While all airlines allow parents with children to board first, it’s not always the smartest move. Even better, it gives you a chance to regroup ⏤ order lunch, feed the kid, buy a book you won’t be able to read ⏤ when you get inside the terminal. Arriving 90 minutes to two hours before your flight ensures no matter how long the check-in or TSA lines are, or how slowly they’re moving, you’ll never have to sweat missing your flight. Traveling with a toddler, especially when they’re walking, takes significantly more time than traveling on your own. And the less time you give yourself to go from the parking garage to the gate ⏤ especially with a toddler in tow ⏤ the more stress you will create. The simple fact remains, though: airport stress is dictated by your departure time.
When it comes to flying with kids, some argue against arriving at the airport too early because it means entertaining them for a longer stretch of time outside the comforts of home.
To help, Fatherly compiled top tips for flying with a toddler. It just takes some proper planning, smart packing, and a little mental preparation.įor the latest guidance on traveling with babies and young children during Covid, please visit the CDC website here. But the stress of traveling with a toddler doesn’t have to end with your forsaking air travel until they’re teenagers. They’re also more headstrong, prone to meltdowns, and have fleeting attention spans. Flying with a toddler presents an entirely different set of challenges than flying with a baby.