Surviving airports with multiple kids

How do parents get around the airport when they have multiple small children? These are some of the things we have tried ourselves…

See that photo? The littles contentedly waiting to board, not a scream or fuss in sight? The carry-on all nicely lined up for a smooth embarkation? No panic or rush by anyone, big or little…

It doesn’t happen by chance AND MOST IMPORTANTLY FOLKS: it doesn’t always happen, even with the best made plans and intentions. All we can do is put the odds in our favour.

The traveling littles in Hong Kong, ready to board Vietnam Airlines to Ho Chi Minh.

The groundwork needs to be done before the journey: talking through what happens in the airport, being well rested, and not being rushed. Without this, all bets are off — even for our frequent traveling littles.

If the groundwork has been laid, we find that by giving the littles some ownership of the journey — handing over their tickets and passport at check-in, being somewhat responsible for their own security screening, carrying their own carry-on backpack, etc. that they become more invested in the journey.

It’s not happening to them, it’s happening with them.

But they are little, and get tired fast, so how does one get from A to B in a never-ending maze of an airport?

By far the best is a soft sided baby wrap or carrier, like this one from Onya that we’ve used for years. They are great for the very tired toddler and, with the insert, work for infants as well. We prefer these carriers because they crumple into our carry-on when not in use, and are not gate checked like a stroller.

Child leashes: I admit, before I had kids are used to judge parents who leashed their kids. Then my second child, a runner, came along! It can be terrifying to have to chase your little one through large crowds of people in an airport. If you know your kid is a runner, make use of one as required! Hey, some of them even come with backpacks!

Umbrella strollers (this is our favourite) work well for one child but get tricker the more littles you need to wrangle. You usually can use these all the way up to the gate, but double check with the gate crew as to where you get it back — at the arrival gate or at baggage claim. We’ve been caught out by having to limp all the way to oversize baggage with tired littles to reclaim our gate checked stroller.

Collapsible wagons are a neat option we’ve seen used by some parents. This option is great because you can put several kids in the wagon or you can pull one child in it with some of the carry-on while walking hand-in-hand with the another kid. The collapsible wagon also works well for beach trips once you’ve reached your destination. BUT — not all airlines will accept wagons as a free gate-checked “stroller.” Make sure you’re prepared to check it as an extra piece of luggage.

Ride on suitcases, like the Trunki, can be great for kids ages four and up. Some even come with a lead so you can pull the kid along if they get too tired to push themselves. But storage space is really limited, so if you travel with a lot of carry-on, we would recommend a kids backpack over the ride-on suitcase option. 

Get creative, but at your peril: there are other ways to get littles motivated to trek through airports, such as strider bikes or collapsible scooters for older kids. This way they can even keep their own carry-on backpacks on as they scoot through the airport. But again, a word of caution: some airlines may not allow these to come on his carry-on, so it is best to check in advance with the airline.

Enough about this, tell me how to keep children occupied on board.

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