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Kids on a plane: Tips for averting a horror feature
By JENNIFER COLTON
Summer is winding down, but if
LJŽƵ͛ƌĞƐƟůůĮƫŶŐŝŶƚŚĂƚůĂƐƚĞŶĚͲ
of-summer trip, here are some
ƐƵŐŐĞƐƟŽŶƐƚŽŬĞĞƉŬŝĚƐŚĂƉƉLJ
ĂŶĚĞŶƚĞƌƚĂŝŶĞĚŽŶƚŚĂƚůŽŶŐŇŝŐŚƚ͘
Traveling with kids is stressful, but
ƚŚĞƐĞƟƉƐĐĂŶŚĞůƉŵĂŬĞƚŚĞƚƌŝƉ
ĂůŝƩůĞƐŵŽŽƚŚĞƌ͘ŽŶƵƐ͗DĂŶLJŽĨ
these apply to car trips as well.
dƌĂǀĞůĂŶĚƟŵĞ
Never try to rush travel with
children or infants. Make
sure you have plenty of
ƟŵĞƚŽĐŚĞĐŬŝŶĂŶĚǁŽƌŬ
ŽīƐŽŵĞĞŶĞƌŐLJďĞĨŽƌĞ
boarding the plane. If
you have a layover, make
sure it’s long enough to
allow some wiggle room
ŝĨLJŽƵƌĮƌƐƚŇŝŐŚƚŝƐůĂƚĞ͘
You might also want to
research which airports
are best for your lay-
over and your children’s
ages. Some airports have
playgrounds for young
children, separate in-
fant care rooms, or even
technology hubs for teens
and older kids to charge
tablets and other elec-
tronic devices. You may
also want to plan your
ŇŝŐŚƚƟŵĞƐďĂƐĞĚŽŶ
LJŽƵƌƐƉĞĐŝĮĐĨĂŵŝůLJ͘^ŽŵĞ
children will sleep on an overnight
ŇŝŐŚƚ͕ŵĂŬŝŶŐƚŚĞƟŵĞƉĂƐƐƋƵŝĐŬůLJ͕
but others may be too excited to
ĚŽnjĞ͘ůŝƩůĞďŝƚŽĨƉƌĞͲƉůĂŶŶŝŶŐĐĂŶ
save you a lot of stress during the
trip itself.
Talk it over
Before heading to the airport,
talk to your kids about exactly
where you’ll be going and what will
happen during the process. This
can include if you’re driving to the
airport, what security will be like,
and how long you’ll be traveling for.
Travel can be scary for any kids and
adults not used to it – regardless of
age – so make sure everyone knows
what to expect. Younger children
may need to understand their toys
will have to go through the x-ray
machine, and older kids might
need a refresher on how to handle
technology and security screening.
For younger kids, you may want
to print out some maps showing
where you’ll be traveling so they
ĐĂŶĐŚĞĐŬŽīƐƚŽƉƐŽƌƐŝƚĞƐĂůŽŶŐ
ƚŚĞǁĂLJ;ĞǀĞŶŽŶĞƐLJŽƵŇLJŽǀĞƌĂŶĚ
can’t always see).
Seats and strollers
If you have children who use car
seats or strollers at home, you may
ďĞĂďůĞƚŽďƌŝŶŐƚŚĞŵŽŶƚŚĞŇŝŐŚƚ͘
Check your car seat to see if it is
approved for air travel, and, if so,
that you are allowed to install it on
the plane for your child to use. It
ĐĂŶŵĂŬĞƚŚĞŇŝŐŚƚŵŽƌĞĨĂŵŝůŝĂƌ͕
ĂŶĚŝƚƌĞůŝĞǀĞƐLJŽƵŽĨƌĞŶƟŶŐĂĐĂƌ
ƐĞĂƚĂƚLJŽƵƌĚĞƐƟŶĂƟŽŶ͘^ƚƌŽůůĞƌƐ
can help during layovers or travel
through the airport, and you’ll likely
be able to turn them in at the door
of the plane. The stroller will have a
ƚĂŐǁŝƚŚLJŽƵƌŝŶĨŽƌŵĂƟŽŶŽŶŝƚ͕ĂŶĚ
you’ll be able to reclaim it as you
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exit the plane. Strollers, car seats
and booster seats do not count
toward your baggage or carry on –
and strollers are checked for free.
Busy bags
Kids love surprises, and they
love receiving new items. Com-
ďŝŶĞƚŚĞƚǁŽďLJĐƌĞĂƟŶŐ
travel boxes (or bags) for
your kids to open during
ƚŚĞŇŝŐŚƚʹŽƌĞǀĞŶǁŚŝůĞ
ǁĂŝƟŶŐĂƚƚŚĞŐĂƚĞ͘ŽdžĞƐ
should be spaced out every
hour or two hours – de-
pending on the length of
travel, the types of items
inside and the average at-
ƚĞŶƟŽŶŝŶǀĞƐƚŵĞŶƚŽĨLJŽƵƌ
child – and should include
a small snack and a couple
entertainment items. Some
ƐƵŐŐĞƐƟŽŶƐ͗ĐŽůŽƌŝŶŐŬƐ
(and crayons or colored
ƉĞŶĐŝůƐͿ͕ƐƟĐŬĞƌŽƌŵĂŐ-
ŶĞƟĐŬƐ͕ůĂĐŝŶŐƉƵnjnjůĞƐ͕
card games, pipe cleaners
ŽƌŐůŽǁƐƟĐŬďƌĂĐĞůĞƚƐ͘
You can even combine the
ƐŶĂĐŬĂŶĚƚŚĞĂĐƟǀŝƚLJďLJ
having kids string Cheerios
“Assisting people to become
independent, healthy and safe.”
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