Latest / Far & Familiar / Top 5 Strategies for Flying Internationally with Kids
Transcript
- Britt Fisher: Hi friends, welcome back to the Far and Familiar podcast. Today we are going to be diving into my top five tips and strategies for flying internationally with your kids. I know this is something that intimidates a lot of people, especially with little ones, and this is something that I have done many times. And today we are really going into this with real stakes. The day that this airs, I will actively be hopping on a 16-hour flight to Asia. With my four kids, ages 12, 9, 6, and 3. So this isn't just theoretical for me. This is literally what I am about to live and have been preparing for and what I have done many times in the past. basically, as a quick nod to my track record here, I have flown many long haul flights with my children. We have traveled to Europe multiple times. We've traveled to Kenya. We have gone, we've actually done a flight to Hong Kong before, which is where we are flying today, and is our connecting airport to Vietnam, which is our first destination in Asia this time. but we've gone to Japan. We have done some really, really long flights with babies as young as a year old. So So any of the advice that I share today comes from moments that I have actually lived on international flights with little ones. And I get it. I wish wanna name the fear that so many of us struggle with, and that is this fear that taking kids on a long haul flight is going to be far too uncomfortable, far too disruptive, and it just really feels impossible. And so so many people shelf these dream trips that they really want to take as a family. Solely because of the flight. So I want to help you overcome that fear today. And here's the deeper We so often want to push things off for a future date, but the reality is that we are not promised tomorrow. Every breath, every day that we wake up is a gift from God. And we never know if another one will come. And so I believe one of our motto should be don't wait for someday to do what you can do today. This isn't really about the flight. it's about not letting fear cost you the experiences and memories and fruit. That God just might want to grow in you on the other side of the world. Welcome to Far and Familiar, the podcast about faith, biblical hospitality, and courageous adventure for Christian moms who are ready to step outside of their comfort zones and start fully living. If you find yourself feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, or uninspired in your everyday life, you found the right place. Friend, you were not made to play it safe and operate in survival mode. You were made to live with eyes up and doors thrown open, chasing the adventure and abundant life God has for you. I'm your host, Britt Fisher, Jesus follower, mama of four, and someone who believes a full dinner table and a passport full of stamps are forms of worship. I've spent years traveling the world with my family, opening our home, and navigating what it actually looks like to live a life outside of my comfort zone. And this podcast is everything I and other mamas who have gone before me have learned along the way. I am so glad you're here. Let's dive in. Hey friends, before we jump into all of my tips and tricks for navigating international long haul flights with littles, I wanted to pop in here first and tell you guys thank you so much. Because we are only one week. in to the launch of this podcast and thanks to all of you who clicked subscribe, left a review, and listened in. We hit the top 100 podcasts in the travel category on Apple in our first week. And not only did we make it into the top 100, we actually made it all the way to number 67. literally can't believe it. I am truly pinching myself. And it is all because of you. So thank you so much for being here, for listening in, for caring about the message of this podcast. I am truly so grateful. And if you are new here to this episode or you haven't gotten a chance to subscribe or leave a review yet, that is the best way that you can hold the door open for this podcast for another mama. I am so excited for all of the ways that I'm going to get to encourage you guys In the episodes to come. So pop on over to Apple Podcasts or Spotify, leave a rating and review. Make sure to click subscribe so that every new episode is waiting for you. There will be a new episode every single Thursday. And I cannot wait to share all of the incredible things that I have in store for you guys when it comes to family adventure, biblical hospitality, and encouraging you to step outside of your comfort zone. So truly thank you, thank you. And let's jump into these travel tips. Tip number one is to pack smart, not heavy. so when we travel, any of my friends that know me well knows that I am a light packer. Part of this is honestly because packing heavy and like having to navigate and wrangle a lot of luggage alongside wrangling small children is a recipe for anxiety for me. I don't love to have a lot of things, but I do want to speak and acknowledge that there are some people that feel quite differently. Having all of their things is what makes them feel more secure. So I want to just speak that into existence of I'm aware of that dichotomy there of just two different types of people. But I'm not saying you can't pack the things that you want to pack, but be smart about what you pack and try to limit the amount. of luggage and the weight, especially with little ones and things that they personally are carrying. So when we travel internationally, for example, I'll use our Japan trip that we took last year as an example. We packed one large suitcase that we checked. We packed one carry-on that had like emergency items that we would want to grab or for some reason our luggage got lost, we would have access to some basic essentials. And then other than that, each of our kids that was old enough to carry one just packed a backpack with their own individual items. So if they're really little, like a baby or a toddler that's not big enough to carry their own backpack, I just put stuff in like a diaper bag backpack and I kind of combine the two of us. But otherwise, each of our kids gets their own backpack and we help them strategically pack it so it's not overpacked and we aren't. Dealing with a lot of whininess from kids being tired from carrying heavy backpacks, and then adults just end up throwing extra backpacks on their shoulder. That is not what we want here. So, what actually goes inside of these backpacks? For us, it's gonna be a few basic snacks. We don't pack a ton because there's always going to be snacks available on the plane, these long haul flights. In addition to the meals they serve, they normally have snacks in the galley that you can go get. And it's such a fun way to begin exposing your kids to different flavors, especially if you're flying in international airlines. We've flown Japan Airlines. We're about to fly Catha Pacific. We've flown Air France or British Airways. And each one has a slightly different flavor, which can be really fun. But beyond that, we pack activity books. Each kid normally has at least one activity book. think sticker books, like sticker by number or color by number or crosswords or sudoku or any other like puzzle book, things that We'll kind of keep your kids busy. We normally have at least one sketch pad and some drawing supplies, pencils, colored pencils, some kind of fit toy, either like a fidget spinner or something like a Rubik's Cube. and then we'll have sometimes for our younger ones, we'll have little magnet tins like silly face magnet tins or things like that, And like a pack of cards or something to play card games with their siblings. These things are not only really helpful on the flight, but they're helpful during your trip too if you're at your Airbnb or in a restaurant and need something to entertain them. I also love those little LED boards because you can draw an erase and draw an erase over and over and over again. And then lastly, we normally have something to read in their backpacks. And even if they're not readers, we use something like a YODO with little cards for audiobooks, but we always have something for them to read. My oldest, his most prized possession that we actually bought him before a big long haul flight years ago is his Kindle. And it's so wonderful because he can check out an endless supply of books through our library. So it's totally free to add new books all the time. And he goes through books so quickly that he would go through three or four books on a 16-hour flight. easily. And so, well, hopefully he'll sleep part of it. But he can go through a lot of books. So This keeps the weight out of the backpack of having a bunch of books in there. and then for my own self, I normally pack like a large tote bag or a diaper bag backpack. I'm actually ending the diaper years. My youngest child is completely out of diapers. My youngest child is completely out of diapers except for needing pull-ups at night. So we don't have to pack diapers all the time, which is totally life-changing in a new season for me. But I am planning on packing like a large zippered tote purse with a smaller, crossbody purse that will have my essentials in it and then the larger tote bag can have the things that I want to have for myself. I normally have like little pill organizers with any supplements or medications that we want to travel with. I will have things like my favorite lip balm. I'll have my own Kindle I normally have some face cloths to wash my face because after a long haul flight, your makeup and stuff, you normally start to feel gross. Or if you want to sleep, It's nice to be able to take your makeup off before you go to sleep. So I normally have some makeup wipes in there, toothbrush and toothpaste, kind of some basic essentials. they sometimes on airplanes will give you a little care kit, but especially in economy, don't always count on that. You can research in advance with the airline. But have some of those items, I normally will have multiple travel toothbrushes in my bag to be able to let my kids brush their teeth as well. Okay, speaking of kids, let's talk about catering to your babies, which is tip number two. So if you are traveling with little little ones, think babies and young toddlers. There are some really amazing airplane-specific things that you can do that will make your flight experience so much more enjoyable. Number one is ask about the bassinet seat if your little one qualifies. Every airline has different rules relating to this, but we have had multiple long-haul flights where our youngest child was able to take advantage of the bassinet seat. And basically this meant that we were seated in the bulkhead. We had to request this in advance with the airlines. But if your little one isn't old enough to need their own seat where you're not paying for an actual airplane seat for them, you can reserve the bassinet. It doesn't cost any extra money to do this. And it's essentially this little bassinet that like plugs into the bulkhead wall in front of you. You're at the very front of the economy section. it gives you a place not only to lay your child if they're sleeping, but you can set them in there with some toys while you eat your meal. They're within arm's reach, so it's super safe when they're sleeping. if there's turbulence, there is a little cover thing that covers their belly and zips to keep them secure. And if there is turbulence, they'll have you take the baby out anyways. But This has definitely been my secret hack to traveling with little little ones through the years. And I now don't have any kids that can take advantage of it, but I am more than happy to share that knowledge with you guys because I'm telling you it is life-changing. And then beyond that, if your little ones are old enough to be in their own seat, I highly recommend snagging a window seat if possible. One, this naturally contains them. They're on the side of the plane, you've got an adult between them and the aisle, which is super helpful. And you can do a lot of fun things in addition to just them looking out the window. You can stick those little gel window clings on the windows for them to play with. you can do little baby suction toys on the windows for them to play with. But this is just a really great way to help keep them both entertained and contained. Another tip for babies is to bring more wipes and diapers than you think you will need. I have had some really horrific experiences early on in my motherhood journey where I did not take this seriously enough and did not pack enough diapers for a flight. And we were dealing with like digging newborn diapers out of the bottom of a bag and duct tape type situation. It was a disaster. So definitely recommend bringing more diapers and wipes than you think you'll need. I don't actually normally travel with enough diapers for my entire trip because it's always easy in most places that you're going to just buy diapers there. Our kids have worn diapers from all over the world. But definitely for the flight itself, pack more diapers than you think you'll need in your diaper bag. and then if they're old enough to need their own seat, regardless of whether or not you get the window seat, I highly recommend bringing some sort of child restraint for them that is airplane approved. So not only does this make it safer for them to fly, it also makes it it also makes them dramatically easier to manage. We have we invested in a really great travel airplane approved car seat that is a five-point harness that we can buckle our littlest one into. Our three-year-old is going to be using it on our flight to Hong Kong. before we invested in that seat, we had like a really cheap lightweight travel five-point car seat. But not only does this make it really easy for you to have a car seat once you arrive in your destination, Before we had this one that folds up into a backpack, we would just attach it with like a strap to our roller luggage in the airport. but the reality is is that your kid is used to sitting in a car seat in the car and not being able to get out of it. And those airplane seat belts, if you're just gonna let them sit in the regular seat are really easy for them to get out of. So if they're old enough to be mature enough to stay in the seat, this is a different conversation. But if they are toddler age, I highly recommend having a five-point harness that's gonna keep them in their seat. I think it actually makes them feel more secure. It helps them go to sleep more easily. It sometimes adds a little bit of a recline that wouldn't be there otherwise. And in my experience, it really is a game changer of flying with this versus without it. And then lastly, my top tip for flying with little, little ones when it comes to catering to your babies is not to forget about special strategies during takeoff and landing. If you have a nursing baby or toddler, or if they take a bottle, have them suck on something during takeoff. This helps their little ears adjust as the cabin pressure changes as you change altitude. And it makes a big difference for their comfort levels. And then for older kids, you can have them chew gum or suck on a sucker or suck on a water bottle or something like that to help them as well. Okay, tip number three is not to ignore your own comfort. So here's the deal. Unless you have the Lay Flat business class seats, which are delightful. I've only ridden in them once when we got a six dollar business class deal, which I will share more at the end of this episode about how we pull things like that off. But normally we are in the back and economy because that is the more affordable option, and Economy seats are not the most comfortable thing in the world, but there are ways to increase your own comfort. And I want to give you a few strategies for that. First, don't feel trapped in your seat. staying in one position for 16 hours is a recipe for discomfort. So get out of your seat, walk the aisles, stretch your legs, visit the flight attendants. I have made some great friends And honestly, gotten some fun perks on flights just from making friends with the flight attendants. This is where my extroverts are going to shine. they often have extra snacks there for your kids. So definitely don't feel like you just have to stay in your seat constantly. Another comfort tip is look into either some great noise-canceling headphones or some headband style headphones. I love the headband style especially for my kids because they're just more comfortable to sleep in. But noise canceling can be really helpful as well. Make sure that your kids have the ability to put their arm on you to get your attention if you're wearing noise canceling, but not having all of the cabin noise or other people coughing or clearing their throat or a baby crying or anything nearby that's not your baby to attend to, it can be really helpful just to drown out that noise so you can actually get some decent sleep, which when it comes to decent sleep, I wanna move on. Tip number four, which is to intentionally beat jet lag. And yes, that includes being really strategic about how you sleep on your flight. So for us, this looks like getting on our destination time as soon as possible and not just trying to ease into the destination time. an example of how we have done this as a family is when we went to Japan last year, we strategically tried to get on Japan time before we even stepped onto our flight. Our flight left from Dallas early in the morning. We decided to drive to Dallas to be able to save some money on the flight. We got a really great deal. I think we paid $283 for all six of our round trip flights to Japan, which is absolutely insane. And again, I'm gonna share details on how we do that at the end of the episode. But when it came to wanting to beat jet lag in advance of this trip, what we did is We put them to bed early the night before, and then we woke up our kids at like two o'clock in the morning. We turned all of the lights on in the house. We blasted Forest Frank and like some fun music and we created like some fun energy vibes. We ate breakfast, we pretended it was daytime and got our kids super excited about the travel. And then when we got in the car, we kept them awake. And here's why. At the time in the middle of the night here, it was daytime in Japan. So we wanted their bodies to be awake and then be ready to sleep at the appropriate time on our flight when it's nighttime in Japan, but daytime's still here. So we kind of tricked our bodies essentially into getting on Japan time early. And what this did for us is by the time we actually got to Japan and landed there, we didn't really struggle with significant jet lag. That first night, I think we went to bed a little bit early, maybe like seven or seven: thirty. And then the next morning we woke up energetic and ready to see the city. And you do not want your precious time overseas to be eaten up by you feeling exhausted and sleeping your days away in your hotel room. So intentionally beating jet lag and creating a strategy in advance is so helpful. We do strategically use like an herbal sleep supplement or occasionally even melatonin to help with this transition, to help us be able to sleep on the flight when we need to. And you can even shift bedtime a few days before departure to help with this. Also, when you land in your destination country, get outside, get daylight immediately into your eyeballs, take your glasses off, get good full spectrum sunlight on your face, in your eyes, and get your feet on the ground. Grounding, getting that sunlight will also help you adjust to the new time and reset your body clock so much faster. We have a strategy actually for our trip to Vietnam because our flight is actually leaving at 11 PM. So a totally different experience. And kind of what I did to build this strategy is I actually just put my flight information and kind of our typical schedule into an AI, and had them help create the schedule for this. So use AI tools. As you can to kind of help you so don't have to do all of the hard math. But this is what we did for Japan. We followed that it worked incredibly. So we're doing the same thing. I will report back after our trip and let you guys know How it worked this time. Okay, and then let's move on to tip number five, which is my last tip and strategy. And that is to manage your expectations, both yours and theirs. So here's the core mindset of this: I want you to lower your expectations of what the flight will be like and then lower it a little bit more. Here's the reality. Littles are gonna little. There will probably be some tears. There will probably be more noise than you would like. And you might be stressed out a little bit at some point that you were inconveniencing other passengers. But the reality is people are normally not as annoyed as you think they are. And if they are, honestly, that is their issue and their own heart issue they need to deal with, not yours. Your goal is to be respectful and kind, but also to set up expectations in a realistic way. Your kids can sense your stress. So managing your own stress matters as much as managing theirs. So if you need to come prepared with some breathing exercises, some supplements, maybe some ashwagandha. Or I have a supplement called Calm that is a little powder that works within 30 seconds that I like stick under my tongue. I will drop the link for this in the show notes, but it is my secret weapon in moments of intense stress. And I definitely take it with me when we travel. Other ways to help manage your kids' expectations is to watch YouTube videos in advance, not only to prep your kids for what the destination is going to be like, but what for the flight is going to be like. We actually will watch airplane reviews of what flying an economy on Cathay Pacific on an Airbus 350 is going to be like. There are so many YouTube videos out there. It is an incredible tool. So use that to help prepare your kids on what to expect. Also it'll give you an idea of the typical food that they serve on the flight. So if you have a really picky eater, you can kind of plan in advance of how you might need to strategically work around that. And above all, just don't sweat the small stuff. I want to give you guys the permission just to enjoy the experience and embrace that there's going to be imperfections along the way. But you guys are on an adventure and there are so many new things that you are going to get to see and experience, including on the flight. And if you'll just embrace kind of the fun and discomfort of it and lean into it, it really makes a big difference. Okay, so to recap, my five strategies for really thriving on international flights with kids is one to pack light and smart, To cater to your little ones, to do what it takes to create comfort for yourself, to intentionally beat jet lag, and above all, to lower and manage your expectations, both in advance and in the moment. Okay, so I promised you that I would tell you how it is that we are able to fly internationally as often as we do for as cheap as we do as a family. And our secret is Daily Drop Pro. And here lies our challenge for this episode. So Daily Drop Pro is a website and a service that hunts all of the interwebs for all of the best travel deals and mistake fares and points deals. And it sends you an email and also gives you access to an app that you can see these at any given time using your home chosen airports. And truly these daily emails are not only so fun for me to open and see what travel deals are out there, even if I can't act on them at the moment, but these truly are my bread and butter when it comes to how we travel as a family. I often say that we let the deals tell us where to go. So we rarely pick a location and a time frame that we want to take a vacation. I simply observe these emails as they come through. And when a really great deal comes through that works in a time frame that we can go to a destination that we feel excited about, even if it maybe wasn't on our radar before, we jump on it. And what I love about Daily Drop Pro is it actually has two options of membership. Their limited membership is completely free. So my challenge for you is to go sign up for that now. This is gonna give you a small handful of deals sent to you on a regular basis, but they also have their pro version, which is $149 a year. but I'm telling you it is one thousand percent worth it if you book even one trip a year with it because of the amount of money that it saves you. And then what's super fun is Daily Drop also has an amazing YouTube channel with free resources that you should go subscribe to. And they have a free Daily Drop newsletter as well, which gives you all kinds of education on how to really utilize miles and points from things like credit cards, which is a huge aspect of how we are able to travel hack, is to use those strategically and responsibly. And This newsletter and website and YouTube breaks it all down for you in the most simple and understandable way. And I want to say this is a hundred percent not sponsored by Daily Drop Pro. I just genuinely love the service that much that I want to share with you. I'm going to share my referral link, which I do earn a very small commission on if you sign up for their pro service. But if all you do is sign up for the free service, I am totally cheering you on. And that is my challenge for you is to start. Learning, go subscribe to their newsletter, subscribe to their YouTube, sign up at the very least for the limited service, and start opening your mind and your doors to the idea of maybe traveling a little differently and a whole lot more affordably. And then I just want to invite you guys. We are doing this in real time right now. I am hopping on this 16-hour flight. We are going to land in Hong Kong. We are going to check out an epic Airport lounge, which I'm super excited about. because we have strategically used credit cards to be able to get airport lounge access. And then we are going to hop a flight to Donang Airport in Vietnam. And I'm going to take you guys on our adventures through Vietnam and then through Cambodia. So follow me on Instagram at Ms. Britt Fisher. I will drop that handle in the show notes as well. if you want to follow along with our family adventures there. I can't wait to take you guys along for the ride. And until the next episode, eyes up, doors open, friends.