Surviving Long Haul Travel with Pre-School Kids
With summer around the corner, it’s time to think about travel plans and how to survive long haul travel with pre-school kids.
With summer around the corner and the pandemic behind us, I’m sure everyone is looking forward to summer holidays abroad. Many friends are gearing up for their first international trip in over two years. Having recently returned from the Maldives, many of my mom friends asked about the trip itself, but mainly for tips for surviving long haul travel with a pre-school kid in tow. They always ask with suspicious eyes: “tell me, was it hard travelling with a pre-school kid, and was it worth it?”
The short answer is: SO MUCH EASIER, and YES, TOTALLY WORTH IT!
Due to the pandemic, international travel was off the cards for two years. As such, we skipped the joys (and pain) of travelling with a toddler. I can only imagine how challenging it is. But parents rejoice! Long haul travel with a pre-school kid is a lot easier than you think.
Travelling “Lighter”
Our last long haul trip was to Mauritius in October 2019 when Lady Yeya was 20 months old. Still in nappies and toddling along like a clumsy tot. She was a pro taking 2-hour naps on the go or in her cot.
Fast forward two years later, now with a four year old in tow, you can ditch the travel buggy and say good-bye to nappies. Seriously without these two “toddler” items, you travel so much lighter. Lady Yeya was able to carry her own mini Hershel backpack and navigate around the airport herself. It was great to whiz through the airport with one carry-on, a holdall bag, and our personal backpacks. So cheers to travelling “lighter.”
Picking the Window Seat
Most major airlines allow children under the age of 2 to fly free as “lap” children although taxes apply. This means your child does not occupy a seat and either rests on your lap or in a bassinet. Taking every opportunity to travel whilst Lady Yeya was a “lap” child, she flew five long haul flights before the age of two. But by the time we flew to Mauritius, I was regretting not paying for her own seat. At 20 months, Lady Yeya was too big to rest comfortably on my lap on a 12-hour flight.
Fast forward two years later, our four year old was ecstatic about sitting in the window seat. All buckled in, Lady Yeya was ready to take to the sky. With her own seat, travel is a lot easier and a lot more comfortable for mum and dad. Lady Yeya was a great little traveller.
Engaging in “Pretend Play”
With a wild imagination, pre-schoolers love to “pretend play,” an important part of early year child development. Weeks leading up to our departure, we talked a lot about our trip to the Maldives and what to expect. Similarly, we engaged in a lot of pretend play being at the airport, on the airplane, at the beach villa, or swimming in the ocean. Like her parents, Lady Yeya was excited about the trip, especially the idea of swimming with Nemo and Flounder in the ocean.
Young kids like predictability, hence the reason we have structure and routines for our children. Travelling is a major disruption out of the normal day-to-day routine. Therefore, it is helpful to talk about your upcoming trip as much as you can. You can also read a few books about going on holiday or about the destination itself. We even showed a few YouTube video on the Maldives as well, especially what it is like flying on a small seaplane.
Whilst family holidays just got easier travelling with a pre-school kid, my top tips for surviving long haul flights with kids remain the same.
Flying at Night
There is a big debate whether it is best to take a daytime or overnight flight with young children. Personally, I prefer taking an overnight flight with an ideal departure time between 5 and 6pm. This way you can “follow” your normal evening routine and get some rest on your long haul flight. If the departure times clash into our usual dinner time, our go-to strategy would be to give her dinner and have her ready in PJs before boarding the flight to avoid any “hangry” meltdowns.
Our flight to the Maldives departed at 6:15pm, which was perfect. Lady Yeya watched her favourite Paw Patrol The Movie whilst waiting for dinner. Then it was on to brushing teeth and changing into her PJs before going to bed. We used a blow up footrest but she ended up sleeping with her head against the window. After dinner, the cabin crew usually dims the light and shades closed to create a sleep-inducing environment for travellers. The cabin is quiet, and children can fall asleep to the humming white noise of the airplane. She slept for a solid seven hour stretch and woke up just before before landing!
Loading up the Ipad
Before you leave the house, be sure to download kid-friendly TV shows, audiobooks, and movies. And don’t forget to charge up the iPad. These days all planes are equipped with charging points but it does not hurt to bring a compact portable charger. Personally, long haul travel with a pre-school kid is not the time to be stickler about screen time. You’re in survival mode, praying that your kid is not that child and everyone’s eyes are glaring at you.
Unlike our departure flight, our return leg was a day flight departing at 11:15am. I was prepared to entertain her with tangrams, colouring books, easy puzzles, a movie (or three) and pray that she will miraculously take a nap. To our surprise, Lady Yeya took a mega 5-hour nap! Something about the white noise and the movement made her sleep like a dream. But the downside was that she was very jetlagged when we arrived back to the U.K., waking up at 2:30am with her body thinking it is 7:30am Maldives time. Yes, admittedly we just let her play on her iPad in our bed whilst we got a bit of extra sleep. Thank goodness for the iPad.
Bringing Snacks, and More Snacks
This should not be a surprise to any parent. We don’t dare to leave the house without any snacks, let alone on long haul travel with a pre-school kid. Healthy, nutritious snacks help the hungry in check. Apples and easy peeler clementines are easy to eat and travel with. We take nuts, oat bars, and cheese crackers since the whole family can enjoy them on the flight.
During take off and landing, we gave some sweets to suck on to help with the ear pressure.
But yes, bring snacks, snacks, and more snacks.
Packing a Change of Clothes for Everyone
You never know when an accident might happen. Maybe water or coffee drops all over your clothes. Let’s hope for no major stomach bugs or vomiting, but these things happen especially when travelling with young children. I always pack a change of clothes for all of us in a designated ziplock bag on the very top of the carry-on bag. I also take a few rubbish bags just in case things go from bad to worse, but it is also handy for all the rubbish around your seat.
Finally, travelling is a privilege. Time to make family memories and quality time together. Enjoy! And remember long haul travel with a pre-school kid just got a lot easier.
