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Remember everything we told you about packing light? Only carry-on luggage and all that? We felt prepared. We felt in control. We packed the car the night before. We had a major parenting fail.

Do you know what you don’t want to be doing when you’re flying with toddlers? Carrying your duffel bag luggage. Why? Because your toddlers—who never ask to be carried—are instantly jealous of said duffel bags, and now also require to be carried. And you carry them.

You’ll notice we don’t have any photos of this fiasco. That’s because we were too busy trapping running toddlers, apologizing to the customs officers they ran past (oh, yes), and generally looking like we had zero grip on this whole parenting thing.

A few things we learned from our mistakes and will use on future flights with toddlers:

1. Check. Your. Luggage. Seriously. Check it. You fly 30 flights a year and have only brought hand luggage for the past 5 years? I hear you. But this is not about travel efficiency anymore. Pack a swimsuit and a change of clothes for each family member, as well as in-flight entertainment and snacks (and diapering supplies), preferably in luggage with wheels, and check the bulk of your items. Trust us.

2. In-flight entertainment. Make sure it’s charged, stocked with their favorite shows, and attached to volume-controlled headphones (we like Buddyphones by Onanoff for their durability and affordability). We tried the window clings, snacks, and new toys. Honestly, nothing captivated our toddlers as much as a movie on the iPad.

3. Timing. A flight timed a little after nap time (keep them up!) seemed like best option for actually having your 2-4 year old nap on the plane. Our next best suggestion would probably be a flight after they’ve just woken up. We had rough results when we took a 2 hour flight right at nap time, and no one napped all day. *shudders*

4. Ask for priority boarding. Some airlines still invite families with young children to pre-board, but it depends on your airline’s policy. American doesn’t announce this for families any longer, but still not permits it — and you want it!!! Getting settled before everyone is boarded really helped our stress level.

5. Cocktails. Kidding ... kinda.

The learning curve was steep for us, and the flight home was markedly better than the flight there. We’ll definitely be making luggage adjustments for the next time we travel, and are looking forward to that being an even better experience. Stay tuned! :)

Flying with Toddlers