Bub 2 crashed out on the plane
First things first, a good nights sleep in our home is rare as hens teeth – both my boys wake me during the night; to come into their bed, to get them milk, to request a midnight swim, and sometimes to just to say “I love you.” So deliberately waking them to catch an early morning flight feels like personal treason. Yet that is just what I did last Friday, hauling my kids out of bed to catch a flight to Melbourne for my father’s 70th birthday, watching the sun rise over the Coral Sea as we took off. Needless to say I avoid early morning flights with my young kids when I can. There are times though, due to cost when an early flight is our only affordable option.
Truthfully, there are not a whole lot of tips to making an early morning flight easier with little ones – it is a grin and bear it sort of situation. For what it’s worth though, here are a handful that help us on our early start journeys.
- It sounds obvious but pack and prepare everything the night before. Do not plan to do anything other than get dressed and leave in the morning.
- If you live more than an hour away from the airport consider staying at an airport hotel the night prior to departure. My own kids behaviour can be so challenging when they are sleep deprived that the additional cost may be worth it (don’t forget families have been thrown off planes for having a toddler that is tantruming prior to take-off).
- Put your kids to bed in the clothes you want them to wear the next day – that way it may be as simple transferring your kids to the vehicle direct from their beds.
- Have a liquid breakfast ready for the kids. I pre-buy these however you can make your own – soak one weet-bix overnight in a glass of milk with a few spoons of milo or other flavouring. A quick blend in the morning and you are one your way.
- Set more than one alarm – just in case.
Have your own tip for surviving early morning flights to add to this rather paltry offering? Please, please add it as a comment.
The “dress them in what they will be wearing the next day” is a good one. We practiced that with our kids on long car trips when we would start our journey in the dark. We hoped that by disturbing them less they would go back to sleep until the sun came up. Well while that did not work, at least we were not stressed getting them changed in the morning. I would pack their own lunch boxes as well (the night before) with treats, as well as good things to eat, and drinks.