# Our First Flight with a Toddler: The 9 Things That Kept Everyone Calm > Four days at the grandparents' with an eighteen-month-old and one cabin bag: the packing, the gate, the cabin, and a house with no socket covers. > > Canonical: https://editorgoods.com/best/first-trip-with-a-toddler/ > Published by EditorGoods · Updated Apr 24, 2026 · Prices checked Oct 17, 2026 (USD) > Area: Kids · Scene: First Trip with a Toddler · 9 products > **Short answer:** For a first flight with a toddler, the things that matter most are the ones for the ears, the hands and the first night in a strange room. On our four-day trip, the Montessori felt busy book (about $17), the kids noise-reduction earmuffs ($10) and the inflatable flight footrest ($15) got us through the airport and the cabin; the CDYCAM video baby monitor ($53) and a rechargeable white noise machine ($16) got us through the nights. The full nine-item kit in this story came to about $157. Prices checked October 2026. ## The trip we had put off for a year Our son was eighteen months old and had never been on a plane. His grandparents live a three-hour flight away and had been patient for a year, and then they stopped being patient. We booked four days in late September, one cabin bag between the three of us because the fares for checked luggage were absurd, and started reading about flying with toddlers until we had to stop for our own good. The trip went fine. Nobody cried on the plane for longer than two minutes, including us, and he slept in a strange room on the second night as if he had always lived there. Here is what we took, in the order it earned its place. ## The night before — one bag for three people A cabin bag for two adults and a toddler is a packing problem that rewards structure. Toddler clothes are small but there are many of them, and we needed to find a clean outfit in a hurry in a car park without emptying the bag onto the tarmac. ### The cubes that kept the outfits together The HTMCK packing cube set, about $11, is a set of zipped mesh-topped cubes with a separate shoe bag and a drawstring sack. One cube held four days of his clothes rolled in daily bundles, one held ours, and the shoe bag held the shoes, and when he sat in a puddle at the airport we pulled out Tuesday's bundle without disturbing anything else. The cubes are light nylon and do not compress; his fleece and his sleep sack took a cube between them, which felt extravagant and was. **HTMCK Packing Cube Set (Clothes, Shoes, Laundry)** — **$11.29** - A set of zipped mesh-topped cubes plus a shoe bag and a drawstring sack, so four days of toddler outfits went into one cabin bag in daily bundles we could pull out without unpacking. - Worth knowing: The cubes are light nylon and will not compress bulky things — a fleece and a sleep sack took a cube each. - Link: https://editorgoods.com/go/toddler-htmck-packing-cubes/ ### The cubes that squashed the dirty clothes The compression packing cubes, about $10 for three, have a second zip around the middle that squeezes the contents flat, and we used them for the way home, when most of the clothes were dirty and considerably bulkier than they had been. The dirty cube went in the bottom of the bag, the clean one on top, and the bag closed on the first try. They are not waterproof, so the swimsuit from his grandparents' paddling pool went in a plastic bag inside one. **Compression Packing Cubes, 3-Piece** — **$10.39** - Three cubes with a second zip that squashes the contents flat. We used them for the dirty clothes on the way home, which by day four were most of the clothes. - Worth knowing: Not waterproof — a wet swimsuit or a leaky sippy cup still needs a plastic bag inside. - Link: https://editorgoods.com/go/toddler-compressible-packing-bags/ The bag closed. We slept badly. At six the next morning we were in a taxi, and by half past seven we were standing in a departure hall learning what a toddler thinks of a departure hall. ## 7.30 a.m. — the airport An airport is a toddler's idea of heaven: large, loud, full of people to wave at and floors to run across. Our problem was not boredom. It was the moments when he had to stand still, and the moments when the noise got too much. ### The earmuffs for the announcements The YHKEMA kids noise-reduction earmuffs, about $10, are padded ear defenders with a soft, adjustable band sized for a small head. We had tried them on him at home, where he wore them for ten seconds and threw them, so we had low hopes. At the gate, when the boarding announcements came through the speaker directly above us at a volume that made adults wince, he let us put them on and kept them on. He wore them again for take-off. They are not for babies, and some toddlers will not tolerate anything on their head; if yours is one of those, no earmuffs will change that. **YHKEMA Kids Noise-Reduction Earmuffs (SNR 27 dB)** — **$9.75** - Padded ear defenders sized for a small head, with a soft adjustable band. They took the edge off boarding announcements and the engine roar on take-off, which was the moment we had been dreading. - Worth knowing: Sized for toddlers and up, not babies, and some children simply will not keep anything on their head — try them at home first. - Link: https://editorgoods.com/go/toddler-yhkema-kids-earmuffs/ ### The book that bought us twenty minutes The Montessori felt busy book, about $17, is a soft fabric book with a giraffe on the front and a zip, a buckle, poppers, laces and felt shapes that stick on and pull off inside. We opened it at the gate when the queue to board stopped moving and it held him for twenty minutes, which is a toddler eternity. It came out again on the plane and again at a restaurant on day three. The felt pieces are small enough to lose and he pocketed two of them; count them back into the book before you stand up, and accept that the book will come home lighter. **Montessori Felt Busy Book (Giraffe, Zips and Buckles)** — **$16.85** - A soft felt book with a zip, a buckle, poppers, laces and shapes that stick on and pull off. It bought us twenty quiet minutes at the gate and another fifteen on the plane, with nothing to drop or lose. - Worth knowing: The felt pieces are small enough to pocket and lose; count them back into the book before you stand up. - Link: https://editorgoods.com/go/toddler-montessori-busy-board-book/ We boarded last, as everyone advises, so he had run himself out. He fell asleep on take-off, with the earmuffs on, and the question became how to keep him asleep. ## 10 a.m. — the cabin A sleeping toddler on your lap is wonderful for about twenty minutes and then your arm goes dead. We had booked him his own seat, which was the single best decision of the trip, and we had brought one thing to make the seat into a bed. ### The footrest that made the seat a bed The inflatable kids flight footrest cushion, about $15, is a three-layer inflatable block that fills the gap between the seat cushion and the seat in front. Inflated once the seatbelt sign was off, it turned his seat into a flat-ish platform the length of a toddler, and he lay across it on his side with his head on our leg and slept for ninety minutes of the three-hour flight. It inflates by mouth in about two minutes and deflates in one. Before you buy one, check your airline: several allow these only after take-off, some only in window seats, and a few ban them outright. Ours was allowed, and the cabin crew did not look twice. **Inflatable Kids Flight Footrest Cushion** — **$15.22** - A three-layer inflatable block that fills the gap between the seat and the seat in front, turning an economy seat into a flat-ish bed a toddler can lie across. Ours slept for ninety minutes of a three-hour flight. - Worth knowing: Check your airline's rules before you fly — several do not allow inflatables during taxi, take-off and landing, and some ban them outright. - Link: https://editorgoods.com/go/toddler-inflatable-flight-footrest/ He woke as we started the descent, happy and hungry, and we landed, collected nothing from the carousel and were in his grandparents' car within half an hour. The last and longest part of the trip was about to start. ## 6 p.m. — a house that had not seen a toddler in thirty years His grandparents' house has stairs, a bathroom with a lock on the outside for reasons nobody can explain, a garden with a pond and a socket in every wall at exactly toddler height. We had four days, no drill and no desire to rearrange our parents' home. We did three things. ### The covers in a snack bag The clear pull-tab outlet safety plugs, about $14, are clear press-fit caps that sit flush in a socket and come out with a fingernail on the small tab. A handful travelled in a snack bag, and the living room, the kitchen and the guest room were done in five minutes while his grandmother watched with a mixture of gratitude and offence. They are hard to remove on purpose, which is the point, and it did slow down charging phones by the bed at night. **Clear Pull-Tab Outlet Safety Plugs** — **$13.62** - Clear press-fit caps for the sockets in a house that has not seen a toddler in thirty years. A handful went in a snack bag and covered the living room and the guest room in five minutes. - Worth knowing: They need adult fingernails to remove, which is the point; it also slows down charging phones at night. - Link: https://editorgoods.com/go/toddler-outlet-safety-plugs/ ### The monitor that let us eat dinner The CDYCAM video baby monitor, about $53, is a camera and a handheld screen that talk to each other directly, with no wi-fi and no app. The guest room was at the far end of the house and up a flight of stairs, well out of earshot of the dining room, and the monitor was what let us put him down at seven and then sit through a long dinner with his grandparents instead of taking turns on the landing. The night vision showed him clearly in a dark room, the two-way talk let one of us shush him from downstairs on night one, and the temperature readout told us the room was colder than we thought. It is a closed system with one screen, which is exactly what we wanted on a trip and not what everyone wants at home. **CDYCAM Video Baby Monitor with 3.5-inch Screen** — **$53.09** - A camera and a handheld screen that talk to each other without wi-fi, so we could put him down in a room at the other end of a house we did not know and still see him from the dinner table. Night vision, two-way talk and a temperature readout. - Worth knowing: It is a closed-link monitor, not an app — one screen, in the house, which is what we wanted but not what everyone wants. - Link: https://editorgoods.com/go/toddler-cdycam-baby-monitor/ ### The sound that made the room his The rechargeable white noise machine, about $16, is a small sound machine with the same steady shush he falls asleep to at home. His grandparents' guest room has a ticking clock, a dog that barks at foxes and a floorboard outside the door that announces every trip to the bathroom, and with the machine on none of it reached him. It runs all night on a charge and fits in a coat pocket; it also has buttons that press themselves in a bag, and we found it playing rainfall to the inside of the suitcase on arrival. **Rechargeable White Noise Machine (24 Sounds, Portable)** — **$16.15** - A small rechargeable sound machine with the same steady shush he falls asleep to at home, so an unfamiliar room with a ticking clock and a dog downstairs sounded like his own. It fits in a coat pocket and runs all night on a charge. - Worth knowing: The buttons are easy to press by accident in a bag; we found it playing rainfall to the inside of the suitcase on arrival. - Link: https://editorgoods.com/go/toddler-portable-white-noise-machine/ ### The blanket from home The knitted cotton baby blanket, about $10, is the blanket from his cot at home, packed on top of everything so it was the first thing out in the guest room. We laid it in the travel cot his grandparents had borrowed, over the sheet, and it smelled of our house and weighed what his bed weighs. We do not know how much of the second night's ten-minute bedtime was the blanket and how much was exhaustion, and we do not care. It is cot-sized, so it would be too small for a toddler in a single bed; for a travel cot it was exactly right. **Knitted Cotton Baby Blanket (90 x 70 cm)** — **$10.42** - The blanket from his cot at home, packed on top so it was the first thing out in the guest room. Familiar smell, familiar weight, and it doubled as a floor blanket at the airport. - Worth knowing: It is a cot-sized blanket, not a toddler duvet — fine for a travel cot, too small for a single bed. - Link: https://editorgoods.com/go/toddler-knit-cotton-blanket/ Night one took forty minutes and two trips upstairs. Night two took ten minutes and none. By night four he was pointing at the guest-room door at bedtime and his grandmother was asking when we were coming back. ## What we'd leave at home > **What we'd skip if money is tight** > > If money is tight, skip the compression cubes and the footrest; a plastic bag holds dirty clothes and a toddler will sleep across your lap if the flight is short enough. That brings the kit to about $132. > After that, the blanket is something you already own, and the earmuffs depend entirely on whether your child will wear them. The four things that made the difference for us — the busy book, the socket covers, the white noise machine and the video monitor — come to about $100, and the monitor is more than half of that. > Don't skip the monitor if the room is out of earshot, or the white noise if your child sleeps to it at home. The first night in a strange house is the hardest part of the trip, and those two are what made the second night easy. ## Everything in this story | # | Product | Moment | Price (USD) | Link | |---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | HTMCK Packing Cube Set (Clothes, Shoes, Laundry) | Packing | $11.29 | https://editorgoods.com/go/toddler-htmck-packing-cubes/ | | 2 | Compression Packing Cubes, 3-Piece | Packing | $10.39 | https://editorgoods.com/go/toddler-compressible-packing-bags/ | | 3 | YHKEMA Kids Noise-Reduction Earmuffs (SNR 27 dB) | The airport | $9.75 | https://editorgoods.com/go/toddler-yhkema-kids-earmuffs/ | | 4 | Montessori Felt Busy Book (Giraffe, Zips and Buckles) | The airport | $16.85 | https://editorgoods.com/go/toddler-montessori-busy-board-book/ | | 5 | Inflatable Kids Flight Footrest Cushion | The flight | $15.22 | https://editorgoods.com/go/toddler-inflatable-flight-footrest/ | | 6 | Clear Pull-Tab Outlet Safety Plugs | Grandparents' house | $13.62 | https://editorgoods.com/go/toddler-outlet-safety-plugs/ | | 7 | CDYCAM Video Baby Monitor with 3.5-inch Screen | Grandparents' house | $53.09 | https://editorgoods.com/go/toddler-cdycam-baby-monitor/ | | 8 | Rechargeable White Noise Machine (24 Sounds, Portable) | Grandparents' house | $16.15 | https://editorgoods.com/go/toddler-portable-white-noise-machine/ | | 9 | Knitted Cotton Baby Blanket (90 x 70 cm) | Grandparents' house | $10.42 | https://editorgoods.com/go/toddler-knit-cotton-blanket/ | Everything here comes to about $157. Prices in USD. ## Frequently asked questions **What do I need for a first flight with a toddler?** Something quiet for their hands, something for their ears, a way for them to lie down if the flight is long enough to nap, and whatever makes bedtime at the other end feel like bedtime at home. Our full kit for a four-day trip came to about $157; the flight part of it was under $45. **Is it worth buying cheap travel gear for a toddler?** For a first trip, yes, because you do not yet know what your child will tolerate. We spent under $20 each on the earmuffs, the busy book and the footrest, and one of the three was ignored completely. Spend the real money on the thing that lets you sleep: for us that was the video monitor. **Can you use an inflatable footrest or seat extender on a plane?** It depends on the airline and you should check before you fly. Several carriers allow them only once the seatbelt sign is off, some allow them only in window seats, and a few ban them. Ours was allowed, and it gave our son ninety minutes of sleep lying flat across the seat. **How do you childproof a grandparents' house for a visit?** Do the sockets, the stairs and the bathroom door, and let the rest go. We took a bag of pull-tab socket covers and used the furniture that was already there to block the stairs. Four days is not long enough to install anything, and your parents will not thank you for drilling holes. **How do you get a toddler to sleep in a strange room?** Make it sound and smell like home. We packed the blanket from his cot and the same white noise he sleeps to every night, and put him down at the usual time in the usual order. The first night took forty minutes; the second took ten.