Long haul flights with kids

[Anxietyandme24]

12 hour flight with 2 children aged 6 and (almost) 4. Aside from the obvious tablets, sticker books and a million snacks.....ideas for comfort and keeping them entertained please.

Any must have accessories e.g. travel pillows etc?

one flight is over night and the other is day time

Colouring books , sticker books , Nintendo switch and iPad works well for mine though tbh they like the invidial screens on the plane with the games and films as well.

They will probably sleep on the overnight flight

Change of clothes easily accessible for all. Crucial if someone gets travel sick or spills their drink. Consider small drink bottles or similar if they have a tendency to spill their drinks regularly.

Who are you flying with. Took mine to oz at that stage. We flew emirates and the entertainment was amazing so they just plugged in, eat and slept.
Just don't try and impose any screen rules/snack rules you have a home. This is about survival.

Oh yes, travel pillows, change of clothes for everyone for the spilt drink (think my dd was in hers half way to Dubai!).
Portable phone charger/cables as some planes have charging facilities and some don't.
When you get there just try and work with the time zone asap. Kids are so much better at jet lag than I am.

Please ask them to be mindful of others. By this I mean keeping their voices down and not pulling on or kicking seats. Especially for the night flight where people will be trying to sleep. It will save you from the glares of death or from people shouting at you and/or them.
Other than that, I think you've been given all the best tips already.

Colouring pencils & books, reading books, headphones

Track suits/soft clothes, socks, a flannel and a sandwich bag to keep it in, a small bag to use as a bin, change of clothes, matching hats for the airport that fold.

Children's earphones.

You seem to be able to get things to fill the gap between the seat and the back of the seat in front now so small kids can lie reasonably flat. I think that would have been a good idea when travelling with mine at that age!

Get them used to wearing headphones in advance if they are not already. Let them at the inflight entertainment. Unlimited screen time was such a novelty for our daughter that she was great on flights when she was little.

Practice with headphone and BYO so there’s no complaints about them not being comfy. Take a full meal not just snacks in case they don’t like the plane one even if it’s a sandwich bought in the airport. Then suspend any usual rules re screen time! I’ve never had any issues with mine once 4+. I don’t think you need to be bringing loads of stuff, I find it doesn’t get a look in when screens are an option (which is fine on a plane!) and it’s annoying to carry a lot.

Definitely tablets/switch anything like that. Mine are similar ages and also loved playing the games on the in flight entertainment as it was their first experience of this but preferred their own headphones to the ones provided by the airline.

Travel pillows are another essential and the only ones mine can get comfy with are the trtl travel pillow (they use the junior size). A bit pricier than the inflatable ones but much more comfortable and both slept the majority of the home journey even through bad turbulence.

Neck pillows are worth a try - one of mine likes it, the other doesn’t. We have Bcozzy ones.

Those inflatable foot rest thingies aren’t allowed on a lot of flights so check before you invest in some.

For my smaller DC whose feet cannot reach the floor, this trick really helps for overnight: Tie a scarf into a loop, open the seatback table, hang loop across table arms, close and lock table. The scarf creates a hammock for their feet which makes it a lot easier to sleep.

Child size earplugs may be worth a try in case of crying baby etc. Look at Quies brand which does really soft ones in mini size. These helped us but my DC are a bit older.

Bring charging cables as many planes now have USB sockets in the seat that will recharge a tablet (slowly…). A back up battery pack may be worthwhile too, for the day flight.

Do not take the bulkhead seats as the arms don’t raise which means they can’t lie on your lap at all.

Maybe an eye mask if you want them to sleep in day or before lights go down - my 5 and 4yo were given free one time and to my surprise they loved them

Just remember, it will end.

Thats all I’ve got… sorry.

I've done UK to NZ with little kids a number of times... I wouldn't bother with neck pillows. But instead a fat cuddly teddy that can be used as a pillow.

I discovered these on the last trip and we loved them. They fill up the footwell and make it easier for kids to spread out when they're sleeping and give them more space to play or stretch when awake - which stops them squirming and annoying others quite so much.

Foot Rest Pillow for Kids Inflatable https://amzn.eu/d/7PidPxv

For my almost 4 year old upcoming flight , I just ordered some of those usbourne mini series books. They seem good. They do puzzle type, colouring, spot the difference etc. I think they would be good for both 4 and 6 year olds. They are small enough to fit in small child size rucksacks.

wheres Wally books. Where’s the sloth is also a favourite here.

Some great ideas here, thanks all

We did 'a bag an hour'
Small ziplocks with small stuff in - a few stickers, a few sweets, a little book/game, whatever crap they like
They they get 1 an hour on the flight as long as they are good
They get really excited 😂😂😂

Definitely earphones, please don't let them have anything on loudspeaker. I had 2 kids in front of me on a trip back from Aus last month, I had to ask to be moved as I couldn't stand the noise from their screens 😡

Screen time limits don't exist on flights 🤣

Absolute genius!

Eye mask for the night flight, can take a while for the lights to be dimmed
We take a colouring book and a sketchbook so she can draw
Make sure you have calpol and nurofen.
More snacks than you think you need, sweets as a treat
Mine takes a couple of polly pockets or small lego sets
Activity book
New pens, mine loves glitter and pastel gel pens

If anyone can recommend kids ear plugs? I have a night flight in the summer and would like her to sleep.

Mini jigsaws, i got 4 from the works, £1 each