Going abroad for the first time with your baby or toddler can be a daunting prospect especially when that trip involves air travel. Make your summer simpler and pack prepared. Here's our definitive list of must pack items for traveling with small children without clogging up your hand luggage.
1. Pack snacks
2. Take a teething ring
3. Take a sling- over and above the pushchair. So much easier than teetering up the stairs of an air plane with an excited wriggly small person in tow. You can take a pushchair top, most airlines except collapsible models without eating into your baggage allowance.
4. Buy some cheap second hand story books- content not important. After all anything new is interesting.
5. Finger puppets- under rated in early years play but something about them is super engaging.
6. Teething granules- chamomilla 6c is the key component in this homeopathic treatment, and is used for its calming and soothing effect. They can be given every 30 minutes too, unlike conventional pain killers.
7. Reusable wet wipes- can become teething rings, easily laundered bibs, part of play, to clean a mucky lap tray as well as standard use. We like cheeky wipes the best.
8. Buy bottled water at the duty free store before boarding, as you can't take liquids in through airport security.
2. Take a teething ring
3. Take a sling- over and above the pushchair. So much easier than teetering up the stairs of an air plane with an excited wriggly small person in tow. You can take a pushchair top, most airlines except collapsible models without eating into your baggage allowance.
4. Buy some cheap second hand story books- content not important. After all anything new is interesting.
5. Finger puppets- under rated in early years play but something about them is super engaging.
6. Teething granules- chamomilla 6c is the key component in this homeopathic treatment, and is used for its calming and soothing effect. They can be given every 30 minutes too, unlike conventional pain killers.
7. Reusable wet wipes- can become teething rings, easily laundered bibs, part of play, to clean a mucky lap tray as well as standard use. We like cheeky wipes the best.
8. Buy bottled water at the duty free store before boarding, as you can't take liquids in through airport security.
9. Hand held percussion instruments- test volume before hand
10. Make a peg doll- why not theme it on your destination
11. Take some small heuristic play items- feathers, pegs, shells, wool fleece, off cuts of fabric, a handful of blocks, ribbon and a teaspoon.
12. Crayons- just the primary colours. Give those complementary newspapers a make over.
13. Pack all of these in a bag or a box that's easy for your child to open and close, so they can empty and fill to their hearts content.
14. Nappy change in the departure lounge. Obviously you can't plan or time things perfectly but it will be much easier than doing limbo with a ninja in the sky.
15. Finally- Try to feed or soothe via dummy during take off and landing it relieves pressure in little ears.
What do you think? Have we missed any of your top tips or must pack items? I'd love to hear yours - so please leave a comment.