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Are you going to fly US - India with a kid ?
How do you keep a kid entertained on board an airplane?
What about Onboard snacks for your kid?

There are many such questions which come to mind. Here are some quick tips which can make your next family travel more convenient.

1  planning the date :
Less crowds means less stress! If you have the option, book your flights for non-peak travel times: Mondays - Wednesdays, at midday, or in the evening.

2   Packing :
Pack plenty of entertainment for the flight, including snacks, drinks, and activities. Bring far more than you think you’ll need–you never know if you’ll be delayed.
* What to bring? Pack activities such as books, activity/coloring books, travel-sized board games, playing cards, and CD players. If your child has a portable video game system or LeapPad®, you will never appreciate it more. (Be sure to charge it the night before!)

3  Prepare your child:
Prepare your child for the trip. Tell him what to expect at the airport and on the plane, and give him tips for how to behave. (When checking or screening baggage, reassure your child he will get his belongings back — something many kids worry about.)
* Remind your child that it’s illegal to make any kind of jokes about bombs. According to the FAA, even a child’s jest can result in fines and delays.

4  Time to board
Take-offs and landings can be painful for little ears. Bring along ear filters, which buffer eardrums against rapidly changing air pressure. Encourage your child to swallow by offering beverages, gum, or hard candy.
* For maximum entertainment valve, bring toys out one at a time, and put one away before introducing the next.

5  Use of restrooms
Make your kids use the toilets before boarding the aircraft as they are spacious and much cleaner compared to the aircraft ones! Carry baby wipes as you will need them a lot in-flight for a  quick wipe up. Be sure to put them in a place easily accessible to you throughout the flight.

6  Seat choice
Only choose bulkhead seats if your baby needs a baby bassinet. If not get any other seats in preference. My reason for this is that at the bulkhead seats the armrest cannot be moved, while in normal seats the armrests can go up. This is far better if your baby wants to lie down on the seat with her head on your lap.

Federal Aviation Administration strongly recommends that smaller children be seated in Child Restraint Systems (”CRS”) — in other words, your child’s car seat or booster.

Here are the FAA’s weight guidelines regarding child safety seats:

* For babies less than 20 lbs., use a rear-facing car seat

* For children 20 - 40 lbs., use a forward-facing car seat or booster

* For kids weighing more than 40 lbs., use the airplane seat belt

7  Ear pressure
If your baby is on a bottle or breastfeeding, give them the bottle or the breast for take-off & landing. It’s the best things for their ears and they will also be relaxed.

If your child is big, then carry cotton or ask for earplugs as soon as you board the aircraft. Make use of them for take-off then save them for landing as the crew may not have any fresh ones left by then. This helps the kids tremendously if they don’t know how to pop their ears.

8  Health

If your child has a cold please ensure you have seen a doctor before the flight to check if the child is fit to fly. Even if the doctor says it’s OK, please use your judgment. I see kids flying a cold and they really are in a  bad state for take-off & landing. It is extremely painful for them if they are all congested & blocked up and they cannot pop their ears. It is very dangerous to their eardrums too!

9  Bottle heating

If you ask the crew to heat up the baby bottle, please check the temperature of the liquid yourself periodically and don’t depend on the crew. They are extremely busy and no-one is free even for 5 minutes to stand by the bottle. Crew can unfortunately forget about your bottle for a long time and most crew in Ecomony Class are not mothers themselves (as they are very young) so they do not necessarily know the right temperature for a child’s feed.

Crew are most willing to help you but please remember, they are extremely busy.

10  Rubbish

Get a carrier / plastic bag from the crew, to put your garbage in and keep your area clean. Carry fragranced bags to dispose of daipers and put them in the toilet bins.

Bonus tip: Clothes

Carry a change of clothes for your child ALWAYS and it is advisable to carry a change of top / t-shirt for yourself too. You NEVER know when you will need it…