What I Learned From Flying on a Long-Haul Flight With my Toddler

And what I’d do differently next time…

About a year and a half ago, we traveled to Florence to celebrate an adults-only wedding. Our son was just under two at the time, so the only way we could go was if we brought my mom along to watch him while we were at the wedding. It seemed like a great plan! We could spend the first weekend at the wedding and then a week traveling around Tuscany. 

The flight there got off to a rocky start before we even left. Because my son was under two, I was planning to fly with him in my seat. To make us both more comfortable, I had purchased a premium economy seat. A couple days before the flight, I got an email from the airline that said they changed the plane they’d be using for our flight, premium economy was no longer available, and we’d be downgraded to economy. 

I called the airline to explain the situation, but the only option was for me to purchase a seat for my son, and a few days prior to the flight, that price was not an option for us, so we proceeded with the lap child plan!

Fast forward to our travel day…the first few hours of the flight were actually great! My mom and I sat with my son while my husband was a few rows behind us. I had booked us the bulkhead seats so there was a bit of extra room at our feet if my son needed to walk around our get any wiggles out. This seemed like the only way we'd make it through a long-haul flight with a toddler!

Then it was about at hour three, once the in-flight service was over and they were starting to dim the lights for sleeping that things changed. My son was inconsolable no matter how I tried to calm him down. If you’ve even been in this situation, you know the anxiety that comes along with managing your crying toddler and at the same time, feeling like the entire flight is staring daggers into you. 

Here’s the three things I learned from that experience, and what I would do differently next time I'm on a long-haul flight with a toddler. 

1. This one is probably the most important. I’d start by calming myself down. I was so anxious, especially the longer the crying continued, and I’m sure my anxiety was making my son feel more upset and anxious too! I wish I would have had my husband or mom hold my son for a few minutes while I walked to the restroom, took a few deep breaths, and then returned.
   

2. For that length of a flight, I’d definitely purchase my son his own seat next time. While we couldn’t do anything about the downgrade from premium economy, next time I would outright buy 2 regular economy tickets for my kiddos over 1.
   

3. I would have planned a better in-flight bedtime routine. We could have even practiced at home to create excitement! I’m sure in this case, my son was overtired, wondering where the heck he was and what the heck was happening. Bringing bedtime books from home or watching a familiar show would have probably helped him feel some more normalcy and calm down. 

While our journey to Europe started off a bit stressful, we did actually have an amazing time, and I’d recommend international travel to anyone with little kids. And I’m here to share all of the things I’ve learned along the way so that your trip goes a bit smoother than ours did.