What are my favourite travel gadgets for flying with small kids?

A few months back, Rhys did a very popular article about his favourite gadgets for long haul flying. A reader asked for a similar article for flying with children so, as a parent of two under five years, I thought I’d share what I’ve learned.

Please note that as my kids are young, this has a definite baby / toddler slant, but feel free to add some tips in the comments for flying with older children.

Travel pram / pushchair

I was resistant to the idea of buying a pushchair purely for travelling and, to prove a point, I lugged an enormous pram to Thailand. Then I tried a proper travel pram and realised what a fool I’d been.

The first travel pram I tried and then bought was the OG of lightweight prams – the Stokke (formerly known as Babyzen) Yoyo. It’s not cheap, but it lives up to the hype.

The pushchair weighs just 6.2kg and folds up small enough that you can put it in the overhead cabin locker which on several long-haul flights I’ve been allowed to do.

To be frank, I have yet to take a short-haul flight where it hasn’t been taken from me at the aircraft door and put in the hold. But it’s still brilliant – lightweight but hardy and is as useful stomping round the parks in my suburb as it is traversing Doha airport. It’s available here from £299, reduced from £435.

I also really rate this lightweight pushchair from budget brand Joie – the Joie Pact Pro. Bought second hand on a whim, my kids loved it. It has a seat that reclines to flat, which means it’s business class in a buggy.

This also means it can be used from birth, whilst you require a separate bassinet for the Yoyo for babies under six months. It is slightly more flimsy, but at £150 and suitable from birth, you can’t really argue with the value. You can see more about the Joie Pact here.

Inflatable flight bed

For economy or premium economy long-haul flying with a small child, this is an interesting addition. What is essentially an inflatable mattress with a leg, this gadget sits between the end of the child’s seat and the seat back in front of them to effectively extend the seat.

A small enough child (under 3ish) can curl up and go to sleep on it like a bed. An older child can use it as a leg rest, instead of having dangling legs for hours.

I used this Flyaway on a couple of flights and found it incredible. My daughter once slept for a solid six hours using it, which is a pretty good dent into a long flight.

Not all airlines allow you to use them however, so do check before you bring it. British Airways does accept it.

Child-friendly headphones  

Many children’s headphones aren’t suitable for children under 3 years due to their developing ears, so ideally they should use headphones designed specifically for toddlers, with lower volume ranges.

We bought our daughter a set of these Pogs headphones a few years ago. They have wired and wireless versions, come in a variety of colours and are surprisingly resilient. This was a factor we put to test when my daughter brought them to nursery for ‘show and tell’ and they ended up immersed in a bucket of water.

Two lessons were learnt that day – 1) the headphones would survive a water dunk and 2) show and tell items were to be of zero emotional and financial value going forward.

Baby item rental

I’ve used the site Tiny Explorers a couple of times and found it very useful. It’s a baby gear rental service that delivers whatever you need directly to your home and picks it up when you return.

You don’t necessarily save money in the long term, but if you want as little unnecessary child travel ‘stuff’ cluttering your home, it’s great. I rented the Flyaway and the yoyo from Tiny Explorers a few years ago and was impressed with the service.

Long haul flying with a baby

This is isn’t a list of gadgets but a few hard-learned tips.

Utilise bassinets

Book early to get the seats that allow a bassinet if travelling with a baby. This matters whether you are travelling in business class or economy as there are only specific seats that allow bassinets. If the flight is busy and someone gets in before you, you don’t get automatic access to the bassinet seats on a plane.

If travelling in a lie-flat seat, you may prefer to have the baby lie with you, rather than in a bassinet, but it’s good to have the option.

If flying in economy / premium it becomes a game-changer. Not only do you get the bassinet, these seats are always the rows at the front of the cabin, meaning you get extra legroom at no extra charge. I’ve always called the airline to ensure these seats rather than booking online, to be absolutely sure I’m in the right ones.

Luggage allowance

Luggage rules for infants are surprisingly generous – you can usually bring two of the following – pram, car seat, travel cot – at no extra charge, but do check the rules with the airline. That said, Ryanair honours this allowance, so you know if the world’s stingiest airline does, pretty much every other airline will too.

If you happen to have a pram bag, you can usually stuff a few changes of clothes in there to give extra space in your main luggage.

Clothes

When flying with a small child, particularly a baby, you need far more clothes changes than you think, and I don’t mean just your child.

I’ve been covered with coffee and vomit on a long haul flight with kids and words cannot explain how mortifying it is to arrive at a 5* Maldivian resort smelling like a Wetherspoons toilet on a Saturday night. Please don’t make my error, bring a change of clothes for yourself and, at a minimum, two changes for your kids.

Conclusion

Every child is different and these are a few things I found useful, but they may not all work for you.

You also may not want to travel far with a small child and that’s fine too. We took our daughter to the Maldives at two years on a direct 12 hour flight, but there’s no way on God’s green earth I’d do the same with my second child. This is a kid who lives in a state of permanent rage and whose favourite toy is a plastic baton he has independently named ‘Whacky’.

My personal top tip is to remember that when travelling with very young kids, you are making memories for yourself more than them, so keep things as easy for them as possible.

Whilst you’ll treasure lifelong memories of watching the sun set on a Phuket beach with your child, when they are asked about their favourite bit of their holiday, they will probably say, as mine did, “watching Bluey on the plane”.