Travel Tots: Tips for Flying with Little Ones

Today’s episode stems from a question I received from a listener. A first-time mom of a 4-month-old infant asked me if I knew any science-based tips to help them manage air travel with an infant. She said she had traveled often for work and was frequently surprised that parents couldn’t seem to control their infants on flights. Now that she was a mother, she better understood that no one can control babies. But, she hoped that there were some suggestions on how to help parents and babies manage flights with less stress. 
As we know, modern life often requires plane travel for families. As this listener shared, frequent travelers know the dread when a flight is full of infants or small children. And, anyone who flies with any regularity has a story of a flight that was filled with continuous ear piercing screams of an infant or small child. 

This awareness can be horrifying for parents when they must fly with their infant or small children. Luckily, some basic information and a good dose of humor will help most parents navigate air travel with infants and small children successfully. I assure you, there is no need to feel overwhelmed or shamed. All you need is the right information to help make everything easier. 

Transcript

Hello and welcome to another episode of Proactive Parenting. Remember, this is a judgement-free space to learn how to raise value-driven kids in a way that is right for your family, using the most current scientific research out there. 

I’m your host, Dr. Deanna Marie Mason. I’m a certified pediatric nurse practitioner, published author, and a professional who has devoted my career to studying and using child development to help parents manage childhood issues. 

So, grab a cup of coffee or tea and settle in to learn something new about your child because when we know better, we do better. 

Today’s episode stems from a question I received from a listener. A first-time mom of a 4-month-old infant asked me if I knew any science-based tips to help them manage air travel with an infant. She said she had traveled often for work and was frequently surprised that parents couldn’t seem to control their infants on flights. Now that she was a mother, she better understood that no one can control babies. But, she hoped that there were some suggestions on how to help parents and babies manage flights with less stress. 

So, first, let me thank this listener for her question. Obviously, we all are interested in the answer - both parents with little ones and all of the other passengers who fly on planes with babies. So, let’s get on with the answer! 

As we know, modern life often requires plane travel for families. As this listener shared, frequent travelers know the dread when a flight is full of infants or small children. And, anyone who flies with any regularity has a story of a flight that was filled with continuous ear piercing screams of an infant or small child. 

This awareness can be horrifying for parents when they must fly with their infant or small children. Luckily, some basic information and a good dose of humor will help most parents navigate air travel with infants and small children successfully. I assure you, there is no need to feel overwhelmed or shamed. All you need is the right information to help make everything easier. 

A baby’s persistent crying is often the trigger that disrupts travel. Statistically speaking, most infants and small children are quiet and comfortable during flights. However, there are times when little ones fall outside the norm and cry inconsolably. And it’s these situations when the horror stories are written, especially if it is your child crying! 

Although there is no hard data on why some infants cry continuously on flights, it’s thought to be from an overall merging of many factors at once – something like a perfect storm. Infants and small children thrive on routine in familiar surroundings. Travel upsets all of that. New locations, odd flying hours, changes in time zones, different smells, lots of new faces, strange noises, and uncomfortable sleeping positions can add up to a major melt down. 

Infant and child temperament also plays a large part in why some infants and children have prolonged crying on planes. Some children are sensitive to stimulation, such as light, noise, and smells, which leads them to be over-stimulated easily and can prompt crying. Normally these children cry frequently at home as well as while traveling. Unfortunately, the normal tricks parents develop at home to manage the crying may not be available while traveling and thus the infant cries longer on a plane. 

So what can parents do to help crying babies and small children? Here are a few good practices to make the flight as enjoyable as possible for your baby: 

First, do not try to sedate the child in any way. There are wives’ tales of rubbing whiskey on a baby’s gums or giving children antihistamines (such as Benadryl) to invoke sleep. These activities have not been researched for safety and may have negative effects on the infant or child. Also, especially with the Benadryl, some children get a paradoxical effect, meaning the opposite, and they become super stimulated. Nothing will slow them down until the drug wears off, which takes about 6 hours. So it’s best to avoid sedation. 

The next thing to avoid is overfeeding an infant or child before a flight in hopes of inducing sleepiness. Some parents think they can invoke sleep with a full tummy - like after Thanksgiving dinner. However, the gut expands from pressure changes in the plane while flying. So having an overfull tummy along with the gut expansion from pressure changes may cause gassiness or indigestion resulting in stomach pain. And, believe me, a baby in pain will cry. So no big meals before flights. 

Next, when choosing what to offer your child to eat, focus on feeding to avoid hunger but avoid sugary foods and snacks. I know it may seem enticing to offer cookies, fruit drinks, or candy to bribe a small child into behaving for a while, but this normally ends up in disaster. The sudden energy release from all the sugar goes into the bloodstream and can make a child hyperactive for a short time. Usually when this happens, that child is defiant and cannot control themselves because they feel elated. Then, normally just as suddenly, a rapid drop in blood sugar occurs as all the simple sugars from the sweets are burned up and your little one will feel the energy crash. That shift can cause fussiness, crying, and tantrums. So focusing on keeping a steady amount of energy is best. You can do this by offering whole fruit, cheese sticks, and whole-grain crackers. These are all very portable and provide nourishment while avoiding rapid changes in blood sugar levels.

Another useful thing to do is to try to recreate a home sleeping environment, to provide comfort. Obviously, you can’t bring their crib and all their toys, but you can bring a familiar sleep object, such as a blanket or stuffed toy, to help increase feelings of security. Try to use these objects during takeoff and landing as they are helpful to convey familiarity during a new experience. 

Another important thing parents can do to make flying more comfortable for their little ones is to have a method to equalize ear pressure during takeoff and landing. A baby in pain will cry and little ones do not know how to relieve ear pressure by swallowing or yawning. So parents need to give them a little assistance. You can use of a bottle, the breast, pacifier, or teething ring to help little ones relieve pressure in their ears. And if your child is ill, consider changing flight dates or not flying with infants or small children that have an ear infection or respiratory infection. There is nothing to help open plugged ears when they are also full of mucous. Pressure changes in the plane may cause severe pain to infected ears or congested chests. 

And my last bit of advice is that parents need to stay calm too. We know from the research that anxiety spreads like wildfire. So, when mom and dad are nervous, anxious, or worried, this feeling can spread to their infant or small child. And babies that are anxious are very hard to soothe. If your baby starts to cry, simply apologize to the other passengers and explain you are doing everything possible to calm your baby. That is enough. Let go of the guilt. Most people are understanding and those that are not, well, there’s a special place in H-E-double hockey sticks for them. 

The fact is, flying with infants and small children is a facet of modern life. The good news is that most infants and small children fly through with sailing colors. For others, the disruptions to their schedules and new sensations can create intense crying. You can make plane travel easier by understanding, preparing, and managing the situation with grace, if it arises. Most importantly, no matter how bad a particular flight may be, you will have a great story to put in your child’s baby book. 

I love getting listener questions. So thank you for reaching out. Please don’t hesitate to send me more questions, if you have them. Hopefully the information in this episode gives you the confidence you need to face this challenge with success. As always, I welcome your comments or questions about this episode. Please don’t hesitate to connect with me at deanna@proactiveparenting.com. And if you want to find out more about who I am and what I do, please take a look at my webpage, www.proactiveparenting.com. 

You can also go to Facebook and Instagram to connect with other parents just like you. Find me by searching for my name - Deanna Marie Mason. Finally, if you would like to purchase any of my books, online courses, such as Newborn Care or Breastfeeding Bootcamp, or audio courses, you can find all those resources on my webpage, again that is www.proactiveparenting.com 

Thanks so much for listening, I hope you found this episode useful and interesting. If you did, please leave a comment and tell a friend so they can become a Proactive Parent too! 

Well, that’s all from me for right now. This is Dr. Deanna Marie Mason signing off. I look forward to connecting with you again soon. Until then, take care and be well. Bye!