Flying with Young Children

Before I took my son anywhere on an aeroplane I felt anxious over how he would be on the flight. Would he scream the whole time? Would he be so hyper he wouldn't sit down in his seat? Were passengers going to complain? Would I arrive at my destination bald?! Sound familiar?...

Fear not!My personal experiences never been as bad as my wildest imagination could conjure up to scare me! I first took Lewis on a plane when he was 15 months old, I made sure I had read several articles online for tips to help me prepare myself. Here's how it all went, and what I would advise for anyone braving a plane journey!

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Before you even get to Fly-Day, make sure you pack your cabin bag with the essentials you'll need during your flight. You'll want to travel as lightly as possible so you are not juggling too much stuff. Let your child choose a couple of toys and books they want and make sure you pack a small blanket as it can get cold on the plane. Take your child's comforter if they have one and spare dummies if required. Pack some snacks and make a note to buy juice or water from duty free to save yourself some money. Remember to take a book or kindle for yourself too, you'll need something to help relax once your baby falls asleep or in case of dreaded delays!

Our flight was due to take off at around 2pm to Crete, around 4 hours & 15 minutes flying time. We arrived at the airport at around 11.30am so we could be near the front of the queues to check-in our luggage. I wanted to make sure we gave ourselves plenty of time to get through security and into the departures lounge. Being in a rush with a small child is so stressful, so we had to avoid any extra pressure that we could - at all costs! I would highly recommend checking what time your check-in desk opens (usually 2 hours before take-off) and get there for just before then to give yourself as much time as possible.

I had researched flying with a car seat online and purposefully bought one that was approved for flying. I thought if he had a nice comfortable seat that reclined (and had a five point harness!) that he would be more settled on the flight... Until the airline would not let us take the seat through with us, and asked us to check it into the hold! I ended up arguing back and forth at the customer service desk, showing them the information from their website that stated car seats could be used in-flight if they were approved for this use. I showed an email conversation I had with online staff, stating the seat was fine to be used on the plane but could not be used on the row of seats we had booked. So, I paid another fee to reserve different seats on a row the car seat could be used.

The staff were still adamant we could not board the plane with the seat, and refused to offer any kind of reimbursement of the money we had lost on purchasing this seat and the cost of booking new seats to use it, as one of their colleagues had told us to do. By this point I was so frustrated, and all the extra time I had given myself getting to the airport early had been wasted. I gave-in and handed the seat over to go into the hold telling them I would be taking it further.

I would recommend thoroughly looking into the use of car seats on your chosen airline, and ask for confirmation of this in writing if possible in case you end up stuck in a situation like myself. Although, even proof of my conversations with staff was not enough - so good luck!

We got ourselves through security and just-about had enough time to run into Boots and grab a couple meal deals and a carton of milk for Lewis before our gate was called and we had to make the dash! Thankfully most airlines call forward passengers travelling with children under 5 to board the plane ahead of standard ticket holders, so you get a little bit of extra time and room to get yourself, your tiny terror(s) and your bags of essentials onto the flight. Once we were seated on the plane I whipped out the ultimate flying must-have - the iPad. Pre-loaded with plenty of movies and episodes of annoying children's programmes it was great for keeping him sitting still for the first half hour of the flight where you cannot move from your seat while the plane taxis and takes off. I would recommend you remove apps and games from your iPad or tablet that require internet to use as this stops your child throwing a tantrum when they cannot get it to work!

The first two hours of the flight went well - my son played with his toys, watched Minions, coloured in and ate some soggy microwaved chips and snacks. When he became restless I walked him to the furthest end toilet to stretch his legs and try to entertain him further. He was a bit fed-up now and nothing seemed to keep him still. He slithered around our feet on the floor and tried to climb over the tops of the seats when he realised he couldn't go anywhere underneath them! He was becoming whiney and I was out of bargaining tools (snacks and toys) so I asked for his milk to be heated which the airline staff did happily and to my amazement he fell asleep with his blanket and comforter for most of the remainder of the flight! Result.

When the plane began it's descent, Lewis woke up screaming with the pressure in his ears. On take-off he rubbed at his ears a little and sucked on his dummy which seemed to work fine for him as he didn't get upset at all with the cabin pressure. But nothing was working now. I tried to encourage him to drink, to take his dummy, to eat something. He was refusing, crying out and pulling at his ears. It didn't stop hurting him until we got him off he plane after landing, through passport control and into baggage claim! Poor boy! It was quite stressful, but once his ears had popped and calmed down, he was absolutely fine again - and totally happy to be on holiday!

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The flight back was a different story. Our return flight was delayed, so by the time we had waited almost 2 hours in the over-crowded, loud and stuffy departure lounge we were all past fed up. It was also now nearly 11pm local time (9pm our home time) so Lewis was very over-tired. I got him changed into his pyjamas whilst we waited for the other passengers to board. Lewis had already drank his milk that we bought past security while we were waiting for our plane, and the one little shop that was this side of security had closed shortly after so we couldn't buy any more. So ensure you buy an extra, just in case! One stewardess on the plane told us they did not have any milk, so they could not put it into a bottle for us, she said hot water was the best she could do and scalded us for being 'unprepared'. Helpful, friendly customer service?

Lewis began to really cry, he was over-tired, fed up and being told he could not have any milk. The plane was filled with a high-pitched wail for the entire duration of take off before we levelled out and the seatbelt sign was switched off. I then began to pace the aisle trying to calm him to sleep. Another stewardess approached at this time and offered to add a little hot water to his bottle then fill it with UHT milk sachets to see if he would take it and settle off to sleep. He drank the bottle quickly and with a full tummy he finally settled off to sleep!

He then slept for most of the returning flight, but again as soon as the plane began to descend he awoke crying out in annoyance and pain! We then suffered a repeat of what we had 2 weeks prior!

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Lewis has flown a further 3 trips since, so a total of 8 flights! He's a pro now and definitely remembers each time so he knows what to expect which helps massively! I still haven't found a solution to the ear pain with the cabin pressure on landing. Lewis is still fine taking off, it's just landing that causes an issue! If anyone has any tips to help this, please let me know!

The airline we flew with in this post was Ryanair, and no I didn't get anywhere at all with my complaints with the car seat issue! Not the best customer service by far, but through experience we still believe they are the comfiest, roomiest and most reliable budget airline -that we have used anyway!

Good luck with your adventures!