How to Pack a Kid’s Carry On Backpack (and keep them quiet)
We’ve all been there, that flight with the screaming kid… Before each flight we parents pray it isn’t our kid that has the catastrophic meltdown in a metal tube at 36,000 feet. The following are some tips to help keep your kids entertained and quiet while you travel.
#1. Start them traveling at a young age.
I know this isn’t always possible but if you can it is a great help. Even 3hours in the car to Grandma and Grandpa’s allows them to get accustomed to being in a confined space for extended periods of time.
Our kids both took their first flights at 6weeks old. Traveling is second nature to them. I love it when people see our kids on a flight and say, ‘Oh great, I’m stuck next to children’. My response is usually, ‘Well, my kids are already more well behaved than you’. How many people have eaten their words at the end of those flights!
#2. Backpack Tips
Get a backpack that fits your child. Make them carry it! You have too much other stuff (tickets, those dang quart size bags of liquids, your suitcases and the kids themselves) to worry about.
Making them carry their own pack gives them a buy-in. It builds confidence, responsibility and independence. They will be better travelers and humans because of it!
Do Not overload their backpack! If it is too heavy, guess who ends up carrying it? That’s right, you the human pack mule, and they lose all that independence and responsibility.
So, what do you put in those Backpacks that don’t weigh too much?
#3. Headphones
Those ‘headphones’ you get on International flights are no good for kids. And they kinda suck for adults too. My solution is small over-the-ear headphones from the dollar spot at Target. They cost about 5$ so if they get broken or left on the plane I am not too upset-except that I will be out of headphones on the next flight.
Mark recently bought new ones for the kids…he didn’t get the cheap ones. Sometimes cheap is better.
First, those had ‘volume control’. Volume control is so not helpful on a plane full of engine noise plus, the volume on the entertainment system is really low. Don’t worry too much about your kids listening at high volume, I’m not sure it is possible on a plane.
Second, they broke after flight number two…we had a total of 6 flights on the trip. Our boys were not thrilled with their new option of, share or use the airline headphones. Insert giant parental eyeroll.
#4. Toiletry Kit
Each of us have one of these in our backpack/purse. Each contains; wipes-baby or antibac (don’t pack antibac gel in kids packs as it has to go in the liquids bag for TSA), toilet seat covers (because we have seen some nasty toilets in our travels!), a wisp ‘toothbrush’, Kleenex and a change of underwear. The whole lot goes in a quart sized Ziploc bag which can be used for a multitude of purposes. An extra Ziploc bag isn’t a bad idea either.
If luggage is lost/delayed or someone spills (usually the kids spill on us) or heaven forbid has an accident at least you have things with which to wipe up, a clean pair of underwear and a (albeit chintzy) toothbrush.
If you have a baby, one of my girlfriends taught me to put an extra outfit (something small and simple) into another Ziploc bag. When the mess happens, as it will, you have a place to store those gross clothes until you can launder them.
This kit has saved so many people, not just us. I have shared wipes with countless moms, dads and kids covered in all manner of food, bodily fluids, juice or soda. I’ve even handed out toilet seat covers to women in line at particularly gross bathrooms. So, make a kit and spread some kindness while you are at it!
#5. A Small bag of cheap (but priceless) toys
Hello Dollar Store! I love to grab little toys, Lego type blocks, cars and action figures at the Dollar Store. A couple new things can grab a kid’s interest-sometimes even mid-meltdown! But you don’t have to spend a pile of cash to do that.
Have one or two old standby toys that you know they love along with these newbies. Remember these should be small, lightweight and age appropriate.
This little bag of toys can also spread some joy. We once sat in the United lounge at O’Hare for 10 hours due to a snowstorm. (Thank you, Chicago weather) I had a small daycare going while all the other parents were in line for hours trying to rebook, find hotels etc. All those toys came in handy for my sanity and those kids! Hard to put a price on that.
My kids have pulled out that bag of toys and played with kids in parks/streets/playgrounds all over the world. And when, on occasion, my boys notice that their new friend is underprivileged and give that child their little bag of toys and that child’s face lights up…that is my definition of priceless.
#6. Twistable Crayons and Mechanical Pencils
How many times has your kid gone from a docile, sweet little lamb to head-spinning-foaming-at-the-mouth-monster .2 seconds after their ‘favorite’ crayon broke? Buy Twistable Crayons.
#7. Activity Books
This is another thing for which the Dollar Store is excellent. Get sticker books (if your kid won’t cover the entire plane in them), hidden picture books, coloring books and a blank notebook for inspired works of art. You don’t have to bring them all just what your kid loves most.
Our family loves game books. We divide into teams and play Categories, Dots and Boxes and Hangman. We like to play parents vs kids, and it is great to see the boys collaborating to beat mama and dad. I am almost never without a sheet of one of these games.
Hint: pull pages out of larger books and stash a few in their bag and even some in yours to use while waiting because, like Dr. Seuss said, everyone is just waiting.
Bonus Item: un-sugary snacks, they keep the whining at bay and don’t hype the kids up.
#8. Book(s) to Read
A book the little ones can read on their own or that you can read to them is wonderful.
Making things homey while traveling can alleviate a lot of stress on both the kids and you. Mark reads to us almost every night. We pick a series and just run with it. Putting the next book in a series on a device is an easy way to keep this going.
I load up my kindle with books that each of the kids can read independently as well as a few big books we can read to them.
#9. Make the contents of their backpacks similar
This alleviates a wee bit of the infighting that happens between even the closest of siblings! Having similar but different toys means they can imagine more and play together. It’s like getting twice the toys for each kid.
#10. Older kids need older activities
Sudoku, Crosswords and the like are great for keeping them busy and still using their grey matter. A journal once they are of writing age is a wonderful memory maker.
Both boys have little notebooks full of fantastic drawings and phonetically spelled stories from trips they took starting around age 5. These always make me nostalgic and I hope one day they will have similar feelings when reading them as adults.
#11. Electronics
Oh, electronic toys…at once the bane of my existence and my trusty built-in nanny. I surely have a love hate relationship with these wonderful, infuriating things!
The downside with Ipads, PSPs, Kindles, tablets and the like is that they are expensive, heavy and they have batteries. You can also load them up with movies and games You approve. See, always the love and the hate.
Mark and I choose to keep these things in our bags usually, though Caleb is getting older and we allow him the responsibility of carrying them some of the time.
Are you willing to lose that Ipad? Are you sure your kid won’t leave it as they wander off of a 10hr flight half asleep and walking like a drunkard? Is all that confidence they’ve built up by carrying their own stuff going to be stripped away when they leave their PSP at the gate? Can your 4year old handle an extra few pounds in that backpack? Ask yourself these types of questions before you trust them with the electronic toys on a trip.
Hint: Get a power bank, preferably with built in plugs for different types of devices.
Remember, things change as they grow, their backpacks and the contents need to also. When they get a bit older and understand well that they have to carry what they bring then it is time for them to pack their own.
Caleb does this now and though he never leaves home without the Toiletry Kit he has lost the need for Legos and action figures (though occasionally he puts 1 or 2 in to play with Liam). He has added things like a soccer ball and a hat. I am so proud watching him judiciously pack his own backpack. We are raising a good traveler.
Your kids will be good travelers too. Fill up those backpacks with toys and wipes and dreams and go show your kids the world!
Jocelyn