Are you taking your young children on a long plane trip? Here is a list of essential items to bring in your carry-on, and some items you may as well leave at home. We have taken our young children across the Pacific Ocean a few times now, as well as from Northern Canada to the Southern States, and what we have found might save your family a little bit of whining, crying, and also aching arms!
The biggest mistake that we have made (repeatedly) when packing to go on a long trip, has been to pack way too much in our carry-on bags! While it’s nice to have an assortment of activities, we have found that taking several heavy carry-on bags from plane to plane, and hauling them around the airport, keeping an eye on them while waiting for flights, etc. is more trouble than it is worth! So, here is our ESSENTIAL list of items to bring on your next long flight, as well as a few ways to save yourself from over-packing.
Our family’s #1 item to bring on a long flight has got to be a portable DVD player, and a few DVD’s (out of their cases). It was definitely the best investment we made before we made the long trek from Canada to New Zealand! Although it wasn’t much use for travelling with our baby, it was definitely the best item we could have brought for the toddler and older children! If you decide to purchase one, make sure the battery life will be good for a couple of movies, or else purchase a second battery because you won’t be able to recharge during the flight, or probably at the airport either!
Having said that, the in-flight movies are getting quite good these days on some of the longer flights, so you could possibly even get away without the DVD player, if your specific flight will be showing a couple of movies that would interest your children. Contact your airline to find out what movies will be playing on your flights.
