How to fly calmly with a child
by Rosie Burke

Flying with children requires you to become an insomniac, uninhibited, drug-crazed magician. Parents ushering their offspring into a small, inclosed space for prolonged incarceration may be inclined to panic. Rosie Burke advises parents to take deep breaths and try some of the following techniques to help survivie the journey that is every parent's nightmare.

Airport rage

Arrive at the airport early - you know it's impossible to rush. Check if the airport has a playroom (usually before immigration). Gatwick's is carefully hidden upstairs, so ask at check-in. Keep your pushchair with you until the last minute. At the gate, ask crew if baggage handlers can deliver it directly to the gate on arrival. It's entirely at their discretion.

It's a long haul from the gate through immigration with fractious children and hand luggage, so if they won't, ask the cabin crew for help or transport to baggage collection.

Drugs

Are always an option - not for you, for the kids. Some over-thecounter antihistamines make children sleepy, or doctors may prescribe a mild sedative for children over 12 months. Try before you fly - a small proportion of children react by becoming hyperactive. Take sweets and bottles for children on the ascent and descent, but don't exhaust your ammunition too early. "I had three bottles for the take-off," one mother told me, "and the baby drank them all while we were still on the Tarmac."

Sleep

Forget it - toddlers abandon normal sleep patterns in the air. Book early to avoid night flights. Indirect flights extend journey time and invite delays. Travel off-peak (Monday afternoon to Thursday noon) and, if the flight isn't full, many airlines will offer empty seats to people travelling with young children.

Seating

Try sitting your toddler on your lap at home for an hour and then consider investing in an extra ticket.

Book seats in advance to ensure you can sit together. Bulkheads used to be popular because they give toddlers room to play, but you can't raise the arm between seats if they want to lie down, they're not allowed to sleep on the floor in front of the emergency exits and there is less room to store hand luggage. If you are planning to take a car seat on board, check that the airline will accept it and that it will fit the dimensions of the seat on the craft used (usually around 17ins). Some airlines now provide their own "infant-care seats" for children from six months to three years old, which slot into the seat or on to the bulkhead. Sky cots (bassinets) can be a good way of getting young babies to sleep - but book early.

Hand luggage

As well as the usual paraphernalia (nappies, wet wipes, bottles), you will need double food rations to cater for delays. Children are rarely hungry exactly at airline meal times anyway and, if you haven't bought a seat for your toddler, you haven't bought a meal. Pack crisps, fruit bars and favourite cereals, be aware that staff may confiscate unwrapped fruit. If you have a baby on your lap it is impossible to negotiate the hot meal in front of you, so bring yourself a sandwich. Planes don't have microwaves; bottles can only be warmed very slowly by placing them in hot water. Children suffer from dehydration on planes, so bring plenty of juice and keep them drinking. Bring bottled water for making up formula - your baby may not like the taste of airline drinking water. Keep children amused with an endless supply of small things: cheap toys, books, crayons, stickers, tapes and GameBoy.

From http://www.thisislondon.com/dynamic/...text_id=351317