I was at an airport last year and there was a problem at check-in: turned out we needed a visa to visit Canada. I looked around at my sleepy kids who were utterly unbothered by this stressful turn of events and felt the pressure: this was my problem to fix and my family’s vacation depended on myself and my husband. I realized why my own parents would get so anxious at the prospect of a flight.
Fortunately, there are lots of things you can do to make it easier on yourself (like doing some proper research on your destination before booking a flight!) and in this post I will be listing some of the best travel gear for kids you can buy to make getting through the airport and flight a little less stressful.
Should I Take A Car Seat On The Flight?
If you plan on driving at your destination, you need to decide if you are going to rent, borrow or bring your own toddler car seat.
Rent A Car Seat Or Bring My Own?
When you book your car, you can also book a car seat for your toddler. This is a great way of avoiding lugging a car seat through the airport and also avoids the risk of damaging your car seat in transit.
The downsides to this plan are:
Cost – typically, renting a car seat is between $10-$15 a day
Safety – probably the seat has not been in a car crash but there is no way of guaranteeing this
Installing the seat – Car rental staff will not help you install the seat, so you are left with installing an unfamiliar car seat in an unfamiliar car yourself. Not ideal from a safety point of view.
Hygiene – we all know what toddlers do to car seats.
Traveling With A Toddler Car Seat
If you decide to bring your own, you can either check it in for free or take it on board the flight with you, installing the car seat with the airplane belt just as you would in a car. This has the advantage of making sure your toddler is safe for the flight in case of air turbulence, as the belts are really only designed for adults.
If you do prefer to check your seat – and this does make getting to the gate easier – consider getting this Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) approved CARES Kids Fly Safe Harness for your child to fly in to ensure their safety.
Best Toddler Car Seat For Flying
Based on bitter experience, I would say the best car seat for traveling is a lightweight one. We did try to travel with our regular, steel-framed Diono (which I love) with a strap that converted it into a backpack but after doing this once, we bought cheaper, lighter seat specifically for flying.
At only 12lb, the Evenflo Tribute LX is perfect for air travel. Approved for flying by the FAA, this is the seat we use for all our flights. It is comfortable, not too expensive and easy to install. We have used it in several rental cars in the US and Europe with no problems. And the cup holders are pretty useful too, especially for forward-facing children who otherwise drop their drinks. It’s the small details that really help!
For children heavier than 40lb and four-years-old and up, the BubbleBum is a good alternative. Small and light, this inflatable booster can be packed in your luggage, or even hand luggage. This is a great solution for multi-stop trips, situations where you need to take a bus or taxi ride, or when you need three in the back seat of a smaller car. It meets all EU and US safety regulations for booster seats and gets a great review from respected car seat experts at Car Seats for the Littles. My friend used this recently for her six-year-old and was very impressed! Our kids aren’t quite big enough yet but this is what I will be buying when they get to the right height and weight requirements.
If you want to take the car seat through the airport and onto the flight (or to the gate for gate-check), check out this genius invention!
The Car Seat Luggage Belt is a sturdy belt that will attach your car seat to your suitcase, turning any car seat into a stroller. Not only is it far easier to roll the car seat through an airport than drag it, your toddler also has somewhere safe and familiar to sit.
Toddler Bed For A Long Flight
Not planning on bringing a car seat on board? On a long flight, your toddler may want to sleep but struggle to get comfortable. This Koala Kloud inflatable bed transforms their seat into a lie-flat bed, so it’s first-class all the way for them. Just inflate after the seat belt sign goes off and pop it into the gap in front of the seat. This is a favorite amongst parents who travel long-haul. Be aware, however; not all airlines allow them on board. Call your airline and ask before you bring one.
The downside of these inflatable beds are they take up all the available space that could have been used for bags. This innovative ride-on suitcase from Stokke JetKids solves that problem neatly by converting to a travel bed on a flight. This design is quite a lot more expensive than an inflatable but overall more useful.
Stroller
After car seats, this is the most essential piece of travel gear. Toddlers get tired but they are heavy to carry. So are all the snacks and drinks they need. A sturdy, light stroller like the Kolcraft Cloud will get you through many adventures with your toddler. We love this stroller, it has lasted for years and we take it everywhere.
Ride-on Suitcase
The two best options for a ride-on suitcase are Trunki and Stokke. I love the designs from Trunki, which include ladybugs, fire trucks, unicorns and tigers. They are also a lot cheaper than the Stokke JetKids! If your toddler has their own seat, you may as well take advantage of the extra hand luggage allowance and avoid baggage fees.
Entertaining A Toddler On A Flight
If you don’t have strong feelings against a tablet, bringing their own entertainment system, loaded with games and TV shows is a wonderful way to keep a small person quiet during a flight. Amazon’s Fire 7 Kid’s Edition tablet comes with a sturdy rubber case and a guarantee if they do manage to break it, a replacement will be sent. You get a year’s worth of Amazon FreeTime, the children’s version of Amazon Prime, with unlimited TV, games and books for children. We have had ours for three years and still going strong!
Don’t forget to buy headphones too – we have these Nenos headphones. They are cheap but work well and come in a rainbow of colors. There are two audio ports so kids can share a device.
Toddlers need a balance between familiarity and novelty when traveling, so bring their favorite soft toy, blanket or book as well as a variety of new items.
Coloring books are good, as are these clever Water Reveal Pads from Melissa and Doug, which minimize mess.
Our toddler loves pens but inevitably uses the whole world as her canvas, including her own body. Crayola has a (probably) magic pen set that solves this particular dilemma and they were a hit on the flight. Several Disney coloring books are available as well as non-character themes so there is something for everyone.
Toddler Sleep On Vacation
Many hotels and vacation rentals offer travel cribs big enough for a toddler to sleep in. But if your toddler has transitioned to a ‘big bed’ at home, or they don’t have one for you, he may have to sleep in a hotel bed.
Worried about him falling out? Toddlers older than 18 months can safely use crib bumpers, so take a look at these Sleepies Inflatable Toddler Bed Rails that can keep your child from rolling out of bed in the middle of the night.
So that’s it! All the latest gear to solve your toddler travel dilemmas for flying, driving and sleeping on the go.
If you’re still wondering, we did catch the flight to Canada, thanks to a good internet connection and an efficient online visa process. Hooray for smartphones.
What are your problems when traveling with kids, and have you found a way to solve them? Let me know in the comments!
For more tips, check out my Flying With A Toddler and Best Travel Gear For Babies posts.
