We recently came back from a trip to Hawaii. This was the second time we flew with our son, who is now 16 months old. It was roughly 7-8 hours total in the air between the two separate flights. I was not too worried about this trip since we just took him to Japan and the Philippines last year, which was at least two times longer. However, we quickly realized that more challenges come with traveling during the toddler stage vs the infant stage.

When we went overseas with our son last year, he was around 10 months old. Besides a few small challenges, it was pretty easy to fly with him. He was a great traveler. However, he also wasn’t walking and moving around a lot, so it was much easier to keep him in our laps. With toddlers, it’s a completely different story. At 16 months now, our kiddo walks, runs, and is very curious. As such, keeping him in our laps for that many hours is a chore like no other. While we would have loved to let him run around, it was not really possible. Most passengers would not want to have a kid run around nonstop and disrupt the flight, and I don’t blame them one bit, and it’s also a huge safety issue for the child and others. Plus, no one wants to hear a child crying and screaming on a flight for several hours. I certainly wouldn’t want to.

The best thing I can say is be prepared for your toddler to become bored easily and want to move around the cabin and get into everything. Therefore, come equipped with snacks, toys, videos (download ahead of time if you can), and whatever else you can bring to keep your little guy or gal entertained. I’m very thankful for my wife, who is always well prepared and the best mom ever. Also, my parents and brothers were with us too, which was also helpful.

All that being said, the flight and trip was an overall success. On the way back, our little guy slept for most of the flights since he was tuckered out. Prior to the second flight from Vegas to Denver, we had him run around and play in the airport to burn off some energy. It definitely worked well. For anyone having reservations about flying or traveling with their toddler, it’s certainly doable; just come prepared with as much entertainment as possible and have it all readily available to soothe your child at a moment’s notice. Until next time, enjoy being a father and all that comes with it.