Vineyard Insurance

Traveling with Children
Compiled by Matthew Berry, Vice President, Vineyard Insurance
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Where should we sit?

If you have small children, see if you can reserve a bulkhead seat. Those seats have more legroom and provide more of an area for your child to move around. The only real negative of the bulkhead seating is you won’t have under seat storage in front of you.
If you have a baby, check to see if the Airline can provide a bassinet for you to place in the bulkhead area.
Only one child is allowed to sit on an adult’s lap for every three-seat row because of the limited number of oxygen masks available. If two adults are flying together and both are planning on having a child on their lap, you’ll need to book seats in different rows of the plane.
If you are planning on using a car seat for your child, it must have a Federal Aviation Administration approval sticker. You must also purchase a seat to guarantee that you will be able to use their car seat, otherwise you can only use it if the flight has empty seats available. Many booster seats are not FAA approved for use.
Booking a seat in the middle of the plane near the wings will provide the smoothest ride.
With all the activities in the aisle, and potential for items to fall from the overhead storage, it might be best to place yourself between your child and the aisle.
Children are NOT allowed to sit in the plane’s exit row seats since passengers in those seats are called upon to provide assistance in the case of an emergency. This ban includes children sitting on the lap of an adult passenger.

Where can I find information on using a child seat on an airplane?

http://www.faa.gov/apa/publicat/crstips.htm

This Federal Aviation Administration site contains tips for parents using child restraints on aircraft.

What can I do to prepare my child for their first experience with flying?

Since a first flight can be a scary experience for anyone, spend some time preparing your child for the trip.
You might consider role-playing games. Take them through a check-in and a security check. Set up a row of seats and run them through a take off. Make sure you include engine noise and turbulence in the games so they know that these things are normal and will be comfortable when they experience them on the plane.
Read them some books with traveling themes. They’ll be more interested and at ease with the whole process.
If you fear they will suffer from motion sickness, see if your pediatrician can provide something to help.
If you fear flying yourself, try to buck up and not pass that fear onto your child. If they see that you are scared, they may also develop a fear of flying that will stay with them as adults. Your child’s first experiences with flying will probably help or haunt you both on future trips.

How can I reduce the negative effects of flying on my child’s ears?

The planes are pressurized, but your ears are still sensitive to the change in altitude.
If your child has a head cold, try anything that has worked before to clear it up before you travel.
If your child has an ear infection, you’ll want to discuss the trip with your pediatrician. Ear infections can be extremely painful for those traveling on an airplane.
Children and some adults are particularly good at smuggling hotel pool water home from their vacation. Buy some drops and get it out before you fly.
Children and adults both find relief from sucking on candy or juicy chewing gum, the act of chewing and swallowing relieves the pressure on the ears at take off and landing. Be careful when choosing the juicy treat for small children to avoid the possibility of choking during turbulence.
Nursing a baby can be used to help the baby’s ears.
Yawning is also a good way to relieve the pressure on your ears.
If your child is sleeping, you should consider waking them up before you begin descent. The landing is usually harder on the ears and since you swallow less when you sleep; your child may wake up on the ground in pain.
Whatever method you use, do it all through take off and landing so you can adjust little by little.