My child is two years old, and I've flown with her more than a dozen times. I've gone from declaring breast milk to bribing her with candy, and these are my tips for what to pack to keep young kids (babies to toddlers) happy.
First, a few general guidelines:
1. If you're flying with a cranky, crying child or one who's still sitting on your lap (i.e. taking up a lot of room and kicking the chair in front of her), offer to buy your seatmates a cocktail or a snack pack. It fosters goodwill.
2. Pack a lot of options. I pack very, very light when it comes to gear and go heavy on snacks instead. (Trust me, kids prefer SkyMall to Goodnight Moon anyway.) Food is entertaining; don't worry that you're spoiling her lunch/dinner or letting her have too many granola bars. Also, if you get delayed, you'll need extra.
3. I don't want to get into a debate about TSA procedures here, but this is my two cents on bringing liquids for a child. I've carried on 60+ ounces of frozen breastmilk, bottles, sippy cups, you name it, and it's never been a problem. Here's what almost always happens: I forget it's in the bag, then casually alert the agent just as it's going through the security machine ("Oh, there's a sippy cup for her in there!"). Sometimes it's just water and yet they are always very nonchalant. They take it out, remove the top (or have me do it), wave a litmus strip over it, and I'm outta there. I've found that if I have a child strapped to me/walking with me, they are quick and understanding (and that's LaGuardia, folks).
Here are a few options for different ages:
Babies to One Year:
• Infants of course don't need anything other than a breast or a bottle. Buy bottled water before you get on the plane if you need to mix formula (ask for a room temperature one that's not in the cooler case).
• Puffs or cereal. Easy to eat and fun to pick up one by one.
• Pouches. These can be good for older kids, too.
• Blueberries and clementines. They don't stain as badly as strawberries or raspberries, they don't get easily pulverized in a bag, and they're easy to pick up/peel without a huge mess.
• Cubed tofu. Also low-mess, healthy, and can stand to be room temperature.
• Cubed, roasted sweet potatoes. See above.
One to Two Years:
• All of the aforementioned, plus...
• Plain pasta. No utensils required, not messy.
• Sandwiches. Peanut butter & jelly (hey, they hand out peanuts on Delta flights, so...), turkey and cheese—easy to pack and fine at room temperature.
• Granola bars or cereal bars.
• Dried fruit. Mango strips, apricots, apple slices.
• Edamame. Again, clean and easy.
• Several special things they don't get at home (but you know they'll eat). Maybe that's granola bars or a certain kind of chip. In my experience, food on a flight is as much distraction and entertainment as it is nourishment. If they eat it every day, it's no fun, Mom. And you sometimes need a trick up your sleeve.
TIP: Pack things creatively. Put jelly beans or Goldfish in plastic easter eggs. Tie ribbons around things. Treating snacks like little presents can buy you extra time, especially during takeoff and landing when you can't turn on Bubble Guppies.
Things to Avoid:
• Bananas. I know, they're a staple at home. But they can turn into a brown, slimy disaster in a carry-on bag, and if you don't eat the whole thing at once, saving the leftovers is a nasty endeavor.
• Avocado. Same deal. It's mushy and messy.
• Crumbly crackers. Things like Ritz or butter crackers that scatter massive crumbs every time your child takes a bite. One-bite things (Goldfish) are better.
• Dips. Kids love hummus, but trying to balance the dip plus the cracker plus the cup of water the flight attendant just handed you plus the tray your kid keeps lifting and lowering...
• Broccoli. I've made this mistake. My child loves broccoli, and it's so easy to pack (not messy at all). But it stinks when you open it.
Of course, the options are endless depending on your child's taste. What are your best bets for feeding a kid on a plane?
Related: What Foods Can You Carry on the Plane?
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The little Babybel cheeses are good--kids like to peel the wax off.
these are great tips for traveling grown ups too :)
I don't have kids but I remember my mother mixing up trail mix for me and my sisters when I was little. We each had our own and she made sure to add things to each bag that only we liked (yogurt covered raisins for me, gummy bears for my older sister, etc.). Having our own bags meant no sharing (something we struggled with) and the addition of candy made the mixture of raw nuts much more special. Also, my dad always gave us blow pops as we were boarding to help us with the pressure change during take off. Aside from Holidays, trips were pretty much the only time my sisters and I ate candy so that did the trick for us.
AWESOME post. I've also found that cooked chickpeas travel well (well, when my kid is having an "on" day with them, anyway). I am seriously not sure what mothers did before those squeeze pouches.
I pack lollipops (a very, very rare treat) in case I need to bring out the heavy bribery. I also buy water/juice once we get through security and bring an empty sippy cup to fill up so my son's got something to drink during take-off to relieve the pressure in his ears. My son loves apples, so I throw several in our bag and we can all munch on them as snacks. They travel well and don't smell or stain - same goes for pre-cut grapes, carrot sticks and cucumber slices. Leaving on a trip next Tuesday so this is a good reminder to start thinking about the snack bag!
Definitely nuts and string cheese. I know that I will let my kid have juice on the plane, and I don't want to add to the sugar buzz any more than that, since hyperactive is the LAST thing a kid on a long flight should be. Protein is our friend. Trail mixes are great, because picking out the favorite pieces is a whole activity in itself.
My list usually included any of the following:
cheese slices (smoked gouda, colby jack, white cheddar, mozzarella)
grapes
grape tomatoes
string cheese
mini babybels
Laughing Cow cheese wedges
cookies
teddy grahams
goldfish
crackers
fruit snacks
pretzel sticks
Slightly limited due to travel restrictions, otherwise I'd also have things like Greek yogurt or hummus on there.
I was actually looking at this list for me since I'm travelling next week! :oD Thanks!
all of these ideas are great, esp cucumbers and grapes, snacks that provide a little bit of water as it's easy to get dehydrated in the air, esp on long flights. and protein (like nuts and dried fruit) for something a little more substantial. one of my favorite memories is of traveling to dubai with my four-year-old. her friend had grown a massive cucumber and wanted to give it to her as a going away gift. she was really attached to it and wanted it as a snack for the plane. it was hilarious to see the looks on the passengers faces as she gnawed on that cuc which was as long and thick as her arm.
Things to Avoid: Bananas
Thank you! I do not love the aroma of bananas (or other aromatic foods,) and appreciate being protected from them.
And Dum-Dums lollipops for takeoff and landing. I couldn't always get my son to eat or drink something, but he wouldn't say no to a lollipop. Plus, he'd take forever and never actually finish one. From the time he was old enough, those were a surefire way to make sure he swallowed to clear his ears.
Whatever you do, don't try and bring any kind of liquid (besides breastmilk) through security, it can be a hellish pain in the ass! Last time I was carrying my daughter and forgot there was still water in the water bottle, they made me take all my stuff and escorted me out so that I could dump out the water before going through security all over again. Maybe they can be lax about it, but don't bet on it!
Rice balls filled with poached/smoked salmon or whatever you fancy. Take packets of nori to wrap with, and to prevent sticky fingers. For the sake of other passengers, avoid boiled eggs.
@wandering star, I was 6 weeks old when I first moved countries by plane. Sometimes it's unavoidable.
although I am kinda with you - seeing poor parents with very very upset little ones in an enclosed space is definitely in the top ten reasons for not having children.
MJS: I do not love the aroma of bananas (or other aromatic foods,) and appreciate being protected from them
Protected? That seems a little...precious. I doubt you have children, or you would know that if a banana is the ONE food the toddler will always eat, then it's bananas for everybody to keep him happy and comfortable on the plane, which must be necessary travel for him, since the tickets have gotten so pricy.
A public conveyance is a temporary democratic institution. Live and let live. If you want to be "protected" from your fellow human beings, then don't fly. Or take the train or bus. Or go in a store or a restaurant.
99% of children don't mean to be annoying, anyway, and their poor parents are undoubtedly trying.
That's typical for what I usually pack. I also try to fly evening so the kids will fall asleep, but it's not an overnight flight where adults are cranky and rude about their own sleep. Generally, I aim so we can get on the plane, eat dinner/snack, go to the lavatory and change to PJs and brush teeth with bottled water (signals kids that it's going to be time to go to sleep). Then they can watch media until they conk. It's pretty flawless in my experience, unless the airline takes away all the seats we had pre-assigned 3 months in advance and sets everyone off on the wrong foot (cough *Delta* cough). It ought to be illegal, actually.
@wandering star: We are going to take our just barely 1-year old on the plane in a month---because it is the ONLY feasible way to travel from where we live to where his great-grandparents live...unless we are stuck on a boat for a week or so. We are NOT going for him, but for the great-grands, who can not travel due to health, and may very well not live to see him as an older child.
I'll happily take the hate of people in order to bring the great-grands a bit of joy.
@wandering star, you might want to consider refraining from air travel until you're sufficiently socialized to be able to cope with being around other people.
@wandering star, my brother flew on a plane for the first time when he was 3 months old. He was so young, he couldn't even lift his head up for his passport photo. We were moving to another country and since my dad couldn't travel with us then, it was only my mom travelling with three kids. The eldest was 5 and the youngest was my 3-month old brother. As I recall, he was the most well-behaved baby on the plane. He slept the whole time and just woke up to be fed.
PS. My mom use to pack a tin of Danish butter biscuits (cookies), Pringles and bottles of water for before the flight. (This was before 2001, so water bottles were ok) On the flight, we were ok with airplane food, and they always gave us kiddie packs with crayons and stuff. (but, we always flew airlines from Asia, so they always had better food and services)
I never get tired of these posts. Because I get so tired of the flight drill! Inspiration = welcome.
Peanut butter jam sandwiches, one for everyone. That is my in-case-of-delay emergency food.
String cheese, almonds, baby carrots. Like the plain pasta idea. And individual beans.
Sigh. Back on that plane again soon. We had that time when our kid screamed for five hours...everyone gets their turn to have That Kid. I give earplugs to neighbors with a Snickers bar at the beginning when goodwill is high, since that harrowing flight.
I have travelled a lot with my now 4-old and in addition to the other great suggestions (crackers, gapes, cucumbers, sandwiches, trail mix), I have had success with sugar snap peas, carrot sticks, and meat (plain chicken or steak sliced), salad shrimp, dried sausage. I wish my daughter would eat cheese. So clean and easy! I have been bringing a sippy cup of milk on all trips until I was recently informed by security that one can only bring drinks for children under two (they let us keep our drink anyway). I also bring my own large water bottle to fill at the water fountain after security for us to share.
What is a squeeze pouch???
Great ideas, I especially need to remember the babybel cheese this summer when we fly. My kids love it. Two years ago, our very short flight from Orlando to Baltimore turned into a five hour trip due to weather and fuel issues. I was very happy that I stuck a bunch of extra snacks in my backpack for the almost 3 year old. His older brother got hungry too. The only thing I would add is to refrain from nuts or peanut butter sandwiches. Many children (like my little guy) are allergic to peanuts and/or treenuts and could have a reaction if their neighbor was eating a nut snack. If people think a hungry child is disturbing, imagine one having an allergic reaction.
Oh, and a squeeze pouch is sort of like a capri sun pouch with a screw off lid. It can have applesauce or other fruitsauce in it. A great idea for air or car travel.
Yep, I agree with Babybel, or those cheese packs that come with crackers.
Fruit pikelets are excellent snack foods... muffins can be crumbly and big, but small pikelets are easy to eat and easy to pack! Using a fruit like banana also makes them really filling, and negates the need for sugar.
I tend to think sugar, especially highly processed foods containing sugar, should be avoided, to prevent the inevitable high/crash, and to stave off dehydration.
Popcorn is another good one, either packaged pre-popped, or homemade. I think it's easier to make your own, as you can put it in a container.
It may also help to use a lunchbag, with all the snacks inside, that you can slide into the seat pocket. That way they're handy the second you need them, no need to get down your carry-on as your toddler experiments with their vocal range :)
I personally never pack 'smelly' food on planes... I don't think it's considerate to your neighbours to break out the fish, no matter how delicious it is.
Also, as an aside, these days I don't ever take any foods with peanut butter outside of the house. Especially on a plane... those trays are never properly cleaned between flights (if at all) and you just don't know where your child is going to leave a smear of peanut butter!
the tsa actually makes exceptions for liquids for babies and toddlers - check their web page. we've had no problem (including within the last two weeks) flying with 4 oz pouches, sippy cups of milk (they did check them but didn't make us dump it out), juice boxes over 3 oz, and yogurt.
we use an insulated lunch bag that folds up once empty (it's a packit, which has the freezer pack built into the bag), and bring those squeeze yogurt tubes - it's a special treat and needs no spoon and is a minimal mess. we also pack a lot of the other things that were mentioned here. once of my twins will just snack the whole time on the plane, which she won't do when she's on the ground, and we just let her eat as much as she wants so she stays happy.