Everyone with younger kids are getting their holidays all in now before the bigger schools break up and everyone with slightly older kids are preparing for their school holiday getaway destinations. We all need a little break and to make some fun memories with our families. The difficult bit is getting there. Long taxi rides, airport queues, faffing around trying to waste time and then comes the actual flight. Here are my top tips to ensure you have as smooth a flight as possible.

1.Pre-book your seating allocation

There is nothing worse than in the moment realising your family are not sat together. You start to feel anxious, your kids start to get anxious being sat next to strangers on a flight and you feel the need to ask another person if they can kindly swap seats to ensure your family sit together. Do not be these people. When you book the flight you can select which seats you want, ensure your family are all together as that extra stress before the flight already sets your children off on an anxious start. Even the majority of teenagers, would prefer to sit with their family then next to a stranger and it can be very anxiety triggering having everyone’s eyes and focus on you as you make a small scene asking passengers to move around.

2. Download

Download more than you need. Anything your children love- Youtube videos, Movies, Games, Cartoons. These distractions are life savers for giving you solid blocks of entertained children. If your children are a bit older make sure to have earphones spare and ensure they have downloaded their own things onto their phones. Shorter flights don’t tend to provide entertainment screens so it’s always handy to prepare and bring your own. If you’re not a big screen time fan, make sure you bring lots of colouring books and activity books. I’m personally a fan of bringing both screens and books to cover all bases!

3. Drinks and Snacks

Hangry children stuck on a plane is not ideal. Always bring plenty of snacks and drinks because you always have to pay for it on short flights which can be expensive and on long flights fussy children may turn their noses up at the food provided. Not only does it keep children fed and satisfied but for children who cannot verbally express the discomfort of their ears, the chewing and swallowing can help create that ear pop that eases pressure pains when flying during take off and landing.

4. Control Your Anxiety

I hate flying. Always have done, always will. It just feels unnatural to me to be up in the air in a flying metal tube. HOWEVER, if flying with kids, I suddenly love flying. “Wow look at how amazing the clouds are”, “1…2…3…lift off!”, “Now we get to chill out and play some games or watch a movie together!”. You don’t have to lie, it’s fully okay to tell your children you don’t really like flying for whatever reason. But when you are actually on the plane, remain calm as your children pick up on your signals and will feel much calmer about the process if you are. When in strange or unknown situations children will look towards their parents or other adults on how to interpret the scenario. Should they interpret this strange scenario as a threat or a non-threat? Adults do this too which is why I’m always looking at the flight attendants as a more knowledgable example for how I should react. If they are calm, I am also calm. Kids do this with you, so don’t kick start their fight or flight system and provoke a tonne of anxiety in them with your behaviour. Letting them build a healthy relationship with flying is important if you plan on going abroad in the future.

5. Aisle Seat

Especially with younger children, do not block yourself in the corner with a baby. Especially if there is a stranger in the aisle seat and you’re wedged at the side. You may think that it’ll be better or more comfortable huddled near the window away from people but it is so restricting and often becomes the worst seat on the plane when you have a small child. When you have a small child you want easy access to stand, walk around, get to the toilet etc. Having to squeeze past people and get others out of their seats every time you stand up and herd your little one out of the aisle can get frustrating. Some children are easier to soothe when you walk them up and down the aisles. Some require a speedy bathroom trip. Some just want to go for a little walk. Don’t restrict yourself! When booking, select an aisle seat for yourself, you won’t regret it.

6. Block Out The Rest

You can only do what you can do. Your kids are in a strange environment. Their ears may feel weird and the combination of being tired, stuck in one place and surrounded by strange people can become a little overwhelming. Tantrums, tears and sibling fights are common. People will give you the looks and the huffs and puffs of frustration but what can you do! You're stuck on a plane and want to give your family a nice holiday to remember and there’s nothing bad about that. Block out the haters, most people completely understand and sympathise with you. Take the little steps above to avoid being caught out with no snacks or downloaded cartoons. At the end of the day, you’ll learn little tips yourself as you go along and you’ll get through it regardless of whether it’s a smooth journey or a stressful one. Use your resources and block out everyone else.

Wishing you a safe flight and a lovely holiday!

Written by Nanny Emmy.

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions or topics you would like us to discuss in future blogs please do send an email to nannyemmyquestions@gmail.com