By Guest Blogger: Carrice Quinnie
Flying with Kids
I have flown numerous of times with my two oldest girls. My first flight, I was a new mother at 24 years old. I hopped on a plane to Nebraska with my then 9-month-old. I got her a pacifier to help with her ears popping, couple of snacks and a toy. She did great! I was now a professional at flying with babies… or so I thought.
Fast forward 15 months, I was now the mother of two. We needed to fly again, this time to Germany. It would be our first international flight.
Everyone was nervous: my friends, family and especially both grandmothers. I truly did not understand what all the fuss was about. I had flown before with my oldest. What was one more lap baby?
There I was — a sweet southern girl from Columbus, GA. I knew nothing about customs, and I had never been out of the country. We had a direct flight from Atlanta to Paris. Once in Paris, I heard the flight attendant announce, “Thank you for flying with us today. Please remember to pick up all your luggage and precede to the custom check points. Thank you again and have a lovely day.”
WHAT! GET MY LUGGAGE! I HAVE MY HANDS FULL! I had a 2-year old, 5-month old, a stroller, and a carry on.
Nevertheless, I calmed myself down, gave my toddler a pep talk. Asked her to help mommy and stay close. I strapped my infant to my chest with the baby carrier, put my oldest in the stroller, got the carry on, and followed the crowds to the baggage claim area.
I found a luggage porter and after a quick game of charades — with all my gestures and pointing — he helped me load all my luggage on a cart and get to customs. No “Parlez-vous François” here. I took Spanish.
Sweating bullets, we made our connecting flight just as the last passengers were boarding. When we finally arrived in Germany, my husband was happy to see us. I was a legend to all my husband’s co-workers. Their wives would have never flown alone with two small children.
Five Tips for Flying with Kids
Flying with kids may be a little difficult, but it can be done. With anything in life, approach it with a positive mind frame. Here are five tips for flying with kids.
- Talk to your children about flying. Show little children toy airplane, read books about traveling to prepare them for the trip. This helps them to mentality prepare for being on a big plane. Therefore, the shock of walking in a crowded airport then seating on a big plane is no longer stressful or frightening.
- Do not over pack the carry-on. Only take the essentials. It’s a huge mistake to pack several toys and books. This is too much clutter. Clutter is more stuff you have to deal with.
- Use the bathroom before the flight and put on diapers or pull-ups on potty-trained children. Airplane bathrooms are small and on long flights, the kids may not make it to the bathroom in time.
- Ignore comments and negative comments for fellow travelers. Frequent flyers will cringe at the sight of you with little children, but smile, say hello and ignore them.
- Relax and enjoy the experience. Children can smell fear and can sense your anxiety. Stay clam even if things are not going as planned or there are long delays.
Flying with my children has given my family life-long memories. Do not be afraid. The kids may cry, kick the seat in front of them, but enjoy the experience. Your children will begin to enjoy flying and traveling. So get your passports and pacifiers and fly the friendly skies.
Carrice Deering-Quinnie is a native of Columbus. She is a professional working in Corporate America with her current company for 6 years. Carrice is a divorced, single mother of three girls, ages 11, 9 and 3 months.
