I’m a mum – here’s why you should never board the plane first with your kids
A MUM has revealed why she never boards the plane first when travelling with her kids - but still gets priority tickets.
Travel show host Samantha Brown has a lot of experience of plane journeys and in more recent years has started taking her young children on trips too.
In a recent video , she revealed why it's a good idea to get priority boarding seats when travelling with young children, but only board the plane at the last minute.
She said: "A lot of people like to pre-board with children under two- they think it's great to get on the plane first. Here's a better way to use the pre-board.
"Partner number one uses the pre-board to load all the stuff - all the bags and strollers - while partner number two waits in the gate area with the kids, keeps them worn out, walks them around and does not board until the very last zone is called.
"You walk your children on board, you get them settled and the plane leaves hopefully in 10 to 15 minutes.
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"Think about this. If you use the pre-board, your child is sitting in the plane for a good 45 minutes more than the flight time. And this is a really stressful time for kids, right?
"There are bags going over their heads, people are really stressed and they can feel it.
"And what happens is once they get to a cruising altitude of 30,000 feet, that's when the child releases the stress they just felt.
"So use the pre-board only to board stuff. Leave the kids until last."
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Samantha's advice was backed up by several people in the comments, including from former flight attendants who urged parents to follow the example.
One said: "As a newly-retired flight attendant for Delta these are some the wisest words written."
Another commented: "As a former airline employee, I approve this message."
Other parents also vouched for the tip, saying it worked well.
One said: "As a traveling mom to two sets of two, I could not agree more. When kids were little ( now college age) husband and I would Rock-Paper-Scissors who boarded with stuff and who stayed behind tiring littles.
"We’d explain upfront to airline our strategy so they’d understand while only one was boarding - they were fine with it."
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Meanwhile, this mum swears by these three tips for travelling with young children.
And these are the best airlines to use when flying with small kids.
