Survival Tips for European Travel with Children

• British Air and Virgin allow families with babies to board first, another reason to fly with them.
• For babies that are older, such as one-year-olds, download Sesame Street, Teletubbies, or an animal show to an iPod or to your partner’s laptop (in case she never sleeps) to give yourself a thirty-minute break.
• For preschoolers and older children, consider buying an age-appropriate movie and tell them all throughout their wait at the airport that this will be their reward for good behavior while waiting to board. (Also, if you bring a laptop, and a few DVDs, you’ll be able to control what they watch in the hotel or rental house abroad. So, if your child watches Elmo’s World every morning, you can still do that, which is a comforting ritual.) 
• Discuss taking turns napping with your partner so there is no misunderstanding.
• Request special meals, such as low-salt or vegetarian ones, so you can be fed first, before baby falls asleep on your lap and you aren’t able to pull down trays or move for fear of waking her up. 
• Crayons and new coloring books are always a hit with preschoolers and kindergartners.

Upon Landing:

• Again, consider not dragging a car seat with you. It’s cumbersome and you can rent one upon your arrival. Babies under two fly free, take advantage of that and use the money on a nicer hotel room or baby-sitter fees and a romantic dinner, later!
• Again, don’t take a large, bulky stroller. Take a light-weight, umbrella stroller, especially if going to European capitals. You’ll have to collapse it quickly before boarding buses, trains, subways, and taxies, or going up flights of stairs. Less is more in Europe.
• Save one toy, one book, and one treat for the lines you’ll be in at customs and immigration to entertain your tired, cranky children.
• Make baggage claim fun, point out different colored ribbons on the bags and ask older children to count all the red bags, or green bags, etc.
• If possible, one parent should take the children to the bathroom and change diapers while the other gets the bags and/or checks on transfers, trains, or rental car information.