taking food for your toddler on a plane

westerngal

You folks have been so helpful with the travel tips...here's another question. Can I take a small soft cooler bag with ice packs on the plane, with small containers like yogurt, or would you just stick with small jars and containers of things that don't need to be kept cold? We're flying all the way x-country, so we'll have to adjust if everything has to be at room temp, although I'm sure we could figure something out...I guess we'll just buy whole milk after we get through security.....

Melissa17

I do not have an answer, but I want to see what people have to say about this issue.  I was wondering the same thing- yogurt being the main food.

anna7602

I have been able to take whatever I wanted to for DD on flights, even bottled water, as long as I went through the airport "family" line and told them I had items for her. I had to taste some of the things once, but the other times I just got waved through.

d.f

I don't know about a small cooler with food but they'll let you take a cooler through for breast milk so I'd imagine they'd be okay with it.  I have taken baby food and water through.  I had to make sure it was separate and visible.  They did vapor test the water that was in a sippy cup but left everything that was sealed alone. On my last flight I just stopped at the Starbucks on the other side and asked for whole milk.  I was fully prepared to pay but they gave it to me for free.

karenlisa714

FYI, you should NEVER have to taste the food/formula/milk or open something up. I was told by a TSA officer in San Diego that if someone asks you to taste the food then you should ask to see the supervisor.

I don't know about bringing a cooler with ice packs (not sure if they would allow the gel packs - I would call the airline in advance and ask someone who really knows) but I was able to bring tons of baby food and apple sauce without a problem.

They told me that no bottled water is allowed but you can fill up all of your bottles/sippies and bring those with water already in them. They will run a little machine over them to test them for problematic substances and they will not ask you to drink any of it.

The TSA agents were very nice when I went through, just be prepared for things to take a while and try to travel as lightly as possible.

Niffer666

Another option would be to pack a baggie of ice to get you to the airport, ditch it before security, and ask for ice from a restaurant once you get through. Just remember to pack an extra baggie or two

karenlisa714

I've also heard of people packing frozen vegetables as a "cooler" but obviously your frozen veggies will be unusable at the end of the flight.

Ciarrai

I think it depends on the airport.  I was told no ice packs and no liquids/gels.  I usually buy milk and yogurt when we get through security.  It's not whole milk or organic, but it's just for the trip and I can get the "good stuff" when we get there.  You could get ice at least when you get through security from a restaurant or something if you wanted or if they took your ice packs away.  I know they're more lenient on things for kids, but it just depends on the TSA agent, airport, etc.  It might not be worth the PITA.  I've had them dump out the girls' sippies a few times when I forgot to, but we just refilled them (with water) when we got through.

MBZ

I took a cooler with ice packs through no problem. It was a little lunch cooler with some food, etc, and I just opened it for them. My juice was in a sealed container and I bought milk once we got through security. I figured if they took the ice bags, oh well, but worth a try and it was fine. GL!