Airplane Travel Tips for Families

I saw a picture recently of a group of couples boarding a plane. The picture was taken in the 1950s and showed women in dresses, hats and gloves, and men in suits.

I traveled by plane last week and noticed passengers in shorts, T-shirts and flip-flops.

Not a hat or glove to be seen.

Much of the change in flying attire has to do with the affordability and casualness of flying. Much of it also has to do with the security measures in place at our airports.

It's bad enough having to take off your sandals for screening. Imagine removing gloves, a hat, dress shoes, large jewelry and suit coats.

While airport security continues to evolve, knowing what to expect, as well as preparing your kids for the experience, will decrease anxiety and make for a smoother travel experience.

A few tips we use:

• Place all cellphones, cameras, DS's, iPods and other electronics in a see-through zip-top bag. The bag will need to be removed from your carry-on and placed in the provided bin for security. To avoid tears and potential meltdowns, make sure young kids understand that their electronics will not be damaged and will be returned in a few minutes.
• Have all family members avoid wearing belts with metal clasps, clothing with metal adornments and heavy jewelry, as they will set off security alarms. Underwire bras and metal hair clips will set off alarms too.
• Make sure everyone removes everything from their pockets and puts them in carry-on bags. Nothing can be in pockets when walking through the metal detector.
• Instruct everyone to wear easily removable shoes and make sure children realize that they will need to remove shoes and place them in security bins.
• Let your children know if the security personnel need to pull them aside for special screening, you will stay with them. You get to do that as a parent. Make sure your kids understand that TSA officers are there to keep everyone safe.

If you are checking bags, it's easiest to place all liquids, such as shampoos, cosmetics and foods in checked luggage. If you do bring these items onto the plane, the rule to follow is called 3-1-1. This means all liquids, gels and aerosols must be 3.4 ounces (100ml) or less. They must all fit in one quart-sized, clear, plastic zip-top bag, and only one of these bags per passenger is permitted. The clear bags are to be removed from the carry-on bag and placed in the provided screening bin.

Medications, baby formula, baby food and breast milk are allowed to exceed 3.4 ounces and are not required to be in the clear zip-top bag. You should declare these items for inspection at the security checkpoint.

We also put an empty water bottle for each family member in our carry-ons or backpacks. We fill them at the water fountain after going through security. This saves us the $10 or so we could expect to pay for bottled water in the airport.

TSA offers a cute "Kid to Kid" video that shows children what will happen at screening.

For up-to-date passenger screening information, along with other videos about traveling with babies, young children and children with different abilities, check out the TSA site under "For Travelers."

The days of wearing your best hat for air travel are gone, but airport screening is probably here to stay. Make it as easy as possible for the whole family by being prepared.