Traveling with children is difficult. As a military family, we don’t get to spend time with family as much as we would like. It’s also hard having one family in Florida and one in Ohio. Living in Texas requires multiple long road trips or a somewhat expensive plane trip to visit family. We try to visit family twice a year. We travel to Florida for Christmas and Ohio for New Years. As a mom of a little one, nothing makes me more nervous than to travel with children. I’ve learned a few things over the past few years with traveling with children, so here are my 3 tips to make airport life a little easier with a toddler.
Traveling With TSA Pre Check
Spending a long amount of time in the airport is not something that most people like doing and especially when you have a young child. To cut back on my stress and the amount of time that I must spend at the airport, I paid for TSA Pre Check and it was the best decision. As of now, the fee is 85 dollars for 5 years.
The first step is to fill out a 5-minute online application. The second step is to schedule a 10-minute appointment for a background check and fingerprinting. You can schedule most appointments at your nearest airport, and I did mine before I boarded my flight. The third step is to wait to get your known traveler number. Once you have the number, you can add it to your reservation when booking your next flight. It’s that easy! From then on you are saving so much time in the security line. TSA Pre Check is also good for any child under 12 years old, so as long as you qualify so does your child.
Some pros of TSA Pre Check is that the lines are always shorter, you can keep your laptop in your bag, and you can keep your shoes, jacket, and belt on your body. The best part is you can keep all 3-ounce liquids in your bag. It may seem small, but all of this makes it easier when you have kids. If you have a small child you are allowed to bring any type of liquid that the child may need, although TSA does test any liquid that you bring through security. This means formula, breast milk, and water can go through security for your child.2.
Checking Items
There are so many things that a small child needs and it’s a difficult task traveling with children and bringing all of the items that you may need for a trip. Airlines will let a child under two years old fly for free on your lap. Once they turn two, you will have to purchase them a ticket. If they turn two during a trip, they can fly free there but not back.
Airlines will let you check-in a stroller and a car seat free of charge. If you need to bring a pack-n-play, that does count as a bag so you will have to pay the bag fee. You can bring a stroller or a car seat with you on the plane but not both. You must check in one item. For example, if you bring a stroller with you on the plane, they will tag the stroller at the gate and you will leave the stroller at the door of the aircraft to be placed under the plane. Once you exit the airplane, you will have to wait for the stroller, but you then have the stroller throughout the airport. This is especially convenient during layovers.
Traveling With Children Using Only Direct Flights
I luckily live near a popular airport, so it makes it easy to get a direct flight to most major cities. I often travel by myself with my son so it’s really important for me to get a direct flight. Personally, I’d rather pay a higher amount to have a direct flight than to have a layover. My husband and I haven’t had the best of luck while traveling, so if I can avoid that with my toddler, then it’s worth it. My parents live in a location where the closest airport is 45 minutes away, but they have 4 other major airports within 3 hours. It’s very difficult to get a direct flight to their closest airport, so I often fly to one of the other airports to get a direct flight.
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