The kids guide to overnight flights

I have to tell you how impressed I am at the number of families planning European Vacations for 2018. It’s been a pleasure planning out itineraries for the youngest travelers, their older siblings, parents and even grandparents the past few weeks. I am often faced with questions on how to keep the younger kids happy on those flights to Europe overnight, so today I wanted to share some tips that I hope you will find useful for the entire family.

#1 – Keep them informed, don’t try to gloss over the fact that the flight is long. However, it’s important to break it down into terms they can understand. The concept of a 7 hour flight might be lost on a preschooler, but when you explain to them what your expectations are for them it makes things more clear.

#2 – Routines don’t stop at 30,000 feet. One thing we have found helpful on the overnight flights is for kids to change into pajamas either right before they board the plane or just after they eat dinner on the flight, depending on the departure time. If the flight doesn’t leave until 9pm we’ll eat dinner in the airport rather than wait for the inflight meal. Brushing teeth and putting pajamas on helps signal your body that it’s time for sleep, as do completing all the steps of your child’s nighttime routine. Also, lets be honest, pajamas are pretty darn comfy! Is the sleep they get on the airplane going to be as good as what they would get in their own bed? No, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. During our last overnight fight to Europe my daughter did change into her pajamas, she was excited about her new eye mask and had been talking for weeks about sleeping on the airplane. Ultimately, the kids movie channel in the back of the seat in front of her was too enticing. She didn’t get much shut eye on that flight, but she was a trooper the next day not complaining once that she was tired.

#3 – Discipline doesn’t stop at 30,000 feet either! If your kids know the rules and know that you’re serious about enforcing those rules you won’t have a problem.

#4 – Bring the headphones or ear buds that your kids are used to using. Sure they pass them out on the plane, but we all know how uncomfortable they can be on us, let alone the smaller ears of children. No body wants a melt down because they can’t watch a movie or listen to some “nighttime music” drown out the airplane noise because the ear buds “don’t work right.”

#5 – Pack a carry on for each person – let your kids (within reason) pack their own. We love story cubes when we travel. They are lightweight, easy to pack and can provide some good entertainment. If they have a favorite stuffed animal you may convince them to leave that one at home and take a runner up just incase the favorite stuffed animal decides to head off on their own adventure and becomes lost. Some gum or kid friendly snacks and an empty water bottle can come in handy as well. As far as travel pillows everyone has their own favorite, but I’ve found for kids that the inflatable pillows are a nice solution. Being able to fill them to fit tiny necks and not having to carry around a larger item comes in handy.

I hope you’ve learned a trick or two from these tips, in the coming weeks I’ll share some insight on how to keep kids entertained during the vacation as well. If you have specific questions or are ready to start planning your 2018 vacation click here and we can get started today.

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