150+ Flights with My Child: What Flying Solo as a Mom Has Actually Taught Me

10 Lessons

I’ve taken more than 150 flights with my daughter.

Some have been quick, easy flights where everything went according to plan. Others have been long international journeys involving multiple airports, time changes, way too much luggage, exhaustion, and the occasional moment where I’ve wondered why I thought any of this was a good idea.

And a good amount of those flights? I’ve done on my own with her.

Traveling solo with a child is a very specific kind of experience. You’re the navigator, luggage handler, snack provider, entertainer, bathroom coordinator, problem solver, and comfort person—all at the same time.

After 150+ flights, I definitely don’t have every trip perfectly figured out. But I do know what makes flying with a child easier, what really isn’t worth stressing about, and what I wish someone had told me when we first started traveling together.

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1. The Trip Starts Long Before You Get on the Plane

One of the biggest things I’ve learned is that an easier flight usually comes down to what happens before we ever board.

When I’m traveling alone with my daughter, I think through the parts of the trip where I’m going to need my hands: checking bags, going through security, getting food, boarding, finding passports, and getting to the bathroom.

One thing I always want is a crossbody bag. I need my passport, wallet, phone, and boarding information on me—not buried in a carry-on that I have to stop and dig through while also keeping track of my child and our luggage.

This travel crossbody bag has so many of the features I look for when traveling: a dedicated RFID passport pocket and card slots, multiple compartments, an outside phone pocket, and an adjustable strap. I also really like the added anti-theft locking feature, especially for crowded airports and exploring a new destination once we arrive.

But the biggest reason I prefer a crossbody when traveling solo with my daughter is simple: it keeps my hands free.

One hand may be pulling a suitcase while the other is holding hers, grabbing a snack, finding a boarding pass, or dealing with whatever comes up next.

After more than 150 flights with my daughter, my rule is simple:

If I’m going to need it repeatedly during the travel day, it needs to be easy to reach.

The goal isn’t perfect packing. It’s making life easier for Future Me.

2. Let Your Child Carry—or Ride—Their Own Bag

I used to think being prepared meant bringing everything.

It doesn’t.

Especially when you’re traveling solo, everything you bring is something you eventually have to carry, push, pull, or keep track of.

As my daughter has gotten older, I’ve also learned that having her manage some of her own things makes a huge difference.

One of my absolute favorite purchases for traveling with kids has been this scooter suitcase.

My daughter can keep some of her own things inside, but the best part is that she can actually ride it through the airport.

If you’ve ever walked through one of those enormous international terminals with a tired child, you understand why I love this thing.

Instead of hearing “How much longer?” while trying to get from one side of the airport to the other, riding her suitcase makes getting to the gate part of the fun.

And when I’m traveling solo, anything that makes the airport experience easier for both of us is a win.

I also don’t overload her bag just because there’s space. I put in things she’ll actually want during the flight—entertainment and a few lightweight personal items—but I still want her to be able to manage it herself.

That’s important.

The whole idea is to give her a little independence and take something off my plate, not give her a bag that’s so heavy that I eventually end up carrying it along with everything else.

For my own luggage, I follow the same philosophy. I pack around what we are realistically going to need: a change of clothes, snacks, entertainment, chargers, a few comfort items, and whatever we absolutely cannot easily replace at our destination.

International travel does require a little more preparation, but there’s a difference between being prepared and carrying half your house through an airport.

And when you’re the only adult responsible for both the child and all the stuff, you learn that difference pretty quickly.

3. Snacks Are Part of the Travel Strategy

Never underestimate the power of snacks.

A hungry child at 35,000 feet is a situation I prefer not to experience.

One thing I’ve learned after all these flights is that my daughter does much better when she has choices.

Instead of packing a bunch of individual snack bags, I like using a divided snack container with different options in each compartment. Fruit in one, crackers in another, something sweet in another—you get the idea.

The best part for me is the variety.

I can give my daughter several different choices without carrying five separate containers or bags.

This is the snack container I like for travel. It has eight compartments, comes with its own small insulated carrying bag, and includes reusable ice packs.

I love that everything stays together. When she’s hungry, I can pull out one little bag instead of searching through my carry-on for five different snacks.

The individual compartments can also be removed, so I can change how I pack it depending on the trip. Sometimes I want lots of little snack choices; other times I need more room for something larger, like a sandwich.

For longer international flights, having our own food is especially helpful.

Airline meal service doesn’t necessarily happen when your child is hungry, and there’s no guarantee they’re going to like what’s being served anyway.

My approach is to pack foods I already know my daughter will eat and give her enough variety that there’s almost always something she wants.

Because after 150+ flights, I’ve learned that snacks aren’t just snacks.

They’re part of the travel strategy.

4. Screens on a Plane Are Not a Parenting Crisis

I am not trying to win a parenting award somewhere over the Atlantic.

If a movie, downloaded show, game, or iPad keeps my child happy and comfortable during a long flight, I am completely fine with that.

Travel days are different from regular days.

There are plenty of opportunities at home for routines and screen-time limits. On a 10-hour flight, my priorities are different: keep her comfortable, keep her occupied, get some rest if we can, and arrive with both of us reasonably happy.

And here’s one thing I learned quickly:

Download everything before leaving home.

Movies. Shows. Games. Whatever you think your child might want.

Airport Wi-Fi is not something I want to depend on five minutes before boarding, and discovering that a favorite show isn’t available offline after you’re already in the air isn’t particularly helpful.

I also make sure everything is charged before we leave.

There are enough things that can go wrong on a travel day. A dead iPad four hours into a long-haul flight doesn’t need to be one of them.

5. On Long International Flights, Sleep Is the Goal—But I Don’t Force It

Long-haul flights are their own category.

I try to create conditions where my daughter can sleep, but I’ve learned not to spend the entire flight obsessing over whether she actually does.

Comfortable clothes matter. Familiar things help. I also think ahead about what time we’re landing and what the first day at our destination is going to look like.

But sometimes kids sleep beautifully on planes.

Sometimes they absolutely do not.

After enough international flights, I’ve learned that fighting it can be more exhausting than simply accepting that this particular flight might be a weird one.

We’ll get there.

We’ll adjust.

And eventually, everyone will sleep.

6. Go to the Bathroom Before You Think You Need To

This sounds ridiculously simple until you’re traveling alone with a child.

When there are two adults, one person can watch the bags while the other takes a child to the bathroom.

When you’re the only adult, everybody—and practically everything—is coming with you.

So we use the bathroom before boarding.

On longer flights, I also don’t wait until something becomes an emergency.

There are few things more stressful than hearing, “Mommy, I REALLY have to go,” while the seatbelt sign is on and the plane is bouncing through turbulence.

Another thing I always carry is these individually packaged travel wipes.

They’re tiny, which is exactly why I like them.

I can put a couple in my pocket, slip some into my daughter’s little bag, or keep them in my crossbody. I don’t have to carry around a bulky package or dig through my carry-on when we need one.

This is another lesson I’ve learned from traveling so much with my daughter:

The things you may need right now shouldn’t be buried at the bottom of your luggage.

Bathroom before boarding. Essentials within reach. Always.

7. Give Yourself More Time Than You Think You Need

Before having a child, I could move through an airport pretty efficiently.

With a child, I still can—but I don’t plan around the best-case scenario.

There might be a bathroom stop.

Someone might suddenly be starving.

Security might take longer.

Your gate might be at what feels like the opposite end of the country.

When I’m traveling solo with my daughter, extra time gives me something incredibly valuable:

The ability to stay calm.

I’d much rather sit at the gate for 30 extra minutes than sprint through an airport with a child and carry-ons.

And kids don’t understand why you’re suddenly panicking because boarding closes in eight minutes.

Giving myself extra time means I don’t have to make my urgency her emergency.

8. Kids Pick Up on Your Energy

This may be one of the biggest things 150+ flights have taught me.

Flights get delayed. Gates change. Bags disappear. Connections get tight. Kids get tired.

I’ve learned that when I treat something like a catastrophe, my daughter feels that.

When I treat it like, “Okay, this isn’t ideal. Let’s figure out what we’re going to do,” she tends to follow my lead.

That doesn’t mean I never get stressed.

Of course I do.

It means I’ve gotten much better at separating this is inconvenient from this is actually a problem.

And I think all those hours spent navigating airports together have taught both of us that plans can change without the whole experience being ruined.

That skill has probably helped me just as much outside of airports as it has inside them.

9. Accept Help

This one took me some time.

When you’re used to doing things yourself, your instinct can be to say, “I’ve got it.”

But if someone offers to lift my bag into the overhead bin while I’m helping my daughter?

Thank you.

If a flight attendant offers to make something easier?

Absolutely.

If another parent holds a door while I’m maneuvering luggage?

I appreciate it.

Traveling solo with a child doesn’t mean proving you can physically do every single thing yourself.

You don’t get extra points for making travel harder than it needs to be.

10. Your Child Becomes a Traveler, Too

This is probably my favorite part.

After this many flights, my daughter understands airports.

She knows there are routines. She knows we go through security, find our gate, get ourselves settled, and figure things out when plans change.

And as she’s gotten older, I’ve watched her become increasingly capable.

That didn’t happen because every trip was easy.

It happened because we kept traveling.

She’s grown up experiencing new places, different airports, long flights, time changes, and all the unpredictability that comes with travel.

And somewhere along the way, she didn’t just become a child who travels with me.

She became a traveler, too.

Would I Recommend Traveling Solo With Your Child?

Absolutely.

Not because it’s always easy.

It isn’t.

There have been exhausting flights, missed sleep, heavy bags, airport meltdowns, and travel days that felt approximately 400 hours long.

But those aren’t the moments I remember most.

I remember holding my daughter’s hand while walking through airports in different parts of the world.

I remember watching her experience places that were completely new to her.

I remember seeing her become more confident and independent with every trip.

And I remember realizing that something that once felt intimidating had simply become something we knew how to do together.

More than 150 flights later, I don’t think successful travel with a child means having a perfectly behaved kid, a perfectly packed carry-on, or a perfectly planned itinerary.

It’s knowing that when something inevitably doesn’t go according to plan, you’ll figure it out.

And maybe that’s one of the best things travel has taught both of us.