(Jane contemplates traveling on a plane. Phil&teds have asked me to write a few blog posts about traveling with kids and as an example, here are some thoughts on getting through the airport.)
Congratulations! You are going on a trip with your child/children! How very brave of you! Tickets purchased, bags packed, and now to get yourself, the luggage, personal belongings, and children from your home and actually onto the airplane! This is not my favorite part of traveling but it is strangely inevitable. I love reading and applying travel tips/ideas and I am hoping to pass along some of my favorites here. We do not do things perfectly by any means, but we are always trying and with a little trial and error, we have come to a few loose conclusions/suggestions.
Getting to and through the airport:
- Sadly, we do not have easy public transportation in our home city to the airport. This first tip may not always make sense, but occasionally, when we haven't had a spacious car owning friend available to take us to the airport, we have gotten a cheap car rental from the airport the day before so we can drive ourselves and check in the car at the same time. Sometimes when family, luggage and multiple car seats already take up most of the space in a car, we have found this to be a nice option. It can be a lot less expensive than getting an airport shuttle or taxi.
- It seems that the most harrowing leg of air travel with kids can actually be the short luggage-laden trip from curb to ticket counter. We love the sky cap and feel like tipping the nice guys who take our baggage at the curb is money well spent! If we are checking in a rental car, once my husband's ID is checked, he can take one of the kids and return the car while I take care of the check in. Airports in the United States drive us crazy because they always charge for luggage carts. I think just about everywhere I have been in Latin America/Europe/Asia/Middle East and all have had complimentary luggage carts for passengers. Come on America, help a family out!
- Once you are through the airport doors, there is that lovely detail of getting through security. How we love the security screenings! Please unpack most everything you have just neatly packed to make it through your day of travel. Worst of all, the kids have to walk through too. My kids especially at age 1-3 are runners which makes security extra exciting. Once when I was traveling alone with my two kids, I was lucky enough to be selected for an extra security screening. There was a nice lady behind me who thankfully stayed with my kids. My almost two year old daughter would have run off to board a flight to Ghana given the chance. I find it adorable too when security makes me take my toddlers' soft soled leather shoes off (they are practically socks), as if my child is the next shoe bomber. If you are traveling with a stroller be ready because you will need to fold the stroller and get it x-rayed at security. You can ask to have the stroller hand checked if you have too much to handle through the check point. Remember too that even though there are limitations on liquids you can travel with, breast milk or prepared formula and baby foods are fine to take through (Caveat: In London once, I was asked to take a drink of the contents of a bottle, presumably to prove it was not a hazardous substance. Thankfully it was apple juice, and not my own breast milk.) I always make sure to have an empty water bottle to fill up on the other side of security and a couple of extra sippy cups for beverage service on the plane. Also make sure to take advantage if the airport security has a special line for people traveling with kids, well worth it!
- One final thought: as kids get old enough, get them involved in the process. Our son loves having his own little backpack of toys to put on the security conveyor and loves taking a turn pulling a roller bag. He knows the routine so well by now, he hardly needs directing. He has flow so much he has already earned his own frequent flyer ticket.
Traveling with our phil&teds:
- We love traveling with our double phil&teds and could not imagine being without it while exploring the world! We have used it a few different ways in airports. If you're not checking it from the start, the stroller is a great way to get all the carry-on luggage to the gate with you. We sometimes have our older child walk or we carry our little one so as to free the doubles kit for back packs/computer bags/camera equipment, etc. When we use our stroller through the airport we check it at the gate. Unfortunately when gate checking, our stroller would frequently not come back to us at our arrival gate but would go to the main luggage carousel (despite being clearly marked as a gate checked item). Different airports handle things differently, especially when traveling internationally, just to add to the excitement of the day. We were lucky to not have our stroller damaged by a lot of gate checking. I have heard of many people whose strollers have been damaged or broken, so beware. (When gate checking I used to travel with a roll of plastic wrap in my diaper bag and we would wrap the stroller prior to gate checking to try and protect the fabric. I shared this tip with a friend who one upped me by padding the handle bar of their phil&teds with diapers and then plastic wrapping it, brilliant!)
- After two years of phil&teds use we finally invested in the up&away travel bag to ensure the stroller is well packed and safe while we travel. We now prefer to pack the stroller at home prior to the trip and send it safety with our checked luggage. The bag does a great job of protecting our beloved buggy. How sad would that be to get to your destination stroller-less! Since the rear wheel guards need to come off to properly pack the stroller in the travel bag, make sure if you have one of the models where the guards go on with a screwdriver to pack a screwdriver too! It may take a couple of times to see how to pack the up&away bag so maybe try it at home and don't leave figuring out how everything fits in the bag on the jet way! As I said, it is our preference to pack it up before we travel and to send the stroller on its merry way since we are typically juggling a little more than we can handle as we board the plane. Also, if you have a Lazy Ted adapter which makes a great baby bouncer/travel chair from your doubles kit, the Lazy Ted also fits with the stroller in the up&away bag, hooray!! One easy thing while traveling!
Other tips:
- If you need to travel with a full sized car seat, we have loved using a simple little strap that attaches the car seat to a roller bag which then can be used as a stroller through the airport. (Here is the link on amazon.com) The kids love it because it is a novel and fun way to ride and you get to kill two birds with one stone by transporting the car seat and keeping your child safe. The strap takes up almost no room and in my opinion is the best option out there and is less that $15! Bigger kids can hitch rides on roller bags too, just jump on and ride. Our son loved doing this from about age 3. Although on one trip home from Poland, we had to make sure he understood he was not to hop on our roller bag that was full to the gills with beautiful pottery.
- To get kids excited and show them what to expect in airports, we have loved the Usborne First Experiences book "Going on a Plane". (Here too is the link on amazon.com) We got our copy on a British Airways flight to Israel in 2007 (British Airways were very kid friendly, too bad they are not partners with the airline where we collect frequent flyer miles!) I know our kids do better with steps if we talk them through the process a few times. This little book helps your kids know what to anticipate at each step through the airport. It could be like fun scavenger hunt with older kids to find all the steps you have read about.
- Finally relax! And I make this point mostly to remind myself to relax! I feel that kids sense the stress level of their parents very quickly, and traveling is stressful. It sure does not help that usually the night before we are up late packing and start the travel day sleep deprived. Regardless, soon enough you will be on the plane. If you survive the plane ride, you will be enjoying your new destination (that is if you can get your kids to eat new food and sleep in a new place!) Sorry if I sound cynical, I do find it very worthwhile to travel with kids! With a little preparation, you will do great!
Keep adapting and surviving!
Here we are in Krakow, Poland walking to our hotel. It is a little hard to tell but we have a very large duffel bag in the second seat of the stroller instead of Jane. The phil&teds is like our pack animal!
Below: an example of the car seat strap. Our friends moved to New Zealand last year and used our tip of the car seat straps the get their two car seats and adorable twins through the airport. On the left you can see how it attaches to the roller bag and on the right, the little family ready to set out on their new adventure, rolling their kids right along with their carry-on luggage!
Below: an example of the car seat strap. Our friends moved to New Zealand last year and used our tip of the car seat straps the get their two car seats and adorable twins through the airport. On the left you can see how it attaches to the roller bag and on the right, the little family ready to set out on their new adventure, rolling their kids right along with their carry-on luggage!
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