Blog angels & urchins was lucky enough to visit the Cupcake private members club recently, to hold a talk on travelling with very young children. Sinking into a sofa, perusing the spa treatment list, and eating a slice of homemade carrot cake washed down with a green tea made her very envious of the Cupcake mums. A lot of them are jetting off for Christmas to visit friends and family, and much of the travel talk focused on travelling with very young children. We thought we’d pass the tips on, because travelling with a member of the tricky 11-month to two-year brigade is usually a demanding process. They tend not to be interested in TV (though if they are, definitely invest in a portable DVD and show Baby Einstein on repeat!), can’t play games or colour in, and don’t like being strapped in. But it’s not all doom and gloom, because they tend to sleep for longer periods than older siblings, so if you can get them to sleep, all will be well.

TOP TIPS ON TRAVELLING WITH BABIES AND YOUNG CHILDREN

You don’t have to pay a seat for a child before their second birthday, but there are benefits if you do spend the cash. Take along their car seat so that they can sleep in an environment they’re used to.

Fly at night, whenever possible. Hopefully you’ll get the child to sleep. If not, plenty of tips below…

Take along a cuddly toy, or anything the child has sleep associations with. Muslins are fantastic, because everyone always has a plentiful supply of them and it doesn’t matter if they get lost. Unlike a favourite Teddy, which will be a disaster if it gets lost in transit.

Take along two spare changes of clothes for baby, and one for you, even if just a top. You never know when you’re going to end up covered in food, sick, a drink, or worse.

A great travel toy is the traditional favourite, stackable cups that fit inside each other. They don’t take up much space, and are great to use on the beach and pool when you’re there. You can while away hours filling the cups with things for them to discover on the way.

A simple bottle makes a great travel toy. Young children love putting on a lid and taking it off again.

Tupperware boxes filled with Cheerios and raisins are a great way to keep them happy and full of food. I always travel with some mini boxes of raisins.

A sling/papoose/Baby Bjorn is a vital piece of kit. It makes walking up and down the aisles much easier when you’re trying to get a baby to sleep, and means you’ve got two hands free when you land.

Keep the baby hydrated. They’ll need to drink more than usual because the air on a plane is so dry. If you’re formula feeding, take enough powder for more feeds than usual. I personally use mineral water (Evian has one of the lowest volumes of minerals), but know some people are nervous about that. But I think for a short period of time it’s fine.

If you want to send things on in advance – nappies, formula etc – there are various companies that will do this for you. Tiny Tots Away has a list of baby products that they’ll send, First Luggage will collect a case and have it waiting for your arrival.

Instead of priority boarding, use the time to wear out a little one by playing crawling/running games. Unless you’re flying with a first-come-first-seated cheap airline, in which case RUN FOR YOUR LIFE, or you’ll end up sitting rows apart.

WE HOPE SOME OF THESE TIPS ARE HELPFUL.  We’d love yours, so drop by and leave them in the comments section below, and we’ll add them on. Happy flying!