As airlines continue to cut corners to stay solvent, travelers are finding air travel to be less and less comfortable. Charges for checking bags have resulted in cabins packed to the gills with luggage and a race to get a spot in the overhead compartments. Since airlines have been charging for food, which was apparently supposed to reduce the amount of food carried on each flight, we have seen passengers on an 8-hour flight stuck with nothing but chips or cookies when the sandwiches were all sold before the cart reached the back of the plane. And when my husband asked for a blanket and the flight attendant said the "Comfort Pack" was $8, we realized there was no going back. Some airlines have taken it a step further by doing away with pillows altogether so even those in first class feel lucky to get a blanket.
In conditions such as these, when even adults can be hard pressed to keep their cool, families traveling with small children need to carefully consider how to pack for the flight. For us, blankets and pillows have become a no brainer, even though they can be bulky. The comfort they provide, particularly on longer flights, is worth the hassle.
- Cheap travel pillows are a wise choice when traveling with children.
We purchased a travel pillow for my daughter just because it was small and seemed safe to use in her crib. But when my son saw it and demanded to have one of his own, we realized that our kids' tendency to love all things small could work in our favor. So we purchased a second travel pillow and began to take them with us whenever we went somewhere. Since the kids sleep with them every night, they provide a slice of home no matter where we are, in addition to the comfort they provide when the kids need a nap while we are on-the-go.
- Travel pillows are essential gear for kids on-the-go.
Our travel pillows are distributed by Wolf Manufacturing Company in Waco, TX and consist of a zippered pouch filled with polyester fibers which is about 9"x14" and 4.5" thick. The pillows come with a pillow case and are machine washable. We purchased our pillows at Walgreens for $1.50 on sale. They are regularly $3.99 at Walgreens and sell for $4.95 plus shipping on the Wolf Mfg., Co. website.
On a scale from 1 to 10, I rate these travel pillows as an 8. They are small and lightweight, easy to pack and keep clean, and are very affordable. At this point in time, they work better for our kids than neck pillows would since they still prefer to lie down when trying to sleep and this shape can still be used at home and in a hotel giving them some measure of comfort in strange surroundings. The low price is an important factor as well, since the risk of losing them or ruining them in some way is rather high when kids are involved. An added bonus is that my husband can use them for lumbar support during the flight - at least he can when he is able to sneak them away from the kids.
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