Baby on board
Flying with an infant or toddler is like going into battle: careful planning and the right timing will increase the chances of success, but you never know exactly what will happen. Here's how to minimise collateral damage.
Know your enemy Recruiting allies Before you travel What to take Where to sit Health help Essential tips
Know your enemy</ br> One of the biggest hurdles comes from other passengers rather than your own child. In her book High Tide in Tucson, author Barbara Kingsolver describes asking the woman next to her if she'd mind swapping seats with her husband (who was sitting across the aisle), so their tired daughter could stretch out across their laps. The woman snapped back: 'No, I have to have the window seat, just like you had to have that baby.' In other words, don't expect sympathy just because you know your journey's probably going to be harder than other people's.
Apart from such rudeness, you'll have to endure some degree of embarrassment when flying with baby. I recently flew from New York to the UK with my 16-month-old, who decided take-off was an opportune time to vomit down my leg and into the seat. Accept it, at some point on your journey, your child is likely to do something that is much less bearable to the other passengers than to its own mother.
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