Right before Christmas this past year, my family and I flew from the Ronald Reagan Airport in Washington D.C. to Salt Lake City, UT and then back a week later. We had a layover both ways in Denver, CO. The first one was quick, but we actually chose an overnight layover in Denver on the way back so we could get a hotel and explore a little bit.

This was not the first time our oldest two had flown on airplanes, but it had been a couple years so neither one of them remembered. That made it a bit more daunting, but also exciting!

Let me also specify our flight lengths…

DCA > DEN = 4 hours 19 minutes

DEN > SLC = 1 hour 40 minutes

SLC > DEN = 1 hour 37 minutes

DEN > DCA = 3 hours 18 minutes

As you can see, none of our flights were crazy long, but they were at unfortunate times, either being later at night or leaving early in the morning. We did that for cost’s sake and definitely not for sanity’s sake 😂

These are 6 ways we helped our children prepare for going through the airports and flying in the airplanes!

1. Watch POV Videos

On YouTube, there are several great videos that show what it is like stepping onto an airplane and finding your seat.

This particular video shows a captain’s speech and a sped up version of taking off. This one has a 360 view of being in a seat during take-off.

There are also nice ones that show what a flight attendant’s safety speech is. Here is one from American Airlines and this is one from the International Academy of Travel. We would watch videos like those while sitting is separate seats and pretend like we were on the plane too.

2. Reenact Airport Security

I’m a bit of an over-planner so I actually created a mini airport security terminal in our house for our kids to practice with. The kids would have to wait in line, then show me (the security agent, of course) their tickets. Sometimes I would even ask them questions like “Where are you going?” and “How old are you?” to help them speak loudly and clearly.

Next, I set up our ironing board with a basket on it as the conveyor belt. The kids would have to take their jackets off (we knew we would be flying in December and they would have thick coats on) and stick their backpacks on it. As they watched their things pass through, we also had them step through a pretend metal detector before they could collect their belongings.

Lastly, they would have to walk through the room or house to find their gate and wait until boarding was called. They loved pretending and it really did help a lot when we got to the real airports!

3. Watch Airport Tours

YouTube is such a valuable resource! Maybe several weeks before our trip, we looked up videos that provided tours to the specific airports we would be at. One of them even showed DCA decorated for Christmas and that made us excited to see it in person!

We also looked up the airport maps, which helped us know exactly which parts of the airport we would walk through.

4. Practice Sitting Still

I’ll add to say: Practice Sitting Still with a Seatbelt on.

For our oldest two kids who are 6 and 4, they didn’t have a problem. Our youngest however, had a real problem. He is still only 1 year old – almost 2 – but he is definitely our most energetic child.

Honestly, he did worse than we thought he would. He does great on road trips being stuck in his car seat and he practices having to be quiet in church every Sunday, but he got a little confused on the airplane and wanted to run the aisles while simultaneously throw everything we gave him 🤦‍♀️

This tip is obviously for my future self to practice more and set better realistic expectations!

5. Ask Friends

If you have friends with kids that have flown recently, ask their kids to talk to your kids about it. Let them say how much fun the moving walkways are and how cool it is to have their own table tray.

And of course, talk to your friends about their experience flying with their kids too! They will probably have some great advice or even tips specific to your local airport.

6. Pray

Whether you are religious or not, it doesn’t hurt to get a little extra divine help. Flying on an airplane can be a scary and confusing event for kids, no matter their age or how many times they’ve done it. I was 19 the first time I flew by myself and although I was an experienced flyer, there’s still a unique kind of anxiety that rises in the effort of getting to the correct gate and boarding the correct flight.

Plus, so many different things can happen like delayed or cancelled flights and gate changes, that it’s always helpful to have a little more patience and understanding.

 

Did you like this article? Then you will love “How to Fly with a Toddler!”