Fly, Fly Away

The walls are closing in, the kids are climbing them (and so are you).

You need to get out of the house. If you’re lucky, you can get out of town.

Don’t be afraid to take that trip with the kids—we have ten great travel tips from some of our global Savvy Scouts covering babies to older kids that will give you the confidence you need if you are fortunate enough to have a flight in your future.

From Melbourne
1. Make sure your baby is thirsty/hungry at take off time so she will drink milk then. The sucking helps equalize ears and provides comfort from air pressure pain. 

From San Francisco
2. Bring a package of ear plugs and offer them to the people around you. (Few will take them but the gesture will help establish goodwill when Jack shouts along to the Wiggles CD).

3.  Wrap small ‘wheels up’ gifts for them to open when the plane takes off. New toys always work better than old ones (thank you, dollar store).

From LA
4. Use a car seat on the plane until your child is three yrs old. If you didn’t book a seat, take a chance and bring your car seat on the plane and ask for an extra one. If the plane is over booked, they can check the car seat without a hassle (works every time).

5. Babiesaway.com and weetravel.ca offer baby equipment rental services. They deliver to your destination (exersaucer, crib et.al.) and the stuff is clean.

From Calgary
6. The Quinny Zapp is a very funky stroller (as you can see) that collapses small enough to go in the overhead bin (yes, in the overhead bin). 

From London  
7. Pack an extra outfit or clean shirt for a quick wardrobe change upon leaving the warzone (a.k.a the airplane) so Jack and Jill look like the adorable little darlings that they are.

From SavvyMom HQ
8. Lollipops give older children something to suck on at take off (for the ears) and keep them quiet for a while. 

9. If you don’t have a portable DVD player, most kids love using a portable cassette player with their fave music. (Available for about $10 now—feel old?) 

10. Bon voyage!