Tips for Traveling Alone With a Toddler

At the end of last month, I took my first flight since November 2019. And I flew solo with my 16-month-old daughter. To say that I was nervous would be an understatement.

Pandemic aside, I was unsure how I would manage a young toddler who is not yet verbal or entertained by TV. I flew with my older son when he was 14 months old, but I also had the assistance of my husband…this time I was literally flying solo.

I didn’t purchase a seat for her because she still qualified as a lap infant, and I wanted to save the expense. In my mind, strategy was key: how I would go to the restroom if the need arose, what I would do to entertain her, how I would deal with seat mates who might not be charmed by small children.

All the thoughts. And worst-case scenarios.

Well, I lived to tell the tale. And it was not nearly as bad as I expected. In fact, it went much better than I had built up in my mind. 

Best Tips for Flying Alone with a Toddler

flying alone with a toddler

Travel Mindset

You have to get your mind right before taking a flight with a toddler. Let go of any expectations, good or bad. Don’t expect sunshine and roses. Expect it to be hard and feel pleasantly surprised when it goes better than expected. Know that it may be rough, that your toddler may lose their mind, or heck, may even have an epic poop while in flight. Be prepared and take it in stride. It’s only a couple of hours (hopefully) of your life in the grand scheme of things. Give yourself grace and give your toddler grace, too.

Snacks for Toddlers

For young toddlers, snacks are key. Bring ALL. THE. SNACKS. And a cup for water. Feed them snacks throughout the flight and be sure to ration them so you have enough for the duration. Since young toddlers may not be that interested in a screen (TV, iPad games, etc.), snacks are important. My daughter ate almost all her snacks on both of our 3.5-hour flights between California and Texas.

Bring a Stroller or Carrier

I made the mistake of forgetting the carrier at home. I realized it when we were on the Tollway and at that point, it was too late to go back home to get it. When you have a young toddler who is new to walking and can’t quite navigate through a crowd like an older toddler, a stroller or carrier is clutch. You can gate-check the stroller right before boarding.

When we arrived at the San Francisco airport, I didn’t anticipate how far the exit would be from the gated area and felt like we took a long hike, with a 20-lb. baby on my hip. A stroller or carrier would have saved my back. 

Board Last with Your Toddler

Before I had children, I would always board the plane as soon as I could, to get settled in my seat and not be stuck in the boarding shuffle. However, when you’re traveling with a young toddler, and especially when it’s just you and the kiddo, I recommend boarding the plane last (even though the gate agents often call for families with young children first).

Leading up to boarding the plane, I let my daughter roam “free” in the gate area as it wasn’t very crowded. I let her get as many wiggles out as possible since she was about to be confined to a tight space for a few hours. I found that boarding the plane last helped limit the fussiness that could have happened by having to wait for the entire plane to board.

Let Go of Schedules

If you operate on a structured schedule like me, realize that for the duration of your flying time, you may need to forget about the schedule. Toddlers will be tired and cranky and overstimulated from flying, so it’s safe to assume you can forget about nap time. And when you’re flying for more than two hours, it’s really difficult to plan a flight around nap time. Just roll with the punches. When we arrived in California, I put my daughter down for a nap at 2pm local time (4pm our time) because she was in desperate need of some rest.

On the way back, the flight coincided with her nap time and for the last hour of the flight, she fell asleep. Thankfully, she fell asleep that night with no issues even though there were only about two hours between her plane nap and bedtime.

flying alone with a toddler

Do What You Have to Do with Your Young Toddler

On our flight out to California, we got really lucky—there was no one sitting in the middle seat in our row. This gave my daughter a little more space to move around. The man sitting in the window seat was very kind. He even opened my bottle of water when he saw me struggling to wrangle her and get the bottle open.

At certain points I let her stand on the middle seat, play with the safety cards, and bang on the tray table. I let her stand in the aisle when it was clear, and, luckily, she never went beyond my reach. 

On the flight back, she had a stinky diaper. I had to change a poopy diaper in an airplane restroom. Thankfully, it did have a flip-down changing table (though it’s really best suited for an infant versus a wiggly toddler).

As for using the restroom myself, I’m not the mom who would be comfortable leaving my toddler in the company of complete strangers on a plane. Maybe there are parents who would be okay with it, but I also know my daughter, and she doesn’t like strangers. So, I made it work. In the tiny airplane bathroom, there was just enough room for her to stand on the floor while I maneuvered to use the facilities. Not ideal, but you do what you must!

Diaper Bag Must-Haves for Air Travel

Be sure to pack:

  • diapers
  • wipes
  • an extra change of clothing for your toddler AND yourself
  • snacks
  • toys
  • books
  • hand sanitizer

And then add some more snacks. 

Bonus tip: If an extra seat for your toddler is in your budget, or you have extra points, use them. Having the extra space helped a lot! Also, I’ve heard great success from parents who purchased their child a seat and used their car seat to create a travel experience they are more used to.

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Catie Wood
Catie is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, went to college in San Diego, and moved to North Texas after getting married in 2009. They have lived in Collin County since 2017 and welcomed their son to the world in 2018. She likes to call herself a "naptime entrepreneur" working during her toddler's naps as a personal branding photographer - creating visual content and branded images for creative entrepreneurs and small business owners. In her limited spare time, you'll find her reading a mix of fiction, parenting, and business books, daydreaming about traveling to Europe, giving some attention to their dachshund named Kevin, and watching classics on Disney+ with her husband.