Clear Airport Security with an Infant
Tips to Clear Airport Security with an Infant – FAST
Airport Security is not fun under the best of circumstances but can be even trickier when you travel with an infant. Clear airport security FASTER! Clear airport security with an infant as quickly and smoothly as possible with tips from The Educational Tourist.
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Clear Airport Security with an Infant – Dress the Part
You are going to have your hands full when you head to clear airport security to make things as easy on yourself as possible:
**Skip the belt
A belt is just one more thing to worry with. Skip wearing a belt if you can so you don’t have to remove and then put it back on.
**Choose shoes that slip on and off
Slip on shoes let you use both hands to wrangle the kids. You need to be hands-free.
Mom shoes don’t have to be frumpy! Choose a cute ballet flat like this one from Fuzzy Andie.
**Wear socks.
You usually don’t hear much about wearing socks but EVERYONE going to clear airport security should wear them. Why? Well….ponder just for a moment, just how many people take off their shoes and then walk through security. That is a LOT of naked feet. I have news for you if you think that floor is mopped enough – no way. Germs, germs, germs = gross, gross, gross. Â Just wear socks to clear airport security. Please.
These ultra low cut sock liners are just the ticket to wear with cute flats AND protect your feet from the super gross floors at airport security.
**Empty your pockets.
As smart as our machines are they can’t seem to tell the difference between something dangerous and a folded up piece of kleenex. So….empty your pockets of everything as you head to clear airport security. Don’t give them any reason to slow down!
**Skip jewelry
Don’t wear jewelry when flying. You’ll either set off the x-ray machine beeper or you’ll have to take it off at the same time you are struggling to fold up the stroller and hold the baby and…and..and…make it easy and just don’t wear any.
**No liquids for you.
Don’t bring liquids. This is an easy one to forget, but worth taking a moment to look through stuff before you get to the stressful airport security line. Baby stuff like milk can go through (see below) but your caffeine or water can’t. Plan to buy some after you clear airport security.
Clear Airport Security with an Infant – Unwrap Baby
You can carry your baby through the airport security metal detector but you can NOT wear them in something like a Baby B’jorn system. I was so sad the first time I discovered this. Baby was sleeping all warm and toasty strapped to me in the carrier when I was told I couldn’t go through security wearing him. BOO!!!
Every parent knows that unwrapping a warm and toasty baby will wake them up!! UGH!! Â Apparently, security people do not know the number one rule about parenting!!
Parenting Rule Number One: NEVER, EVER wake a sleeping baby!!
Baby stuff does not have to be ‘baby’ colored. YOU can rock the fun colors of this baby wrap by Hip Baby Wrap.
Step one: Wear baby.
Step two:Â Fold up stroller.
If your folded stroller will fit (and they’ll make you prove it won’t fit otherwise so you’ll have to fold it up anyway) it has to go through the x-ray machine.
Choose a light weight stroller as you’ll be folding it, putting it up on the security x-ray belt AND holding the baby at the same time. NOTE – Airport Security people are not allowed to hold babies.
This stroller by Kolocraft Cloud is only 11.8 pounds! I love the color. So many strollers are plain black!
Step three: Take off your shoes.
Get ready to slip off shoes and fill bins with everything else that needs to go through -x-ray
Step four: Â Unwrap baby.
Unwrap the baby so you can walk through the airport x-ray machine yourself
Step five: Wrap up baby again.
Rewrap baby securely to yourself on the other side of the security x-ray machine
Step six: Gather up the rest of your belongings.
Now that you have two free hands again – gather up all the rest of your stuff
Clear Airport Security with an Infant – Breast Milk and Formula
Thankfully the airport security Gods have FINALLY come to realize breast milk is more valuable than gold and will allow you to take it through security.
You can now carry more than 3.4 ounces of formula, breastmilk, and juice. Thank GOD!! All parents know that babies have very discerning palates and you can’t just buy what they prefer in the airport on the other side of airport security!! Â Geez Louise! It is crazy how long this took to become OK.
Thankfully, you can also carry icepacks to keep it all cool during your journey and still clear airport security! For ease – try a soft lunch pails that have a built in ice pack. Put in the freezer the night before your trip and rest easy the next day knowing your baby’s food is nice and cool.
The Educational Tourist is proud to be #6 in the Top 20 Traveling with an Infant list! Chosen out of thousands of blogs!
Clear Airport Security – Carseats
The safest place for a baby to ride on a plane is in a carseat, but that means buying a seat for them which is expensive. If you do get a seat for baby and intend to use a car seat, be prepared to argue with the flight attendant over whether or not your carseat is FAA approved.
Firstly, don’t even try to bring on a non – FAA approved carseat. Crabby flight attendants live for this sort of thing and will pounce on you like bugs on sugar. Print off the official “This carseat is FAA approved note” from the manufacturer website to present to anyone who asks (they will ask). I usually had more than one copy.
This Evenflo infant carrier carseat is reasonably priced and FAA approved.
“Are Evenflo car seats FAA approved?
Because airline seats offer a lap belt only, only Evenflo car seats with an internal harness are approved for airline use. Please check your instruction manual to confirm that your seat may be used in an airplane. We also recommend checking with your airline to ensure your car seat can be brought on board.”
To get through security with a carseat you must remove baby from it and send it through the x-ray machine. You can have it hand checked if you prefer not to send it through the machine but that takes more time and asking a TSA security person to do extra work is asking for trouble. They are not the friendliest people.
You will be stressed during this part of your journey so make it as easy as possible and be prepared to send it through the x-ray machine. I like to have my baby already out of it and strapped to me while I put all the stuff on the belt. Last, take the baby out of the carrier, put carrier on the belt and walk through the x-machine carrying your baby.
On the other side, you’ll have to put everything all back together so take a deep breath!
Are you traveling with the baby’s older sibling? Have more than one kid with you? Get information here on the older kiddos and what you need to know to make airport security smooth for them – and thus smooth for you!
Clear Airport Security with an Infant – TSA Precheck
If you have TSA Precheck you’ll be happy to find that children under 12 automatically come along with you. If you don’t have TSA Precheck – you’ll definitely want to consider it! Get all the details on TSA Precheck in this post. The security process is infinitely easier than the norm.
I recommend TSA Precheck all day long and twice on Sundays!
CLICK HERE – Information on TSA Precheck, Global Entry and Know Traveler Numbers – how to get and why YOU need one for your entire traveling group.
With the TSA Precheck, you can leave on your shoes, belts and a light jacket. Not having to undress and juggle baby at the same time makes TSA Precheck worth it’s weight in gold.
Before the days of TSA Precheck, I was traveling alone with my 18 month old daughter. I was also very pregnant with baby #2. So there I was, waddling along with a toddler who refused to ride in the stroller and the mountain of stuff you have to schlep along for kids, when I was informed that I was chosen (yeah me!) for additional security screening.
During this screening, I had to stand with legs apart and arms outstretched while they studied me. Were they trying to determine if my giant belly was real? Meanwhile, my toddler kept trying to make a break for it. My toddler would take off running and I would dash off after her and return to my security spot. Each time this happened the security officers became more and more annoyed. They finally determined I was really pregnant or got tired of dealing with me and let us go on. I was exhausted before we even got to the other side of security!
Needless to say – I suggest you get TSA Precheck yesterday!! Walk, no run to get yours!
Clear Airport Security with an Infant – Be AWARE!
Just for the record, I have read some lucky souls have had help from the TSA security people. Helping with the folding of strollers, helping with heavy items, helping with the juggling with SO much stuff and a baby and I suppose such things are technically possible.
However, I personally have NEVER EVER EVER encountered a helpful TSA agent.
As a matter of fact, I have never even met a nice TSA agent. I find TSA agents to be stressed, irritated, busy, and annoyed. Is that a requirement to get hired as a TSA agent? OR perhaps being a TSA agent and encountering stressed and annoyed travelers every single day all day long  makes them that way? Either way- DO NOT COUNT ON HELP from a TSA security person.
You must manage on your own, so pack for your infant carefully and give yourself plenty of time. You CAN do this, momma!!
Enjoy flying with a baby! If the baby has older siblings you’ll need to keep them busy, too! Moms need more arms!!
 How to Keep Preschoolers Busy while Traveling
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New York City    Louvre Museum    Vatican City    Borghese Galleria Museum    France    Spain        Prado Museum     Canada    Austin    London Â
Happy baby travels!
Natalie, The Educational Tourist
All those tips are precious for parents! It’s such a shame the parents have to wake the baby up… when he or she is deeply asleep… best recipe for mayhem 😉 I think airport security should invent something!
No doubt….waking a sleeping baby is just NOT the thing to do!!! I’m long past that point but I still remember how VERY unhappy my baby was to be unwrapped at that moment and it took him a while to stop ‘complaining’ and go back to sleep!! LOL! I appreciate your comment.
What a helpful post. It raises and solves all kinds of issues that only a travelling Mum would know.
I didn’t know most of the things you shared in here. I bet it was hard when breastmilk and formula was not allowed (more than the permitted quantity). At least, they have relaxed certain things. #TPThursday
I remember those days and it was really hard!!
One time, they gave my older kid a pilot wings pin when we checked in which promptly set off the metal detector when we went through. They had to run their wands over all of us… even the baby!
Oh, no!! That is awful!! I’m sure it is a little funny now but then at the time…..ugh!!!! Sometimes the funniest stories later come from moments when things go wrong. Thanks for sharing.