Traveling with children always requires a lot of preparation and usually lists to ensure that nothing gets forgotten, especially with small children, as the list of items needed to travel is longer, and the items are usually much larger.

Nevertheless, it can be done diligently and painless. First, check with your air carrier to see what is required on the plane as far as seating. A seat is recommended for children just like in a car, however, not all car seats or booster seats are designed for airplane use. Check with your airline to see if they have their own seats, which will then allow you to determine if the seats you own can be brought on board. With restrictions to carry-ons, you want to make sure that you can still carry on a bag for each of your children, so that they have something to do while they are on the plane.

Check your seat’s manual to see if it is also recommended for air travel (most new seats are). Determine if you will be carrying a stroller with you and find out if you can board the plane early with your child to get settled. This is important if there aren’t any assigned seats on the plane.

Make sure you pack an extra set of clothing for your child, and perhaps a shirt for yourself, depending on how young your child is. You will also want to make sure you have some form of activity for your child, a movie to watch, some crayons and paper, a book, all of course depending on your child’s age. It’s often challenging for adults to sit on long plane rides, so it is especially important to keep kids busy on a flight. If you’re lucky, they will sleep.

If you have a layover, make sure you have a clear destination in mind, and perhaps get a map of the airport prior to your trip.