5 tips for flying with children

This time of year those of us with children are starting to think about the Christmas holidays. We’re spotting notices about Christmas events (and adding them to the parental memory bank) and thinking about where we’ll be spending the season of goodwill.

As well as all the usual Christmas organising such as presents, cards and school nativities, many parents will be tasked with arranging a visit to relatives which, for some, means flying with children.

Here are Looking4Parking’s top tips to take the boredom out of boarding (groan!).

1. If you’re travelling a long distance, plan time for resting. Flights and public transport can be particularly tiring for young children, especially if travelling at night or early in the morning. Planning regular stops or rests and making sure you don’t have to rush to catch flights or connections will prevent tantrums later in the journey.

2. If you’re packing for the whole family, pack the children’s things in separate bags or compartments. It sounds simple but in the chaos of pre-Christmas packing it’s easy to throw everyone’s things in together. Finding an emergency change of underwear (for a child hopefully) in the airport is easier if you don’t have to rummage through the whole family’s Christmas wardrobe.

3. If your kids sometimes suffer videogame rage after staring at a small screen for too many hours invest in some talking books to put on their mp3 players. It’s a much cheaper way of keeping your children quiet and you might find that the calming effect of being read to is better for their mood than Mario Kart.

4. Plan for delays. You shouldn’t have to do this, but we all know airport delays are notorious around the Christmas period as bad weather grounds flights and leaves people stranded. Pack snacks in hand luggage for short delays and do a quick search for airport hotels before you travel just in case your flight is cancelled.

5. Book your airport parking now. Unless you have particularly patient children, catching a train at 4am isn’t going to be your best option and airport parking can also be much cheaper than public transport. Choose from On-site, Meet & Greet and Park & Ride and get the cheapest deal with Looking4Parking.