Photo credit: Eva Wilson
You know the drill. You’ve been on a long trip consisting of multiple arrivals and departures. You consider it a win if you just didn’t drop the last clean pacifier, or lose your little one’s num num (blanket, bunny, insert “can’t exist without it” item here) between flights. As you drag yourself, your bags, and your offspring off of the plane to baggage claim, a couple approaches you and tells you that they have been watching you and your kids, and how wonderful it was to be on a flight with such well behaved children. You breathe a sigh of relief and a “thank you” that doesn’t sound half as grateful for the compliment as you wanted to sound, and limp on to customs. Or maybe you don’t know the drill.
Maybe you have the kids that can tear a plane UP and make passengers wish that they had a pilot’s license so that they would never have to fly with your children again… or any children for that matter. Maybe your kids are the ones incessantly kicking the seats in front of them, or dangling themselves over the back of their seats, staring at, or worse, talking to the passengers behind them… sharing your age, details about your dating life, or even better, where babies come from. Is your baby the one who just screams for no reason, falls asleep, then wakes up screaming just as the other passengers, and you, have drifted off to sleep?
My parents were having no in-flight foolishness. They packed food, blankets, and made sure we stayed occupied. Other than that? Threats. I don’t remember verbal threats, but threatening looks? Plenty. Today, we can’t (and don’t have to) rely solely on “the look.”
We don’t all get it right the first time. At one time or another we’ve probably all had that kid that we’ve had to apologize for. One of the missions of this blog when I started it five years ago, was to share some of that West Indian mom knowledge that can seem to elusive for those of us raising children outside of the Caribbean. Is it your first time flying with your kids to take them home to the Caribbean? Are you taking your first tropical vacation with the little ones?
“I’m nervous about taking [the kids] into an enclosed space for 4.5 hours when we travel to Grenada this summer. This is their very first flight. I’m hoping it will be early in the morning so that they sleep the whole way, or that the coloring books and DVD player I plan to bring will keep them entertained. I’m also wondering how they’re going to react to being airborne.” ~ Tiffani, Trinidadian-American blogger at MyMommyVents.com, on Facebook, and @mymommyvents on Twitter and Instagram.
We are here to help! Traveling like a Caribbean Mom is all about being prepared. I have asked some of the most amazing Caribbean moms to give their best tips and tricks for fuss free, peaceful travel with your kiddos, no matter where you’re from.
