'I travelled to London with three kids solo. Here’s exactly how I did it.'

As a British expat who has lived in Australia for 12 years, it’s always been a non-negotiable that I fly home to see friends and family each year.  

I’ve done it with two kids before, but not three. And, after a recent trip back from Fiji by myself with the kids, I felt confident doing the long-haul pilgrimage with an 18-month-old, 4-year-old and 6-year-old in tow. 

With lots of international travel under my belt with young children, here’s how I set myself up for success and how you can too.    

Pick the right flights.

You need to carefully consider departure times. That 10 pm flight might be cheaper than one leaving in the afternoon, but are your kids going to appreciate being dragged to the airport at bedtime, boarding a flight with lights glaring until well past midnight when the food service is done? Probably not. So don’t do it. 

Watch: The 7 most annoying things to do on a flight (apparently). Post continues below.

In my experience, it is important to pick a good airline, too. Certain low-cost airlines are great for short-haul trips but with the lack of in-flight entertainment and space, I’d personally not choose them when flying long-haul with little ones. 

If you’re travelling with babies, check which ones have an appropriate bassinet for your size child. Some will only fit smaller babies, while others have a more generous offering.

There are loads of gadgets on the market to help make flying a breeze, see Kooshy Kids, Plane Pal and JetKids from Stokke - but not all airlines allow them so check before booking. 

Important pre-flight preparation. 

The right frame of mind counts. Don’t get stressed about the 24-hour flight and all the things that could go wrong. I think of it like a marathon (not that I’ve ever done one) but you just need to get through it. It’s just 24 hours after all.

Anticipate very little sleep on the flight, so consider anything you get as a bonus. It’s always manic getting ready for a big trip but try to get sufficient shut-eye before boarding so you feel suitably rested and can patiently deal with whatever comes your way on route. Never mind dealing with jetlag at the other end. 

Hand-luggage packing essentials.

After many years of flying with kids, these are the essentials I suggest you bring on board:

• Dummy/comforter/blanket and a spare.

• Kids Nurofen in a 100ml bottle. 

• Snacks-a-plenty, particularly ones that take ages to eat (like raisins). 

• A selection of unseen toys – anything cheap and cheerful will normally do it. Kmart is a treasure trove for this kind of thing.

• Pens and colouring books.

• Bluetooth headphones – I use the kids' Purosound noise cancelling ones as they are great on a plane and have daisy chain functionality so two kids can watch the same device if one battery dies. Any wireless functionality is good too as it minimises frustration when wires get tangled and assistance is required.

• Tablet devices that are fully charged. 

• Various charging cables.

• Dark muslin for blocking out light in the cabin/airport.

• Formula.

• Nappies.

• Bottles.

• Baby carrier.

• Dog bed cushion for kids to sleep more comfortably on my lap or in transit. I know this is a wildcard entry, but I picked a dog bed up from Kmart for $9 and I used it for the baby to sleep across my lap.

• Yoyo pram or another brand that is allowed onto the aircraft, as I use it to wheel whoever is asleep/requires the pram most down the aisle of the plane, attaching various pieces of luggage to the back of it. 

• Passports (obviously).

The items to take on board. Image: Supplied.

At the airport.

Keep tabs on how many bags you’ve actually brought with you. When you’re wrangling kids and bags through security, it’s easy for stuff to get lost, so make a mental note of what you’re carrying. 

Depending on your flight time, make a call on whether it’s best to let the kids burn off some energy or eat some food before you board.

Parents and kids are always invited to board first but do not, under any circumstances, be the first ones to board the flight. I aim to be the last every time. I’m at the gates but I don’t board until the final call, so that the kids aren’t penned in for any longer than necessary. 

Ready to fly! Image: Supplied.

What actually happened on our flights to London.

With all of my planning and experience of flying with kids, this is how my most recent flight to London actually unfolded earlier this month. 

The flight departed at 2.50pm from Sydney. With four of us travelling but only three seats purchased (the baby on my lap), you would presume we would get a row of three to ourselves. Nope. The flight was rammed. In lieu of winning the bassinet row (extra legroom and the chair thing), two seats were together with a random person beside us, and the third was behind. My daughter Georgie wasn’t pleased about sitting on her own but I bribed her with a promise of an ice cream on landing. She soon got over it and I prayed that for the second leg, we’d all be in one row.  

My strategy was to let the baby have a later-than-normal nap once on board, then try to keep the other two awake for the seven hours to Singapore, in the hope they would conk out on the second leg.  

On the first leg, I was feeling smug and enjoying a bit of the holiday excitement, so I treated myself to a gin and tonic. Normally I’m wary about how much liquid I consume as there is nothing worse than the kids falling asleep on top of you, only for you to have to wake them up as you desperately need the toilet. But I threw caution to the wind as they were all pretty happy playing games and looking at the in-flight entertainment. Circa 30 minutes before landing in Singapore, they all fell asleep. 

On landing, I put the baby in the baby carrier, the sleeping middle child in the Yoyo pram and the six-year-old I woke up and made her walk herself off the plane. I’d pre-warned her she would need to do this. I loaded up the bags and trotted off the plane. In Singapore, we had 40 mins until the next flight departed. 

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Sweating profusely and with no desire to have a toddler strapped to me for a minute longer, I got the dog bed out for the middle child who was currently in the Yoyo pram (he can sleep anywhere) and put the baby in the pram with a muslin over it to block out the light and get some rest. There was a bit of screaming, and sympathetic looks from other travellers in the vicinity, but other than that it all went pretty well. There was a quick toilet visit for me, leaving the six-year-old in charge of her two younger brothers for a necessary 40-second pit-stop. 

We then returned to the gate and security to board the second flight. Thankfully, they let the baby stay in the pushchair to go through the security scanners, but everyone else was very much awake by this point. We were the last ones to board again, and disappointingly, Georgie was in a separate row again. 

Fourteen hours to go, we were all tired, but the crew had to do another dinner service, so lights are on, no one was hungry and we were all gagging to get to sleep. Finally, the lights dimmed. The baby had no desire to sleep in the bassinet, so the dog bed is on my lap with him on top of it. We all slept for four and a half hours. All at the same time. 

On board. Image: Supplied.

I woke up and thought surely it’s only a few more hours and then we’ll be landing, but with the flight path info not working on the plane and no concept of how long we have been on the flight, I asked the cabin crew and was told we still had over nine hours to go...

The main issue with a night flight is knowing that for the next seven hours, the cabin would be in darkness. The kids by that stage were awake and happy watching screens but they also want to turn on their lights and fidget about - much to the delight of the other passengers. 

The kids' noise-cancelling Bluetooth headphones worked so well that they also couldn’t tell how loud they were talking when requesting snacks. The hours dragged by.

The toddler watched some Wiggles on the iPad. He dropped his dummy several times. I should have brought a head torch to find it! We were all really hungry but breakfast wasn't for hours so the cabin crew offered us leftover desserts, cheese and biscuits and lots of shortbread. With about four hours to go. I got some new little Kmart toys out: some chattering teeth and a vomiting koala. I sat up at the back of the plane with the toddler and chat with other parents with kids crawling around on the floor, but we were told to keep our voices down as the crew are sleeping above us.

Later the baby wanted another stroll, so I went back to the galley, changed his nappy and chatted to the cabin crew.

As the sun comes up, breakfast beckoned and finally, it arrived. 

The last two hours breezed by with eating and a tidy up. I even managed to listen to a podcast. 

The kids fell asleep as the pilot asks the crew to take their seats for landing. To leave the plane, I had my baby in the carrier again, my four-year-old asleep in the Yoyo pram and the six-year-old on foot.  

Customs took a while and so did our bags but everyone is in good spirits, we make it to the pre-booked taxi and they all slept. 

I survived. It was fine. I’m not in a rush to do it again, but I can and I will, because life is for living. 

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Feature Image: Supplied/Canva.

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