How to fly with kids ... and come out smiling.

FLYING with young kids isn’t anyone’s idea of fun, but there are plenty of ways you can make the trip bearable. Just.

THE Wiggles saved us in the end. The kids’ band I resisted showing my toddler for months and months was on high rotation while we travelled.

I know we’re far from the first to attempt it, but my husband and I had decided to take our 20-month-old on a long(ish) haul flight to Vietnam. We were desperate for a holiday, and figured Asia has to be easier than Europe.

But as the flight approached, we started to get nervous. The kid decided to stop sleeping a few weeks before the trip, and all we could think of was how on earth we were going to get through that 13-hour journey.

I spoke to a lot of my friends who were braver than us — they had taken kids on 30-hour trips to Europe or the States, and they were somehow still standing, so I picked their brains for tips and we started to plan.

What am I getting myself in for?

Some of the best tips we received:

• Think about what you might need in the time between arriving at the airport and reaching cruising altitude on the plane. Pack that in your handbag or small carry on so you can reach it quickly (e.g. for small kids 2 or 3 nappies + wipes, snacks, books, small toys).

• If you are travelling with a child under two, you’ll probably have to have them on your lap for at least take off and landing. Some kids won’t like that. Try and have lots of things in your pockets or in very easy reach to distract them. And remember you can’t use electronics for take off and landing, so you’ll need books and other low-tech toys.

• Buy a whole heap of small (and cheap) toys, colouring books, stickers etc. Wrap them, and open them throughout the flight whenever the kids start getting a bit tetchy. (We found this worked on the daytime leg of the flight, but not when he was overtired on the overnight return journey).

• Pack more snacks and nappies than you think you’ll need. You don’t know if there will be delays. If you have a young child who takes a bottle, bring a couple of them, plus long life milk or formula.

• Pack changes of clothes for both the kids and the parents. Expect spills, and you don’t want to be stuck in jeans that had a bottle of milk poured over them, especially if you find the flight delayed.

• Load your phone / iPad with shows and games the kids will like. If you have a spare charge for the device, bring it on board.

• Most likely you won’t be resting or relaxing yourself. If you’re struggling for carry on space, cull the neck pillow plus your own entertainment.

• Most airlines will allow you to carry baby related items in addition to your luggage allowance (e.g. stroller). Check with your airline before you pack.

There’s a chance we might have wrapped too many presents for the flight.

We did go overboard. I think we had a pack of 10 matchbox cars (each wrapped individually), plastic bugs (again wrapped individually) and textas (of course, wrapped by themselves … we had a lot of wrapping paper). We also had a variety of snacks (crackers, dried fruit etc). The biggest hits were mini torches that you wear as a ring, and the ‘Emma Wiggle’ doll. Which brings us back to that skivvy-wearing ensemble.

My husband had downloaded plenty of children’s TV onto an old iPod before the flight. The device was well stocked with Peppa Pig, Bananas in Pyjamas, Giggle and Hoot and a few episodes of Thomas the Tank Engine (Thomas is a bit of a d*ck though, so I don’t want to encourage that). But the only thing that really resonated with the kid was the dozen or so 10-minute episodes of ‘Ready Steady Wiggle’. And so we spent hour upon hour listening to ‘Hot Potato, Cold Spaghetti’. It was doing my head in. But at the same time, the kid had stopped whinging and wriggling, and was finally having the ‘quiet time’ we were so desperate for.

He didn’t sleep (other than a quick nap in his stroller during our layover at Ho Chi Minh airport), but being well stocked with entertainment and snacks saved us (and the other passengers around us).

It’s these two key areas — entertainment and food — that Qantas is now focusing on to help make flying with kids easier.

The airline has launched a ‘Joey Club’ for young flyers, increasing their children’s TV and movie content (there’s 28 hours of TV now … that’s plenty of Wiggles even for the biggest fan), as well as adding dedicated kids meals to the domestic lounge (kids meals were already available to order on flights).

Olivia Wirth from Qantas said travel “can be really challenging, particularly if you’re doing long haul flights. We find entertainment is absolutely key, and also making sure that if you’ve got any transit flights that you’re very well planned out. To me it comes down to the planning. Make sure you have a spare set of clothes on board the aircraft, plus extra food and nibbles because you know what your kids like. Always order the kids meal, that’s absolutely essential in doing that beforehand.

“Make sure you’ve got things from home that the child likes. Their favourite teddy, or books, or whatever keeps them entertained.

Ms Wirth also suggested bringing something on board that can double as a blanket (e.g. a shawl) as it can get cold in the cabin.

She also warned to plan for the unexpected. Flights can be delayed “particularly in international ports — if there’s something that goes on from a weather perspective, you could be stuck there for a couple of days.”

“For us, it’s just about how you make a very difficult situation easier, so getting the right accommodation (if needed in a delay) and making sure we look after families first and foremost really.”

Twitter: @katecalacouras

We’re exhausted, but we survived. Somehow. With lots of random toys.