As part of my personal evolution as a travel blogger, this is an early post from Upgrd.com where I joined Matthew and other talented writers (including my husband) which would then merge with Travel Codex, another Boarding Area blog. Finally, we found our home here at Live and Let’s Fly with Matthew. As this is an early post, references have not been updated and may no longer remain accurate. Please enjoy this time capsule blog post.
TSA For Families
Trips to the airport can be stressful enough for a solo traveler, add a baby to the mix and one might have a nervous breakdown. Don’t be the ill-prepared parents that fellow flyers dodge in line at TSA. Instead, use these simple tricks to help you breeze through security and show up the doubters!
Preparation
This is a straightforward and obvious tip; BE PREPARED. Think about security checks while packing. When you are choosing what to take in your carry-on, remember what goes where in your bag and that you may need quick and easy access to some things in your bag for security.
- Have your liquids for the baby ready to be screened. (You are allowed to take liquid over the 3oz. allowance when traveling with an infant under two.) These liquids include milk, water, juices, and purees which in some instances were screened and others not in my experience. Don’t be alarmed by a simple swab that might be taken to check for contraband. This is normal, and is far better than the days where the TSA asked mothers to drink their own breast milk to prove it wasn’t a prohibited substance.
- Pack all of your other liquids (3oz and under) together in a clear sandwich bag. These include diaper creams, medicines, balms, toothpaste, etc. U.S. airports do not require you to remove these from your bag any more, but some other international airports do, so it is just best to have them handy.
- If you are traveling with a stroller, make sure not to store a bunch of loose items in the stroller before you get to security. A messy under carriage is unpleasant for everyone, especially when you are under a little stress with a line of people behind you. With nothing in your stroller except for your baby, you can quickly and easily break down a stroller for screening and waltz through like a pro. Some will try to run your stroller through the baggage scanner and others will not – it’s best to just go with the flow, even when you know it won’t fit.
Pre-check
Pre-check is a beautiful thing. Not having to take off your shoes, or having to remove items from your bag helps to make your trip a little more enjoyable. It’s as easy as showing up throwing your bags on the belt, followed by the stroller (if you are traveling with one) and walking through the metal detector. It’s flying like it’s 1999.
Here is some information from TSA’s site on how to enroll in the Trusted Traveler Pre-Check program, though for the price of $85, you should instead look into Global Entry (only slightly more expensive at $100) it will also grant you pre check privileges in addition to other benefits upon a successful completed application. This lasts for five years (a steal at $20/year) and the process to renew is much easier than the initial application. Further, many credit cards will pay for global entry fees but not for Pre-Check, so go big and make your life easier.
Check out this post from Brad on the Global Entry application process for children.
Getting Around
There is always that question of whether or not to bring a stroller, and if so do you gate check a stroller or check it through to your destination at check-in. Personally, I love having my stroller for the airport and gate checking it before we get on the plane. The ability to just stroll Lucy through the whole process (with a quick and easy stroller break down at security) makes my journey less stressful. Your mileage may vary.
Still not sure? Here are some thoughts on baby wearing and strollers for more help.
What are your tips and tricks for getting your family through TSA stress-free?
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“Pack all of your other liquids (3oz and under) together in a clear sandwich bag. These include diaper creams, medicines, balms, toothpaste, etc. U.S. airports do not require you to remove these from your bag any more, but some other international airports do, so it is just best to have them handy.”
I thought being able to keep your liquids in the bag only applies if you have Pre-Check? Or did they relax the rule for anyone traveling with small children?
I might also add, if you prefer to keep your stroller and gate check, be aware of connecting time. A couple of friends have had issues where the stroller is brought to the jetway last, or is accidentally sent to baggage claim, and because of a tight connection, they ended up missing their onward flight. And I can only imagine how much harder it is to sprint through the airport with a baby in tow!
@Meanmosh – In regards to the plastic bags, that might be true, but in our experience, if we don’t take them out they usually don’t have an issue. Then again we are almost always in pre-check so I don’t have as many encounters on the other side of the line.
We have had pretty good luck getting the stroller within about 10 minutes of disembarkation. Sometimes it can be annoying on a connection to get off first and leave the jetway last, but in our experience the strollers are almost always there before the rest of the gate checked bags start coming up.
We found that having one parent be in charge of the little one and one in charge of the bags/gear worked well. It eliminated the “who has the bag?, who is going to carry him through the scanner?” and so on.
I always wanted the waist harness for my babyjogger because I am tall with long legs and used to unconsciously use the pram as resistance, making me more prone to injury if I ran without it (imagine a faster than usual zimmer affair with my impact forces reduced by my leaning slightly on the pram).