Summer is finally upon us and for many that means taking a long awaited family holiday.
But keeping your toddler happy during a flight can be a stressful experience.
This is especially true as travellers continue to endure queues, delays, and all round chaos at airports across the country.
Luckily, Wizz Air have gathered some helpful tips to try when travelling with young children, including early preparation and keeping ‘plane secrets’.
If your planning on flying with your toddler this summer, check out these tips to make your journey as seamless as possible.
1. Enter the flight with the right expectations
Young children can get bored easily
(Image: Getty Images)
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Flying with a toddler can put parents on edge as they are energetic and can behave unexpectedly.
For them, flying is an unfamiliar experience, which can ignite feelings of fear or excitement, causing them to act out.
Parents should fully expect that their child will likely at some point cry or have a tantrum.
It is important to remember that there is no need for you to feel embarrassed when your toddler behaves like one.
It’s inevitable that children will make noise, so try not to be over sensitised to it.
Laying the groundwork with children before the flight as well as adopting reasonable expectations of them is crucial as soon as booking the flight.
Before the flight, talk to the child often about the plane, what will happen and what to expect.
Chat about the seatbelts, the light up signs and sounds along with take off and landing.
This will work to build excitement and ease any anxiety the child may be feeling with regards to the experience.
2. Pick your seats and enter the plane strategically
It is best to try and sit in areas of the plane where your toddler will remain calm.
The front and back of the plane are always going to be high traffic areas as it’s where the bathrooms are located.
Therefore, it’s likely that this is where the most distractions will be.
It’s worth choosing your seats accordingly, considering what is likely to entertain, and distress the child.
Booking an inner seat of a centre row can shield your toddler from the distractions of other passengers.
There is the extra bonus of a window seat, which can keep your child entertained for a good chunk of your flight.
You should also consider when to enter the plane itself.
If you and your party are the first on board, it can take up to half an hour for the rest of the passengers to take their seat.
Ultimately, that’s an additional half an hour to entertain any children present.
So make sure to book seats in advance and towards the end of line.
3. Wrap and go
The bigger selection of toys to play with, the longer your toddler stays busy
(Image: Getty Images)
Bring extra toys to give to your toddler while on board.
Rewarding children throughout the flight can not only entertain them but keep morale high.
New toys can create further joy and pass ample time.
Wrapping new toys is a great way to let the child know that good behaviour is rewarded and that flying is a fun experience.
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4. Save the best until last
When keeping your toddler busy on a flight, it is important not to break out every distraction at once.
When you first sit on the plane, it’s tempting to entertain the child immediately by giving them every toy and iPad that you have packed.
However, it’s vital that you entertain strategically.
If every toy is given in the beginning, then if the child grows bored, there is nothing new to entertain them with.
Present each product of entertainment one by one and save the best, or their favourite toy until last.
This allows the level of entertainment to evolve throughout the flight.
5. Keeping Secrets
While on board with your toddler, make every part of the trip feel special.
Every aspect of the flight can be positioned as a new experience to the child.
Reframe from letting them know that generally, you can walk up and down the airplane aisles.
Instead, either let the child know that they can walk the aisles to use the bathroom or only within certain times.
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