I was always worried about taking Nina on a flight. The stories of children crying on the plane, told by cynics who hate them with a passion, has made me quite anxious to take her when she was younger. But now that she’s 4 years old, and international borders are mostly open again, I decided to take the plunge. Who’s to say that nothing else will happen in the future that will prevent us from flying again? Who could have predicted that the pandemic would have such a strong grab on the world – and who’s to say that it won’t happen again? I haven’t flown back home in 5 years, Nina has never been to my home country, she has never even met her cousins in person… it’s time. We had to do it.
We’re flying back home to Indonesia from Germany.
We’re flying Turkish Airlines so we will have a layover in Istanbul. The first flight from Frankfurt to Istanbul is not so daunting, it’s about 3 hours long. And then we’ll have to wait 6 hours at Istanbul airport before taking the next flight to Jakarta which is over 11 hours long. I know Nina’s a well-behaved and resilient child but it’s still a long period of time of travelling for anyone at any age. I had no way to predict how she would react, and I definitely had my worries.
Here are some things I did to prepare us for our first long-haul flight ever… and I must say, it has been a success.
Talk to your child before travelling
Talk to your child about what they’re about to go through before travelling, especially if this is their first time. Read them books about airports, airplanes and flights. Let them know what they should expect. Talk about your own past experiences and show them pictures from your past travels. Also, discuss with them about your destination. Where are you going, how far is it from home? Who will you meet there, what places will you visit, what food will you eat? Get them not only ready but also pumped about the trip. It’s going to be an experience of a lifetime!
Let them pack a backpack for the trip
Let them pack and carry their own backpack that will stay with them the whole trip. Pack it together with them, let them choose items they’d like to have with them. Guide them to choose a set of spare clothes, wet wipes, tissue, light snacks, favourite books and toys – but nothing too heavy or bulky. The ground crew who checked our luggage in kindly gave Nina’s backpack a tag even though it wasn’t actually needed.
Pack a good quality pair of headphones
The highlight of the flights for Nina was probably the in-flight entertainment system – she’s never had so much screen time in her entire life. Headphones or earphones provided by the airlines are usually not the most comfortable, especially for a prolonged duration of time. We bought a pair of kid-sized headphones with noise-cancelling which Nina comfortably wore throughout the flights. It’s light-weight, durable, has awesome sound quality and most importantly comfortable to wear. We totally recommend the JBL JR 460 NC:
Stash a ‘secret’ busy bag in your backpack
This might be the most important tip: prepare a busy bag containing all new things, to keep it exciting for your child. Pack them in your own backpack or cabin bag, and don’t let your child know about it until the trip. Choose items that are small-sized, compact, lightweight and mess-free. Don’t go for things with many little pieces that might roll and scatter. Our favourites are sticker books, water painting book and scratch pad.
