Some of us are old enough to remember when our parents dressed up to travel by plane. That was when meals were free, served in glass dishes and, come to think of it, we didn’t see many people travelling with their children. (They were probably rolling around the back seat of their dad’s Thunderbird, sans seatbelt, on some 26-hour drive, like we were).

These days, I barely remember to put on mascara and locate two matching, clean socks for the inevitable shoe inspection at security, let alone getting all glam, only to be covered with juice and Timbit glaze at the end of the trip. Glamming up the kids? Forget it.

Casual dress rules when travelling, and that especially applies to the kidlets.

The Golden Rule of Dressing Kids for Flying

No matter what else you remember, if you forget this one, you seriously should be detained at security and not allowed to board the plane: Pack a change of clothes for anyone who is still in diapers or pull-ups. If possible, also pack a change of clothes for anyone near that small person. A pair of leggings or light pants and a t-shirt will take up the least amount of space (Doesn’t matter if its winter. At least they will be dressed).

And make sure you check this outfit at the beginning of each trip to ensure it still fits. I spent many months (years, in fact) carrying around the requisite extra outfit in our diaper bag, where it languished through many trips.

But when my two-year-old filled her diaper, and said diaper overflowed all the way down to her knees while our Dash 8 was delayed in Charlottetown during a Christmas snowstorm, that extra outfit was the only thing that saved me from collapsing, sobbing in the aisle and cancelling Christmas altogether.

The Importance of Throwaway Clothes

Speaking of knee-deep excrement, you should consider dressing your young ones in an outfit that you wouldn’t mind throwing away (which is just what did in Charlottetown).

Hate that Strawberry shortcake t-shirt from the M.I.L. or the “spit happens” onesie from your co-worker? Perfect travelling clothes! And who cares what strangers think of your fashion sense? No one you meet at the airport will pass judgment on the fact that your toddler is wearing a tacky t-shirt or bright green pants. They’ll be too busy worrying that they will be stuck sitting next to a screaming toddler.

Dress for Comfort (Read: Sleep)

No hideous outfit that’s fit for the trash bin is worth a moment of your little ones’ time if it isn’t comfortable. Natural fabrics and clothes that don’t bind, ride up, or require lots of effort to change diapers are key. When we’ll be arriving past bedtimes, we dress our kids in something they can also sleep in. So as long as the diaper has held back nature’s fury, and failing any apple juice malfunction, you can slip them right into bed as soon as you reach your destination.

Now don’t think I don’t feel your pain when you think of having to stash that oh-so-cute Gap outfit into the suitcase instead of decking out your little fashionista. I have been there, and the first time I dressed my cute blonde baby in puce green patterned leggings, I’m sure it took ten years off my life.

But when those leggings were filled to the brim on that Dash 8, there was never a more grateful mom than me, knowing that the cute clothes were waiting safe in our suitcases, far away from harm’ reach.

Photo: Frugan