Originally Posted by
YVRtoYYZ
AC's boarding time is roughly ETD -40mins. As a parent, do you really want to be wrestling with your kid(s) in a confined space for 40 mins + the entire flight duration?
When travelling with my little one, I always board last. Aisles tend to be clear so walk straight to the seat, get buckled in, and then push back.
Disagree completely, and I travel extensively with my kids (my 5-year old is BA Silver and my 3-year old is BA Bronze). When we travelled with our babies, it was absolutely vital that we pre-boarded, just so that we were guaranteed space for our carry-on. Not having our carry-on would have been complete disaster, as it contained diapers, wipes, baby food, and spare baby clothes. The first time our eldest flew LHR-YYZ, she suffered from explosive-rebound-off-the-nappy-and-up-the-back poo, and had 4 complete clothing changes in 7 hours. Frankly, it would have been disaster for us to not have the carry-on, and also debatably everybody that was sat remotely close to us!
Maybe your strategy works on short-haul flights, though (which we rarely do)!