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Airports and airplanes can make the most even-tempered child (and parent) melt down. To make your next trip a smooth, joyful experience, follow strategies akin to Montessori education’s “prepared environment,” and keep in mind that some travel regulations have changed due to COVID-19 health protocols.
Manage Expectations
Before your trip, read books about air travel and “play” airport and airplane by acting out the travel experience: waiting in line, boarding the plane, moving quickly through the airport to make a tight connection, waiting for luggage, etc. Make sure to include both exciting and challenging scenarios. Try changing roles so that you are the child and they are the adult.
Pack in the (Screen-Free) Fun
Letting your children watch a show or two on a long flight may feel inevitable, but it doesn’t need to be the default. Create a “for travel” activity bag and add to it throughout the year so you’ll have it ready without having to scramble just before your trip. Include books, sticker books or activity books, a blank notebook and markers or crayons, and small containers of playdough. Wait until your child has totally explored one activity before getting out the next. (Make sure you have enough in the bag for the return flight.)
Enter the Wonder Together
Find a good view of airplanes taking off, experience elevators, escalators, and moving walkways. Once you’ve taken off, engage your child in the wonder of the flight. Ask, “What do you see out the window?” You don’t have to have all the answers. Just wondering out loud, “I see flaps lifting on the wing. I wonder what they are for?” is food for your child’s curious mind.
Games, Games, Games!
Air travel offers hours of semi-unstructured time with your children. Tic-tac-toe, I Spy, Twenty Questions, and rock-paper-scissors are great in-your-seat games. Or try a simple memory game: place four or five objects on the tray table in front of your child. Have them investigate them, then close their eyes while you take one object away. When they open their eyes, they must guess which one is missing. Or tell a story together: You start and then let them take over. Go back and forth until you’ve finished the story.
Pack Protein, Dump the Sugar
Offer your child healthy snacks with plenty of protein: nuts, cheeses, and edamame. Avoid empty calories like crackers or high-sugar treats. Snacks that require some processing (clementines, pistachios, etc.) do double duty of filling bellies and passing time.
Take Your Time (and Plan for Delays)
Extra time can be the difference between a delightful ramble to your gate and a meltdown—add 30 minutes to what you think you’ll need to get through the airport. If you give your little one time to explore before boarding, they’ll be more likely to cooperate on the plane, or if you need to make a tight connection. And if you encounter delays, having extra snacks and activities up your sleeve (how about an airport scavenger hunt?) can save the day.
Adapted from an article by Olynda Smith, published Summer 2019 by Montessori Life. © 2020 American Montessori Society. Used with permission.