International Travel with Kids: The Plane Experience
International Travel with Kids: The Plane Experience and general preparedness.
We are finally on a trip again to visit our family in Thailand. My Father-in-Law is Thai (hence my incredible last name) and after he retired and all his sons were settled into their own lives he came back home to Bangkok to live his best life singing and eating crab. We’ve been making the big trip every year with our kids to visit him and their great Aunts and Uncles. Its been a treasure to watch the kids see their family again after we took the last few years off because of the Pandemic. So many smiles, laughs and happy happy hugs! BUT here we are now with things looking up and I’m sitting on the condo patio in Pattaya writing this now. There is so much I could share about a trip like this but for this little story lets talk about traveling internationally with kids…. especially to Asia. (Which by the way….I think you should do. Europe is so cool but nothing beats the cultural experiences you’ll gain and the opening of your world view when you travel someplace so different from your own!)
The Plane Experience
So what to do on the plane? This is the hardest part if you overthink it. Load up their iPads/tablets with allllll the things and then just let go of all your screen time rules. This is not the time to be a hero people. Its a long, long flight and most littles can’t stay focused on an activity for more than 20 min. So think of the amount of stuff you’ll need to have on board to occupy their time for a 13+ hour flight….. Its not worth the space and the energy to haul it all. Trust me. Also, Melatonin. Its hard to get comfortable on these flights unless you are able and willing to buy a first class seat. So the kids all get 1mg of Melatonin to help them fall asleep! I time it based on the timing of the flight but you want to give them at least a full 8 hours of time between when you land and when you give them the vitamin so they aren’t sleepy when its time to deplane.
Jet Lag: The second hardest part. You’ve travelled to the opposite side of the world and now you and your kids are SO discombobulated. Is it day or night? Why am I so tired and sorta dizzy? Sounds so great right? The biggest answer is grace. Just know that you’ll be super sleepy the first day, pretty groggy on day two and then up early for a few days following. I pack some easy snacks in my bag for those mornings and I keep my expectations pretty low. The only other trick is to keep moving and try not to nap. Get out of your room and try to go for a walk, eat some breakfast out and go do an easy activity. Do not get near anything upholstered until at least 3pm! Then I say, eat a “blue hair special” dinner and turn in by 4 or 5 pm. If everyday you can just push your bedtime a few more hours you’ll be doing great by day 3 or 4! (This is unless you have a little baby then I would always just let them sleep a little durning the day if they still nap a little at home.) Also, I try not to push them to eat anything to adventurous the first day. This trip we found a McDonalds and let them chow down a happy meal. Its fun to see the different menu items in a different country but its also great to see them scarf down something familiar when they are experiencing so much already!
Medicines and Medical concerns: Let me tell you a little story about taking some Korean stomach medicine without being able to read the instructions. Actually I don’t think I need to tell you the story because you are smart and all you need to hear is “stomach medicine” and you know what happened. So I always bring medicine for any typical concern we all might have during the trip and I bring it ALL in my carry-on bag. It takes up half of an Away small carry on bag but its a long travel day and a lot can happen. This is what I bring for the kids: Immodium, Motrin, Tylenol, Benadryl, Cortezone, Bandaides, prescriptions, . What I bring for parents: Advil, Antacids, Immodium, Miralax, Liquid IV, allergy meds with decongestant and an all-in-one type cold/flu medication. The TSA approves going over your allowed liquid limit for a “reasonable” amount of medication. I’ve never had an issue with the kids liquid meds at the security check point! Definitely check for updated info on the TSA website before you go! If you are traveling with a small baby (or anyone that gets warm when they are sleepy) I would recommend checking their temperature before you land and administering some fever meds. They will check your temperature and I don’t feel like you want to be quarantined anywhere! Just a hunch.
The second part of this knowing where you should go at your final destination in the event someone gets sick or injured. We’ve had one ear infection and one hospital trip for dehydration. Luckily for our family, we have a pediatrician and a pediatric ear nose and throat doctor in Bangkok AAAAND my father-in-law is a surgeon so we have a lot of help in the medical regard. But I can tell you its stressful enough to have your kiddo sick and then need to figure out a plan to make them better. I say do some basic research before you go to save yourself some heartache if something goes down.
What to pack into your carry ? It’s already mucho hot and rushed to transfer flights with kids so we keep the on board baggage to a minimum. Pack a backpack for everyone on the flight. Kids get 1) Their iPads and headphones 2) gum 3) a pullover/sweater 4) empty reusable water bottle 5) stuffy/lovey. Then in a small roller suitcase I pack 1) all of the aforementioned medicine 2) a FULL change of clothes for all the kids and an extra shirt for the adults. (cause throw up, exploding yogurt, etc…. you know anything can happen with kids) 3) a bag of snacks that they’ll love because sometimes plane food just doesn’t do it. 4) This trip we packed some inflatable cubes that allow the kids to fully lay down and a mini inflator to pump them up. They were pretty great! 5) Charging cables and back up battery rechargers! (I told you my plan for the plane is screen time so I’m always VERY sure that those puppies stay charged!) 6) This last one SOUNDS really crazy but hear me out….. Its a hat box. Sounds so bougie but I promise it will change your travel going forward. If you’ve ever seen me in the wild you know I am a stickler about wearing a sun hat. Lots of skin cancer in my family and I’m just doing my darnedest to avoid it at alllllllll costs. SO I always have a sun hat for myself, and my kids on a trip. I have never been successful at packing a hat without it being crushed and I also HATE wearing a big hat on the airplane. So I have a collapsable hat box. Here is the thing though. You can pack a ton of hats but you can also throw some random sweatshirts or wraps for the plane into the box! The one I use has a strap that slides over the handle of the carryon and its all very easy peasy.
If you are traveling with a baby I would recommend bringing a little more on the plane. I always had all the formula I needed for the whole trip on the plane with me in case our suitcase was lost. Unless you are open to try some different versions when you get to your destination! I also brought a TON of diapers and wipes on board in case we got stuck in the connecting airport. We never did, but I like to have a little insurance policy in case something goes wrong. I feel like the last thing you want to do is search for the right size diaper in the airport shops. Also I would throw in like 3-4 outfits because they don’t take up that much space but they can be crucial. Always your least favorite outfits so if things get nasty you can toss them. My daughter tossed her cookies in the Tokyo airport and i just took off her shirt and tossed it. Goodbye.
Before you Board. I always always do a quick grocery run at the airport before we get on the plane. Even with the snacks I have packed in the carry on. This trip we also grabbed a few happy meals to eat on the flight which turned out great because it was one of the only things my kids really ate that day! You can also grab bananas and muffins at Starbucks (and a canned cold brew if you want to get real fancy!). I snag a monster water bottle also to keep us refilled on filtered water. I don’t like tracking the flight attendants down with all the lights off to refill a water bottle (or answer the one million questions from the littles about where i am going, what are you doing and why….) I also try to bring a little fun into the pre-flight jitters by letting the kids pick out a package of candy for the flight and a pack of gum. Its a little comfort for an uncomfortable day!