaded. If your toddler is old enough to wear headphones, bring ones that have the traditional plug so they can watch shows on the airplane TV. Here’s a pair that are very highly rated.

Personal Item

I brought my Fjallraven Kanken backpack for a diaper bag and as my personal item. In it I put Kirk’s water, snacks, and the toys. I also included a couple of diapers, wipes, and his Gathre Mat changing pad.

8. Get Your Toddler’s Boarding Pass

If your child is 2 or under, you don’t have to buy a ticket if you plan on them sitting on your lap. But they still need a boarding pass to get through security and on the plane. So make sure you contact the airline after purchasing your ticket to get them accounted for.

9. Dress Them Comfortably

Dress your little one in comfortable layers that are easy to change a diaper in. Think about what the weather will be like at your destination. If you’re traveling from a hot climate to a colder one, pack a jacket. If it’s going to be warmer where you’re going, make sure you can shed some layers.

10. Know Where to Change Diapers

My last piece of advice from my top tips for flying with a toddler is to change your baby in the airport before you take off. There is much more room! While the bathrooms are tiny, they do have a changing table that pulls down. (This is the case for Delta planes. I recommend contacting the airline you’re flying with to confirm they have a changing table) I brought a Micro Plus Gathre mat changing pad and it covered the entire table which made it very sanitary.

So there you have it, my top 10 tips for flying with a toddler. Don’t forget, the flight isn’t going to last forever, and most people are understanding that kids are kids. Do what you can to keep them happy and try not to get too worked up if they cry. You will make it through and have some incredible memories awaiting you.

If you have any questions about my top tips for flying with a toddler, don’t hesitate to Contact me in an email or hit me up on Instagram!