Traveling well with a toddler when your travel plans don’t go smoothly can be a challenge for the whole family if you aren’t prepared. I have a two-year-old daughter and we fly as a family often, which means we are regularly at the mercy of the airlines when it comes to traveling well together. However, experience has taught us to be prepared for anything the airlines throw our way and to always keep a positive attitude when airline delays lengthen our travel days.
What’s my secret to success when flying with a toddler and the unexpected delays occur? The first important thing to remember is to always Stay Calm! If you react so will your toddler! Next, it is absolutely key to always have your carry-on bags packed and prepared for anything and everything!
On our way to our recent Grand Cayman Island family holiday, we ended up stuck on three different long flights instead of two quick ones due to mechanical issues with the airline. This meant we didn’t land until almost 7pm when we were scheduled to land at 2:30pm. Thank goodness we were calm and prepared! I packed tons of snacks, coloring books with crayons, books to read and her favorite item on the plane: the travel size Magna Doodle! This thing was a life saver! She spent hours (although not in a row) on this toy and never got overly frustrated or out of control.
Thanks to our calm positive attitudes and my well prepared stash of goodies we all made it to Grand Cayman Island in one piece with smiles on our tired faces. When got to our hotel, although we were already almost an hour past her bedtime, my 2-year-old was all smiles and wanted to stand outside on the balcony and dance to the music that was playing at the bar below us. Traveling for twelve plus hours and still have a smiling toddler who only napped 30 minutes, I call that a travel success!
What are your secrets to success when flying with kids?? Please share in the comments section below!