by Denise Stegmann on January 2020
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links from Amazon, meaning I may receive compensation at no additional cost to you.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links from Amazon, meaning I may receive compensation at no additional cost to you.
prepare your child for his/her first flight
Get your child to do something new and different
When my 5 year old is asked to do an activity he cannot picture he immediately says ‘no’. Do you want to see a theater performance- ‘no’. Do you want to go ice skating- ‘no’. This usually does not mean that he is really not interested, it just means that he is reluctant to do something he does not know anything about. This is actually very normal, even for adults, we humans are just careful creatures- thanks evolution. So it is going to make a lot of sense to prepare your young child for his or her airport and airplane experience.
To prepare your toddler for his airport and airplane experience you will want to be as explicit as possible. Visuals are going to be your best helpers.
To prepare your toddler for his airport and airplane experience you will want to be as explicit as possible. Visuals are going to be your best helpers.
when to start preparing your child
Going on a flight should be something fun for your children to look forward to. But consider when you are going to reveal the big news about an upcoming flight. You most likely know that your toddler has pretty much zero concept of time at this stage in his/her life. For my own sanity it is always important to avoid too much time between giving my children a heads up about an upcoming event and it actually happening. You know your children best, so decide when it will be a good time to start talking about the upcoming trip.
You might want to start showing the mentioned materials a few weeks before your actual trip. Books are always great conversation starters about something new.
You might want to start showing the mentioned materials a few weeks before your actual trip. Books are always great conversation starters about something new.
the book recommendations
There are two books that my children have enjoyed.
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The airport book comes highly recommended. It shows all the different steps a family is going through before getting on the actual plane. It's a book with lots to look at, so you might end up spending a good amount of time looking at every page.
you can never go wrong with Daniel Tiger
And then there is also this short Daniel Tiger video. There is no song for going through the airport but plenty of real life images that would also give an inexperienced adult a good forecast of what happens at an airport.
Daniel Tiger airport and airplane preparation video.
I like how explicit the episode is with all the visuals young children need. It was also very refreshing to see a female pilot featured in this short 2:35 minute video.
Daniel Tiger airport and airplane preparation video.
I like how explicit the episode is with all the visuals young children need. It was also very refreshing to see a female pilot featured in this short 2:35 minute video.
show your own pictures
Maybe you also have your own pictures from when you have taken a plane trip. It would be fun for your child to see these pictures.
if your child is on the autism spectrum
If your child is on the autism spectrum you might want to find out if an airport near you has a flight preparation program. Find information here
Airport Rehearsal Programs
You might think, why is this woman telling me about children on the autism spectrum? My child is developing perfectly normal. Please know that I am just telling you about these resources for children, because many children might benefit from the visuals and materials that have been created for children on the spectrum. They are great visuals, that are highly structured. Even if your child is not on the autism spectrum he or she might still appreciate them. So please also take a look at the following link. There you will find a so called social story about going to the airport to take a flight. It contains great pictures of what security and airplane seats look like.
Airport Social Story
Airport Rehearsal Programs
You might think, why is this woman telling me about children on the autism spectrum? My child is developing perfectly normal. Please know that I am just telling you about these resources for children, because many children might benefit from the visuals and materials that have been created for children on the spectrum. They are great visuals, that are highly structured. Even if your child is not on the autism spectrum he or she might still appreciate them. So please also take a look at the following link. There you will find a so called social story about going to the airport to take a flight. It contains great pictures of what security and airplane seats look like.
Airport Social Story
