Tantrums at 30,000 Feet

Every parent prays that they don’t have “that” child while traveling by air. You know the one that screams the whole flight no matter how much the parents try to bribe them with candy and toys to be good. Well, as my luck would have it, God blessed me with two of those precious little children. So a couple weeks ago I learned very quickly how unprepared I was for the unexpected flight up to Michigan.

Already stressed about the sad news of my Grandmother’s condition, my family and I had gotten the call at 8 a.m., booked a flight and were out the door by 10 a.m. and in the air at 11:45 a.m. It seems like a blur now, but in-between, “Please buckle your seatbelts as we prepare for departure,” and, “Welcome to Flint, Michigan,” I realized how I neglected to pack some essentials for a smooth flight with a three and one-year old boy.

So after the trip I thought of five simple things that could have improved this trip significantly:

1. Wear slip-on shoes or sandals, if at all possible, because in the mix of trying to get your luggage, strollers, belts, and everything else on the security table, untying and retying shoes for yourself and your children slows up traffic and stresses you out.

2. Always bring blankets; this was a hard lesson learned as we spent the night at Atlanta Airport on the way home, due to storms.

3. SNACKS! Easy, mess-free snacks because a child with food in their mouth can’t scream!

4. Some sort of entertainment, the people sitting next to you will appreciate it! The best boredom buster I have come across for small children is the Water Wow Doodle book…. I like it too, but I know every child has their favorite toy so make sure you bring it.

5. Patience! Patience! Patience! This should have actually been #1 because when going through a hectic airport, running from one terminal to the next, anything can happen! For example your child could be like mine and walk up to the emergency defibrillator on the wall and open it which sounded alarms and lights to all the surrounding gates while everyone stopped to look at what was going on….so yes, again, I stress PATIENCE!

For some inspiring verses on patience to look at en-route to the airport, turn to Galatians 5:22, Luke 8:15, Romans 5:3, 2 Corinthians 6:4, and 2 Peter 1:6, and, when all else fails remember you’ll never see any of these people in the airport again…