Flying with kids: a calm first-flight plan (with a free printable checklist)

By the Fly with Pip team · Published 2026-10-17 · Updated 2026-10-17

✓ Reviewed by our airline captain on 17 October 2026 · Facts checked against the sources listed below.

A week before: make the flight familiar

Children cope best with things they've already met. A week or so before you fly, tell the story of the trip in order: the car or train to the airport, checking in, the bag scanner, waiting at the gate, walking onto the plane, finding your seats, take-off, snacks in the sky, landing and the walk out. Keep it light and matter-of-fact.

Play "pretend flight" with chairs in a row: one of you is the crew, someone holds the boarding passes, everyone clicks their seat belt and counts down for take-off. Our First Flight Kit has a printable boarding pass, a checklist and badges that suit this game well, and many children love having their own "ticket" on the day.

Let them pick one or two things for their bag. Choosing gives them a job, and a familiar toy or blanket goes a long way in a new place.

What to pack in the cabin bag

• Snacks they already like, and an empty water bottle to fill after security.
• For babies: milk, baby food and sterilised water for the journey. At UK airports these are allowed in hand luggage in larger amounts than the usual liquid limit when your baby is travelling with you, but check with your airport first (GOV.UK, baby food and baby milk).
• A spare set of clothes for each child (and a spare top for you).
• Child-sized headphones, a comfort toy and a small blanket.
• Two or three screen-free activities, plus pencils or crayons that won't roll far.
• Any medicines your child needs, in their original packaging.

Liquid rules differ between airports and have changed at some UK airports, so check the rules for each airport on your trip before you pack (GOV.UK, hand luggage restrictions).

At the airport

Leave more time than you think you'll need: queues feel very different with a tired toddler. At security, bags, coats and often shoes go through the scanner in trays. Saying "our bags go through the tunnel and come out the other side" beforehand makes it less of a surprise.

If there's a window near the gate, go and watch the planes. Spotting the fuel lorry, the bags going up the belt and the pilots' window at the front turns waiting into something to look at.

Ears on take-off and landing

Ears can feel full or pop as the plane climbs and descends, because the air pressure in the cabin changes and the ear has to even it out (MedlinePlus, travelling with children). Swallowing helps the ear catch up, so the trick is to keep them swallowing at those times:

• Babies: offer a breastfeed, a bottle or a dummy during take-off and as the plane starts to descend.
• Toddlers and older children: sips of water, a snack, a yawn or a big pretend lion yawn.
• From about age three, many children can manage chewing gum or a sweet to suck on.
• Try to keep them awake for take-off and landing if you can, as we swallow less when asleep (all from MedlinePlus, above).

The feeling almost always passes within a few minutes. If your child has a cold or an ear infection, ask your GP before you fly.

The seat belt habit

Treat the seat belt like the car: you click it on when you sit down, and it stays on, loosely, whenever you're seated, even when the sign is off. That way a bump is simply a bump and nobody has to rush. Aviation authorities recommend exactly this for every passenger (FAA AC 00-30C). Make it part of the game: "Seat belt check, captain!"

When the seat belt sign comes on, it's routine, not a sign that something is wrong. The pilots switch it on whenever the ride might get a little bumpy.

For babies and toddlers, the US Federal Aviation Administration recommends their own seat with an approved child seat or harness rather than sitting on a lap, which also keeps a sleepy toddler snug (FAA, flying with children). You'll need to buy a seat for this, and not every car seat is approved for aircraft, so check the label and your airline's rules before you go.

Sounds and bumps, explained for kids

Planes make plenty of noises, and every one has a job. Explaining them in advance stops a surprise from becoming a worry:

• The engines get louder for take-off, then a little quieter soon after, when the pilots reduce the power as planned once the plane is climbing (FAA Airplane Flying Handbook).
• Whirrs and hums come from the flaps on the wings sliding out for take-off and landing and tucking away afterwards. Our plane noises guide has the rest.
• Bumps are just uneven air, like ripples on a river. There are no holes in the sky (FAA AC 00-30C). Pilots plan around rough air using forecasts and weather radar.

If bumps might bother anyone in the family, pick seats over the wing or towards the front, where the ride is usually smoothest, and consider a morning flight: on sunny days the air near the ground often gets bumpier later in the day (FAA Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge). For older children who want to know more, read is turbulence dangerous? together.

Screen-free things to do on board

Screens are useful on a long flight, but a few paper activities give a calmer, quieter rhythm, and they keep working when the battery runs out. Our printables are made by a real airline pilot, so the planes, the cockpit and the journey are drawn the way they really are:

• The Activity Book & Flight Journal: mazes, word searches, colouring pages and a "draw your flight" journal starring Pip the little jet.
• The Kids' Flight Logbook: a real-feel logbook where your child records each flight, with boxes for the crew and pilot to sign.
• The First Flight Kit: boarding pass, checklist and badges for the big day.
• The Family Flight Bundle: all three together, the best value if you're flying more than once.

Print them at home in A4 or US Letter, clip them to a small board or folder, and hand out one new page at a time: something fresh after take-off, after the snack and before landing.

Your free printable first-flight checklist

Print this page or save it on your phone. Tick things off together so your child can see the trip coming together:

1. A week before: tell the story of the trip and play "pretend flight".
2. Two days before: pack the cabin bag together, with snacks, a spare outfit and a comfort toy.
3. Check the liquid rules for your airport and your airline's rules for car seats or harnesses.
4. The night before: lay out comfy clothes and print the activity pages.
5. At the airport: leave extra time, then go and watch the planes.
6. On board: seat belt on, loosely, whenever you're sitting down.
7. Take-off and landing: a drink, a feed, a snack or a big yawn for the ears.
8. After landing: fill in the logbook together and talk about the best bit.

After you land

Ask what the best bit was, and write it down while it's fresh: in the logbook, the journal or on the back of the boarding pass. Some crews are happy to sign a logbook, so it's worth a polite ask on the way out if it isn't busy. A first flight that ends with a story and a signature is one children want to repeat.

Sources

• GOV.UK, baby food and baby milk
• GOV.UK, hand luggage restrictions
• MedlinePlus, travelling with children
• FAA AC 00-30C
• FAA, flying with children
• FAA Airplane Flying Handbook
• FAA Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge

Educational content only, not medical advice. If your fear of flying is severe, please talk to your GP or doctor.

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