Unless you’re some sort of flight fanatic, a long haul flight can feel daunting at the best of times. And, when it comes to travelling long haul with children, those flight prospects suddenly become even less appealing.
This is especially the case for anyone who’s had bad experiences flying with children in the past. Luckily, instead of seeing those bad experiences as a reason never to do this again, it’s worth using them to ensure that things go smoother this time around. Specifically, reconsider what went wrong the first time, and ask yourself honestly whether steering clear of these mistakes could be your best bet for avoiding more of the same.
# 1 – Not putting in enough prep time
Even having a chance of keeping your kids’ happy long haul is reliant on your preparation. For one thing, you’re going to want to spend weeks leading up to take off putting together activity packs and flight games to keep things afloat. Equally, if you’re planning on taking a laptop loaded with films, you need to download your planned viewing and make sure your laptop’s up to date. Bear in mind, too, that the latest updates of macOS, in particular, can significantly slow things down and lead to on-flight buffering and frustrations. Here’s how to speed it up, so make sure that you also take these steps with plenty of time to spare for setbacks. Only after all of this should you even start thinking about packing your bags and jetting off.
# 2 – Pulling out all your best tricks too early
You’re nervous, and you likely want to stop meltdowns before they start, but pulling out all of your best entertainment plans too early is guaranteed to see things drying. Instead, make the most of your child’s initial excitement by holding off on any entertainment for as long as you can, and alternatively talk to them about the plane, or takeoff. Then, reach for things like activity packs first, and finally pull out those films when you’re feeling like you’re on the brink of tearing your hair out!
# 3 – Booking flights at the wrong time
Booking long haul flights overnight is the oldest trick in the book, and there’s nothing better when you’ve got kids to think about. After all, if you can get them to sleep for at least ten hours of a 12-hour plane journey then you’re taking the long part entirely out of this process. As such, always make sure to book flights at the perfect time. Do note that you might not want to go too late with this as getting on a plane when kids are overly tired is never going to be fun. But, booking flights around bedtime is guaranteed to lead to a far more peaceful journey than if you braved long haul in the middle of the day.
Stress when flying with kids is inevitable, but you can make good on past mistakes by avoiding every one of these mishaps next time around!