3 hacks to conquer a flight with a toddler

I’ve taken my toddler on over 26 flights. Here’s how we survive the travel day.

Traveling with a toddler? Well that can be just down right frightening, right!? After 26 flights with Caden, who IMO is on the extreme end of energetic and emotional, we’ve learned a thing or two for how to make the travel day smoother. Caden loves traveling, he asks to go on an airplane all the time. And guess what? With these hacks we *kind of* do too.

Hack #1: Stuff your car seat bag with essentials.

Most airlines allow you to check a car seat for free. There are a number of reasons not to check your car seat without a travel bag: 1) higher likelihood it will break 2) dirt and exposed to the elements 3) you can tuff the travel bag with odd shaped or bulky baby and toddler essentials. We typically place the SlumberPod, toddler air mattress, diapers and any swim necessities like floats or toys in our car seat bag and have never had any questions or issues about it. Its worth noting that this can add up in weight, which is why purchasing a super lightweight car seat is important for travel.

A *critical* diaper packing tip for international trips: bring 3 days worth of diapers in your carry-on, AND pack a week’s worth in your travel car seat bag. While we all wish we’d get lucky and have zero airline drama, chances are a flight will be delayed, canceled or missed. You don’t want to be stuck without diapers in the airport. And, if you are traveling internationally, it’s uncommon to find stores open 24 hours, 7 days a week. The last thing you want to worry about after an exhausting trip is urgently finding diapers. So play it safe, and pack enough to get you through a week.

Car seat travel bag

Hack #2: Let your kids run wild before the flight.

Just don’t let them out of your sight and be ready with tons of antibacterial hand wipes 😉

Shop our airport look: Kyte Baby dupe toddler PJs | travel stroller | July suitcase

Hack #3: Bring all the snacks.

Our bag was filled to the brim with snacks to occupy our toddler. And I highly suggest putting together a fun surprise snack box to keep yours extra busy. Just grab a pill box, fun stickers, their favorite snacks, and some extra special treats (I added peanut butter chips and marshmallows).

Make a snack box for your next flight: snack box option 1 | snack box option 2 | stickers

There you have it: 3 hacks for flying with baby and toddler. Get ready for take off ✈️

Author

Barbara Mighdoll

I live in San Francisco with my husband, Jason, toddler, Caden, one year old baby, Willow, and Bernese Mountain Dog, Bear. I previously held multiple VP of Marketing roles at tech startups before deciding to take the leap to build New Modern Mom full time in an effort to find fulfillment and flexibility in my life. I also was a fitness instructor in an earlier life. I created this space to curate the best products and real advice on pregnancy, motherhood, cooking, travel and more to make doing it all for ambitious moms like me a whole lot easier.

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