Stuck At The Airport With Kids? These Expert Tips Can Save Your Sanity

A parent’s excitement about travel changes after having children, replaced by worries about lost luggage, forgotten items, and keeping kids occupied during long flights. Travel challenges expand beyond the flight itself, including major delays and cancellations that add more time to manage with children who may not be patient. During a spring break trip to Hawaii, a family successfully moves through security and boards a flight scheduled to land early. After reaching the runway, the plane returns to the airport because of a technical issue. Passengers are asked to deboard with all luggage and wait for a replacement plane, creating several unplanned hours at the airport and triggering immediate panic about how to handle the situation with a five-year-old.

"Then I became a parent, and that easy-breezy attitude I had when it came to going on trips was quickly replaced by a cargo load of stress and worry. What if I forget their favorite stuffed animal? What if our luggage gets lost? How the heck are we going to pass the time? Yes, the idea of spending hours in a small metal tube thousands of miles up in the sky with complete strangers is truly the stuff of parenting nightmares."

"But just in case that isn't enough of an obstacle to overcome, these days traveling with kids isn't just about surviving the actual flight - it's also dealing with the prospect of massive delays and cancellations, leaving you with even more time to kill with your tiny humans who aren't exactly known for their patience."

"We had made it through security, were on the plane in our seats, made it to the runway, and were even scheduled to land earlier than expected. I was sure this five-hour flight would be a piece of cake. Then we just sat there... and sat there. After a while, I looked out the window and noticed we were heading back to the airport (never a great sign on any flight that has yet to take off)."

"Finally, the pilot came over the intercom with the dreaded news no traveler wants to hear: Due to a technical issue, everyone was being asked to deboard with all their luggage and wait for a new plane to arrive. This meant we would now be spending several extra hours at the airport that I had not accounted for. Instant panic flooded my entire body. Now what?"

Read at Scary Mommy