“Jet with Kids is an easy to read and highly informative guide to traveling by air with children. Ms. Clowers is an RN who has logged hundreds of thousands of miles on airplanes around the world, has moved through airports large and small, and has asked all the right questions wherever she has gone. Now the mother of a young child, Ms. Clowers has reviewed every aspect of flying with children and consolidated her best advice in this book. She demystifies the numerous rules and regulations surrounding travel in our post 9/11 era; provides practical advice for navigating the terrain of airports and airplanes that essentially are not child friendly territory; covers topics as far afield as how to breast feed on a plane and what documentation you need to take a grandchild with you to a foreign country; a section I have just benefited from.
The book reflects Anya’s love of and comfort with flying and her desire to help others share this. She brings her wisdom as well as lots of great, practical tips on how to make family travel a safe, healthy and comfortable adventure for parents and kids alike. Every family that flies should own this book.”
Louise Stoll
Inventor of the CARES aviation child restraint
Former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation
Here’s a selection of airplane & airport books & DVDs to prepare children for their journey:
Not knowing what to expect makes most people nervous. There is a layer of tension in new environments until we become familiar with what is expected and what we can expect in return.
Apply this to the flight process. Children don’t know they should take their shoes off at airport security or how long they will stand in line at the ticket counter or even why we send their clothes and belongings away on the checked luggage conveyor belt. All these things can be scary, and they might resist – with good reason!
Remember to involve even young children in the flight process and help them understand what the day of travel involves. Role play airport security and sitting on an airplane with seat belts fastened in the security of the living room at home.
My first recommendation is to prepare kids (yes – even toddlers, ESPECIALLY toddlers) with the Shae By Air DVD Toolkit. It was created FOR young children and is a fantastic tool to help kids know what they can expect and what is expected of them.
These are some of the many wonderful airplane and airport books with colorful illustrations to help prepare kids for travel. These books are great to read ahead of time as well as to bring along in flight and point out real life scenes that are found in the books!
Here are a few that I like to use when preparing kids for air travel:
Busy Airport by Rebecca Finn
Airport by Byron Barton
Planes by Byron Barton
The Little Airplane by Lois Lenski
Link for details & more books & DVDs: http://www.jetwithkids.com/product_preparation_tools.html
Young children have a different perspective on things – and with a little bit of preparation, flying can turn from scary into fascinating and fun.
Often we focus on the destination alone, failing to realize what a fascinating experience the flight process can be for young travelers.
Reality on a flight is our first and last impression of the trip. Prepare to make it great!
Allow extra time in the travel day to explore the unique, constantly changing “museums” we call airports – filled with people from all over the world jetting off to destinations worldwide. The key is to include the journey in your vacation preparations and view it as a great learning opportunity. Once we get past the hassles of travel, we can appreciate the wonderful part of the journey. Share this with young travelers. Remember – extra time and preparation are essential on so many levels. Give kids, and parents, a chance to enjoy the process.
Airport by Byron Barton
