[Parenting] Question for those with toddlers who are flying

We dont fly with them(4 kids).
The older ones (12,9,6) understand that there will be no vacations at this point till El Diablo ( 2 year old Henry) has tamed.

Id leave them with family and go with your wife or by yourself.

 

We had 2 6-year olds and we just took the boosters and left the chair-backs at home. Boosters are small and even have handles, so we just carried them with our carry-ons. We checked them right by the plane door with the other strollers and picked them up in the same place when we landed. Easy.

 

I’m planning on flying with my toddler.. not renting a car, but Uber does have a car seat option where I’m going.
Other than that, baby girl is walking and or me and muh lady taking turns caring her

 

The one and only time we flew when my daughter was a toddler:

We bought a nice, fold up stroller for the airport...which she promptly didn't want to ride in. We made it from the front door, through security...then it just carried bags. Ended up lugging the stroller all over our vacation and she basically never used it. Your mileage my vary.

We rented a car at our destination, so I took her car seat. I bought this car seat travel bag that had backpack straps. It was really good. You check it in oversized luggage as soon as you get into the airport, so you aren't lugging it around. Once you pick it up at the destination, the backpack straps are a lifesaver. It's bulky and oddly sized, but it rides high on your shoulders so you can carry it easily. The other advantage is that you can stuff a bunch of supplies into the bag on top of the seat...so we were able to stuff a booster seat, extra pull ups, toys, etc.

On the plane itself, we just strapped her in. Didn't bother with a booster or anything.

 

I bought the lightest car seats I could find for travel, and then just bought one of the giant gate check bags like this:

I could kind of stack both carseats together and fit them in one bag. It's a little cumbersome and heavy, but you can wear it as a backpack. I would check in the bag at the counter before we go in through security for free (just tell them they are car seats and they won't charge you). This will be picked up at the baggage claim on arrival like any other pre-checked baggage.

For the stroller we would keep the kid(s) in that until we got to the gate. At the gate you just talk to the attendant at the counter and say you want to gate check the stroller and they'll tag your stroller and you just leave it at the end of the jet bridge before you walk on the plane and someone will come up and load it on the plane. The stroller we'll be waiting for you on the jet bridge right when you get off the plane at the destination.

We never bothered with taking a car seat on the plane. Even when the children were infants we just held them, because it was free. It's nice to get rid of them right away at the check-in counter before you go through security, since they're so heavy and big.

Car seats are one of my least favorite things in the world. Especially the installation.