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Writer's pictureRadio Nursery

How to Handle Your Crying Baby on an Airplane


Traveling is a stressful enough experience by itself. When you add children to that mix, it becomes ten times more stressful. Not only are you dealing with checking luggage, finding your gate and getting onto the plane on time, but you’re also wrangling small people who may or may not be cooperative despite your best efforts.


And then, there are people who will give you nasty looks just for daring to take your kids on an airplane to go see Grandpa and Grandma.


Somehow, you manage to make it onto the plane without drawing excess attention. Your baby is being quiet and cute. And then, suddenly the crying begins and your stress level goes beyond the plane’s altitude.


Try not to panic. Here’s how you can handle your crying baby in flight.


Help him adjust his ears

While it’s slightly uncomfortable for grownups when our ears pop, to infants, it’s incredibly painful. You’ll have to help them adjust their ears so that they pop, and then they’ll feel loads better. If you breastfeed, doing so upon takeoff and landing should alleviate the problem entirely though bottle feeding at those times will help too. You can also give him a pacifier.


Use a baby carrier

One thing that really comforts babies is being close to you. Hold him in his carrier to keep him happy while keeping hands free. You can easily walk him up and down the aisle on longer flights to help soothe him to sleep too.


Be a master of magical distractions

Babies have a short attention span. This is bad in the sense that it won’t be long before they’ll be annoyed they’re trapped on an airplane in the sky. But the good news is that you can use that short attention span to your advantage. Take along toys, games, and apps that can help in a moment’s notice. Use the view outside too. Pack smart when it comes to these things and you’ll have a magic bag full of tricks.


Be a team

If you’re traveling with your spouse or another family member, team up to combat the crying from your baby. In this way, you’ll each get a break and it will be less exhausting for all of you. If not, work with the flight attendants to help you find a way to bring peace to your baby as well as the rest of the cabin.


Ignore the jerks

You’ll find that many of the people you meet during your flights will be kind and sympathetic. Most people are aware that babies can cry for many different reasons and when they see parents working themselves to exhaustion to help calm and soothe their baby, they feel sympathetic. But for others, nothing you do will be good enough and they’ll make snippy comments. Ignore them and stay calm no matter what. Your baby is very intuitive so stay focused on him. When he feels your calmness, it will help him feel calmer too.



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