Surviving the Airport with Kids!

Join travel advisors and destination experts Ryan and Julie as they share essential tips for navigating airports with young children. From pre-trip preparation to boarding strategies, this episode covers everything parents need to know to make family travel less stressful and more enjoyable.

Key Topics Covered

Pre-Travel Preparation

• Working with travel advisors for comprehensive packing lists
• Essential gear: strollers with travel bags, baby carriers, and separate backpacks for kids' items
• Prepping children mentally for their first flights through books, toys, and step-by-step explanations

Airport Navigation Strategies

• TSA PreCheck benefits for families (kids included under 18)
• Seat selection importance - budget for assigned seating
• Southwest Airlines family boarding tips and restrictions
• Document requirements: birth certificates for children under 2

Packing Essentials for Kids

• Snacks (multiple varieties)
• Comfort items: stuffies, blankets, loveys
• Layers and change of clothes
• Entertainment arsenal: activity books, fidget toys, magnetic tiles, reusable stickers, mess-free coloring kits, building toys, and tablets with downloaded content

Security and Boarding Tips

• Stroller handling through TSA
• Baby carrier protocols
• Gate check procedures for strollers
• Managing boarding passes and parent assignments
• Ear pressure solutions: avoid lollipops, use crunchy snacks like goldfish

Transportation Planning

• Budget for hourly airport parking vs. shuttle services
• Plan transfers in advance (airport to hotel, hotel to cruise port)
• Consider car seat requirements for ground transportation

Expert Advice Highlights

• Start with shorter flights for first-time flying families
• Keep kids in strollers until reaching the gate
• Choose iced coffee over hot when chasing kids
• Maintain low expectations to reduce stress
• Proper preparation prevents most travel disasters

Where in the World

This week's featured listener location: Tupelo, Mississippi - birthplace of Elvis Presley, featuring his childhood home, museum, and memorial chapel.

Want to plan your next family adventure? Visit Wonder and Beyond Travel for personalized travel planning that takes the stress off your plate.

Next Episode Preview: Sports travel - how to cheer on your favorite team or attend bucket list sporting events.

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Transcript

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 0:00

Hello and welcome to all things Travel. Families with younger kids tend to be hesitant to travel. It's hard enough parenting at home, let alone packing all the kid related items, the kids themselves, and bringing all that through the airport. That's what we're here for today. We're gonna share the best ways to survive the airport with the little ones in tow.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 0:23

Listen in with travel advisors and destination experts. Ryan and Julie. He's your travel professor teaching you everything you need to know to have a magical vacation. And I'm a Disney loving Maryland mom of three and a specialist in family travel. we're discussing incredible destinations. Top vacation tips or sharing personal stories? It's always all things travel.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 0:48

So Julie, both of our sets of kids have traveled since very young

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 0:54

Yes.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 0:55

the stories that are in my brain of situations that we've gotten ourselves into, or, you know, I, I remember, you know, I. Well, I'm, no, I'm not gonna embarrass my kids Caleb did such a good job last week on the podcast. I'm not going to mention, having to quickly put a diaper on him in the plane so that he didn't have an accident.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 1:18

Poor Caleb. Okay. Alright, so I'm interested Ryan if things feel the same as what you were doing or if you're like, okay, I didn't do that

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 1:28

absolutely.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 1:29

compare and contrast

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 1:31

this is such your wheelhouse, I did not have smaller kids when I first started. doing travel and that's always been your focus. it's interesting because, having small kids that travel, and growing up, traveling through airports, my daughter now goes on trips for, her college or her teams and she just can't stand it. Because she's like, they don't do it right. People don't know what they're doing. she's like, I have TSA precheck and nobody else does, so I can't use it. Or they don't know where the gate is, it's been interesting to kind of watch her navigate that because, she's been traveling on planes since she was a baby. she started as a lap infant and went from there.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 2:12

those lap infants. How fun.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 2:15

Well, hey, before we get into all of these great tips for traveling with kiddos, especially through the airport, I wanna remind folks that last week we talked about a really fascinating trend in travel and that is yachting vacations. Whether it's a catamaran, a sailboat, a small yacht, or a group yacht, there are lots of different options for yachting.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 2:38

All right, so we are gonna start with the, before you get to the airport part of this, which is prepping and packing. I'm just gonna go through my plans as far as that goes, and what I tell my clients to do. The way that you start all of this is working with a travel advisor that can give you an extensive packing list to include all the kids specific

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 3:00

Yeah.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 3:01

and then going to purchase all of those items. things that I always think about when I am getting ready to take my kids through an airport is bringing my stroller. has a travel bag and a stroller caddy, which is like that top thing that you

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 3:18

huh.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 3:19

drink or your snacks in, and being able to fold your stroller. fit it into the bag. I have so many clients that are like, well, I don't really wanna bring my stroller. I don't know how much I'm gonna use it in whatever destination they're going to. and I'm just like, yeah, but it keeps them contained and I think that is like, you can't discount how helpful that is to have them sitting in the stroller, buckled in, not running around while you're carrying your luggage.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 3:49

So you're going to laugh at this, Julie,

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 3:51

God,

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 3:52

as you're talking about this. I think I have only ever traveled air wise with an umbrella stroller. I don't think we ever traveled with a real stroller on a flight.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 4:08

That be nice.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 4:10

Yeah,

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 4:11

part of it too, is we go to Disney so much and you know that when you get off

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 4:16

sure.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 4:16

MCO at Orlando International, you're not like. Where you're

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 4:22

A

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 4:22

exiting the airport

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 4:23

Absolutely. Yes, totally, totally.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 4:26

then you have to go over here for baggage. You have to go over there for mirrors connect. Like there's a lot of back and forth walking, so I just always say get

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 4:35

I'm not saying it was a good idea, I'm just relaying our, yeah. Yeah. I,

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 4:39

should have talked

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 4:40

the first two times I went to Disney with the kids, we rented the strollers at the parks, and by the third time they didn't need strollers.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 4:51

Okay.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 4:52

So very different experience, but that's okay. That's what makes it good.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 4:55

that's what I'm here for. So I also like to do, if, one of my kids is under the age of one, I like to have them in one of those carriers that I can wear. again, part of that is because I have three little minions, so. I don't always wanna bring my triple stroller everywhere. It's nice to have one kid contained on me. They can sleep and the other one's in the stroller. And I'll talk a little bit more about how that works on the plane

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 5:19

Hmm.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 5:19

and with security later. I also like to recommend that you have a separate book bag for all the kids' items, and this is where you end up doing a lot of the prep work for traveling with them on the airplane.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 5:30

So I do have a story about this'cause I agree with you a hundred percent. the second time my family went to Disney, it was a surprise for the kids

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 5:40

Oh.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 5:41

so. I was in charge of the packing and I kept getting Miriam's things throughout the day, and she kept figuring out that things were gone. every night it's like, where are my markers? it's the day before the trip and we're packing in the bedroom and like she's, she went to bed, but we would give her some time'cause she was older to, and she's like knocking on the door. She's like, someone is stealing my stuff. Like, she's like, so seriously. She's like, I don't know what's happening, but there are things missing from my room.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 6:18

Your kids were not built for surprises.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 6:21

and we're just like, can you just go to bed? I guarantee at five o'clock in the morning this is all gonna make sense. But yes, having a separate backpack with things packed is,

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 6:33

It's helpful.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 6:34

really important.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 6:36

Okay. So I am also very, very big on prepping my kids. This is a big thing nowadays, but in the parenting world to talk to your kids about something before it happens. before their first trips, we would get, a toy airplane play airplanes. read books about airplanes, maybe even Reenact it. Tell them about all the steps they're gonna go through before they get on the airplane. watching a show, things like that. Just prepping them so that they know, hey, we are gonna get up have breakfast, get in the car, drive down to the airport. When we get there, we have to park and then go to where the airplanes are and kind of explain. Then we have to go through security. when they think about going On an airplane, all they know is like airplanes in the sky. They

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 7:16

Right.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 7:16

all these steps. letting them know what's going on. It's gonna make them be a little more patient in the process. always recommend that you apply for TSA pre-check. Kids are included

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 7:27

Yep.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 7:27

right now, they're not included in global entry, but they are included in TSA precheck and having that is such a stress reliever. for going through security, not having to take all those kids' shoes off and all those kinds of things. sometimes you go and there's no line at regular security and you're like, oh, I don't really need this. But it is a nice stress reliever to have.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 7:51

Not opening my bags and leaving my belt and shoes on are worth it, even if the line is shorter in the regular line.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 7:58

that's what I say too. Sometimes people will be like, oh, we didn't need this because the line is short. And I'm like, right, but you still don't have to take off your shoes and take out your laptop and the iPad all that stuff. so if you're on a flight that you choose the seats ahead of time, to have all your seats together. just go ahead and budget that cost into the cost of your trip. You don't want to have the airline assign your seats and be stressed about where are we gonna be? Are we gonna be together? That's just not worth it.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 8:26

Right.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 8:27

We're not really sure what Southwest seating is going to look like in the future, but for right now when we're recording this, they have family boarding. So if you are planning on doing family boarding, you wanna be at the front of that line when you're waiting for your Southwest flight you check in for your flight 24 hours in advance. I talk about Southwest a lot because in Baltimore we're a big Southwest hub. you check in 24 hours in advance, and then you don't really have to do anything else until you get to the airport. The next day you're at your gate, and when it gets close to boarding time, they will board pre-orders, which are those who need extra time boarding. They have already talked to a gate agent to get that pre-board status. Then they're going to board what Southwest calls the A group, which is usually like business class type people, like they fly a lot and they have priority. You can also pay to be in the A group if you choose. that is family boarding. It's kind of a free for all. So even if you

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 9:26

Yes.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 9:27

even if when you check in, you're assigned to the B group or the C group, you can board with family boarding, but only if you have a kid who's under six. And I've seen them be really strict about that. I've also seen them be really strict about its immediate family.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 9:42

Yes, it's two adults, so if you're traveling with grandma and grandpa, grandma and grandpa are gonna board separately and, don't assume we don't really have to worry about checking in because we're gonna do the family board. Because that could cause issues

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 9:57

Yeah, and they didn't use to be very strict on that, but I have seen it the past couple, maybe two years that I've flown Even if, I have three kids, if I were to pass one of my children off to a grandparent and have them be in the family boarding line, they're still not going to accept that those kids boarding passes are tied to the parents so they know what's going on.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 10:17

when we traveled together in July. can I borrow one of your children

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 10:23

if you take him the whole time.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 10:24

Oh, nevermind.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 10:25

So the other thing is for Southwest this is how they do it right now. If you want to make sure you're in that first group that's boarding, you can add early bird check-in. You're still not guaranteed the A group, but you don't have to do the physical check-in. It's done for you and you're more likely to get in the A group.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 10:42

Yeah.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 10:43

you know, a Southwest is choose your own seed. It's open seeding, so that's how that helps you to get on the plane earlier. I also like to have paper and mobile copies of all your documents. And for kids this means having either a photo on your phone of their birth certificate, or bringing the real birth certificate, especially if your kids are two and under. They don't always ask for this type of documentation, but you don't wanna be at the airport in the situation, and then they ask for it and you don't have it. This really comes into play when under two is free and you haven't paid for a seat and they are trying to challenge you on that.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 11:23

Got it.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 11:23

So you definitely wanna have that document. the next big thing people ask about is car seats and what to do with them if you want to plan to bring your car seat. ahead and do that. Make sure your car seat is approved to be on an airplane. There's a sticker on it that would say that. I would definitely pay to upgrade to be in that first boarding group so that you have plenty of time or maybe at

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 11:45

Uh,

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 11:45

dad upgrade and be in that first boarding group or one parent so that they have time to get in and install that car seat while the kid is not waiting

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 11:54

yeah, I like that idea.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 11:55

At this point, we've learned we are sucking it up and paying for hourly parking at the airport because at BWI, it's a walk to the terminals. it's really quick. We don't have to take a shuttle or a tram over to

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 12:09

Right.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 12:10

and we've done that a couple of times, but like the first, maybe four years of traveling with the kids, we would. Pay to park at the cheaper places and take the shuttle to the terminal, and we would be like loading our entire life onto the shuttle plus the

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 12:25

people love to see you coming.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 12:27

It was terrible. finally we were like, forget that. let's park an hourly. We can just walk right over to the terminal. It's so much easier. So just build that into the cost of your trip. The last piece is to make sure that you've planned your transfers in advance. Depending on where you're going. This is something we work with you on and this is why it is so crucial to work with a travel advisor. I was on the phone with my friend today who is coming on our cruise with us, and I'm very excited. They have never cruised before and I'm talking to them today and they booked this hotel that's near the port for the night before, and I was like, great job. You are arriving the day before. I'm proud of you. You listened to that advice.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 13:07

Yeah.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 13:07

did you book any transfers? And they're like, what's a transfer? so how are you gonna get from the airport to the hotel? And then the hotel to the port and then the port back to the airport. they were like, we haven't thought about that. well, you can't Uber unless you bring your car seat.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 13:23

Right.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 13:23

And they're like, well, we're not bringing your car seat. I was like, okay. So then we're gonna be paying for private transportation, which is like$300 from. airport to the hotel, then probably like 200 from the hotel to the port. So we ended up reworking their entire plan because this wasn't something that they had considered

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 13:41

Sure,

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 13:41

So having those things situated in advance is really helpful.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 13:45

Great.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 13:46

add on Ryan before we start

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 13:48

No,

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 13:48

other things?

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 13:49

and you know, we've said this before on this podcast, I think that last piece of advice is for anybody, not just people that are traveling with kids. I think knowing how you're leaving the airport and how you're getting back to the airport just saves so much stress.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 14:06

all right, I'm gonna run through a quick list of packing items for kids before we get to where in the world.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 14:12

Yeah.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 14:12

The top of this list is snacks. if you're a parent of little kids, you know you have to have snacks on you at all times and all kinds of snacks because they probably don't want whatever it is you have.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 14:22

Right. Absolutely.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 14:24

Their their favorite stuffy, lovey blanket, whatever their comfort item is. And my kids don't really always have a particular one. So I just say, Hey, go pick something to bring with you. layers and changes of clothes, you know, the temperature on the plan can be

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 14:39

Mm-hmm.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 14:40

always make sure I've got a little jacket for them. And especially the younger ones, I always make sure I have a change of clothes.'cause you never know when someone's having an accident

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 14:49

Absolutely. Or you're headed right to the resort or you're headed right to the cruise and you want that swimsuit

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 14:57

Yeah.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 14:58

having stuff like that for the first day, not just travel.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 15:02

Yes. So, and then here is the bulk of it, the activity books and all the things that are gonna go in that kid's backpack. these are my favorite things I like to pack for the kids, I don't bring all of this every time I have a bin just full of all of this. And I let them go and pick a couple things for every trip. So books, especially things like touch and Feel, lift of Flaps and look and vines. Something that will entertain them and can entertain them without you reading the whole time. Any type of window suction, toys, like those little spinners, squids, things like that for the littler ones. building toys. Magnet men, squids, mini magnet tiles, those kind of things occupy my kids forever. And it's great because they, they go really well for all ages. I like to do travel Play-Doh or travel sensory kits. That's not something I do every trip, but if it's a longer plane ride, it's very different from the other activities. So it's helpful. Any type of fidget toy like color separators Wiki sticks. Push and peel sensory activity boards, any type of sorting toys, things like that, they're using their hands and it's very hands on and it's kind of occupying their mind that way as well. I also do a lot of book activities. dotted activities sticker activities, foil, fun, fun with foam. Those are all great activities that I take with my kids. They have paint with water books that will occupy them as well. Reusable sticker books and mess free coloring kits are my top things that I take because they are the least messy. the last couple ones we've tried recently are things like magnetic puzzle books and sticker by numbers or sticker by letters for kids that are getting a little bit older. I've also seen for really little kids just take a roll of, painter's tape, like the blue tape. Just stick it everywhere and let them peel it off and then stick it back on. Kids are entertained by the craziest things that you don't even think

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 16:54

Love it. Love it.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 16:55

and the last thing is the tablet. make sure your movies are downloaded and that you have headphones. The courtesy on the airplane is anytime you're listening to anything with sound from your phone, your tablet, your computer, please have headphones in. So not everyone has to listen to those things.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 17:13

Well, hey, before we talk about what to do on your trip, I wanna talk about where in the world is. All things travel, and when I looked at new locations this week, a new place for all things travel was Tupelo, Mississippi. And in this location, Julie, I am gonna meet our listener at a very famous birthplace. Tupelo, Mississippi is the birthplace of none other than Elvis Presley.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 17:42

that's cool.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 17:43

And so yes, so, so there is a center that contains Elvis's, birthplace home, a small museum, and a memorial chapel, and you can tour all of those places. I think that would be a really good travel spot to meet our listener and thank them for being featured on today's All Things travel

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 18:04

That's really cool. What a nice slice of history.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 18:07

hey Tupelo, we are so glad you're listening. Do us a favor, reach out via, our website, wonder and beyond travel.com and click on Contact Us because I would love to send a little thank you gift down to Tupelo for being featured on today's show. Julie, we have prepped for this vacation. We are exhausted, but we have lots of foam toys painters tape and doodads and worldly gigs. what do we need to do next?

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 18:41

When we go on the cruise, I'm just gonna send my kids into your room with their book bag. You'll come back, there'll be suction toys on the, windows,

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 18:50

Ah,

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 18:52

Okay. So

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 18:53

it's all good.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 18:54

let's talk about when you're getting to the airport and what that looks like. The biggest thing is to try to reduce the number of luggage you have because you're also in charge of these little people, and it's just not as easy to bring that luggage as you think. to consider just one to two larger suitcases that you're going to check. I recommend checking luggage with your kids because it's easier to drop off that big bag and then just have a book bag or two and the kids

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 19:20

A hundred percent my family of four and part of this was flying Southwest. Usually I'm thinking, Indianapolis to Orlando, you know, so free check bags But yeah, it was two suitcases for the family of four,

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 19:32

you put all of it checked.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 19:34

a hundred percent.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 19:35

so you also want to, as I alluded to earlier, have all their items in one book bag. And then I like to do snacks and my items in another because. be serious. I'm not really taking anything for myself on the plane. It's not like I'm going to be able to read a book or anything like that because I'm gonna just be handing out snacks and

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 19:56

Wait,

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 19:56

time.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 19:57

you sit down and put on your noise canceling headphones. you turn on Spotify or whatever you downloaded from Netflix. No, that's not how your flights go.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 20:07

That's not how my flights

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 20:08

Oh, man. Okay.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 20:10

so when you get there. Something that parents are always really nervous about is what does security look like with kids? When you have TSA pre-check, it's very stress free because you don't have to do any sort of that prep of taking things off You are just gonna follow the instructions for your stroller. They'll have you wheel it to the side. They used to have me try to fold it up and put it through, and I haven't had to do that

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 20:34

Yeah.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 20:35

of times. So if, if maybe if you have a very small one, they have you do that, but I'm not folding up my triple or double anymore in doing that, it'll just go to the side. They'll kind of wipe it down, whatever. And whatever testing they do for that, the kids will walk through security with you. there's always two different types of, metal detectors.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 20:51

Mm-hmm.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 20:52

to go through. Um, you cannot wear your kids in the carrier during that. the carrier has to come off, and go through the machine. also make sure you dump out any bottles. So if you have a really little one and they're doing like a bottle of milk or whatever, make sure you dump that out and make a new one once you get through. we learned this the hard way. I always used to bring my kids water bottles and fill them up at the airport to take'em to the plane, and then they would always pressurize and on the

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 21:20

Oh,

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 21:20

open'em and we would get soaked. So just not a great idea. Maybe just don't fill the water

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 21:26

and, and, and, and, and then that. And then that's what always when you would do the color by water. after that.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 21:32

Oh my gosh, right? Why we need to change of clothes. Okay. I recommend that you keep the kids in the stroller if you can, until you make it to your gate. With the exception of security. Find a spot to eat in an area for the kids to move around in. Even if it's not exactly at your gate, go to an empty one. Give up on having a hot coffee. Just get an iced one. because the hot coffee is just gonna be such a nuisance while you're chasing these kids around. Once you're at the gate, prep your stroller bag and get your gate check tag. go to the airline workers at your gate and tell them you want to gate check your stroller. They tag it. When you board the plane, drop it off to the side. They'll tell you what to do with it. When you get off the plane, pick it up in the same spot, you dropped it off. I like to talk to the kids ahead of time. Before we board about which parent they're walking on with. Even if we are literally walking side by side, I tell them, you're gonna hold mommy's hand and you're gonna hold daddy's hand just so we move a little bit quicker. the gate agents have wanted the kids to hold their boarding pass, which is kind of annoying. maybe they wanna make sure They're scanning each persons instead of mom holding all five. But talk to your kids about doing that as well. Just tell them, hold this. Don't do anything with it. During takeoff, this is another question I get a lot, what do I do during takeoff so my kids' ears don't pop? little babies, they say pacifier or give them something to drink or nurse them when the kids are a little bit older. I tried lollipops a little,'cause like the sucking motion would help with the ear popping, but then everything just gets sticky. So I try not to do that anymore So like gummy snacks or any snack they have to chew. Lately I've been doing goldfish'cause they're crunchy. And then you get out that activity book bag of all the wonderful things that you have packed. I always give them an option of items to start with. It's usually like a fidget toy to start with because you can't put the tray table down right away for any of the coloring type things. I try to hold off on my tablet. You do you with your parenting style? I try to hold off. sometimes it actually helps to have the kids sit next to each other so that they can play together as opposed to mom in the middle, one kid on each side, put them next to each other and they can play together. That's helped me a little bit, so yeah. Whew. What a

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 23:41

Wow. Yeah.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 23:43

do you have anything to add?

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 23:45

No, I,

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 23:46

of that you

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 23:46

I, I, I think this is great. I think it's one of those things where we did a lot of what you talked about. and I think it worked great and, then you get to a point where, everybody is, watching this or reading a book it does change. the more prep you put in,

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 24:03

Mm-hmm.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 24:04

easier the trip's gonna be. And I've seen parents where you can just tell, they assume this is gonna be a nightmare, and so they act stressed out and irritated the entire trip. And then you have other parents that have planned out ideas and work with their kids and it's just a completely different experience for them.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 24:28

Yeah, once you get stressed out, they are gonna get

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 24:31

Yeah,

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 24:31

to go into it with the lowest of low expectations, which is pretty much how we approach every day, so that's just kind of how you spread.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 24:39

Yeah.

j_1_06-08-2025_192633: 24:40

one last thing, just start with a short flight. don't start with a six hour flight. Start with a two hour flight.

ryan_1_06-08-2025_192633: 24:45

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