Get Through Airport Security with Kids

Airport security, though necessary, is a hassle. Traveling with children makes it worse. To breeze through the security check point, follow these steps:

[Edit]Steps

1. Research prohibited items. Obtain a prohibited items list from an official airport authority.
   • Well ahead of planned departure
   • Call or search online
   • Scan list for prohibited items for pertinent items, those you might take
2. Ensure prohibited items aren’t in your carry-on. Gather items for trip and segregate prohibited items.
   
   • This would include sure any liquids larger than the allowed amount and any other banned objects are in your checked bag. You should do this before you leave to go to the airport, so that you aren’t opening suitcases in the middle of the check-in line. No one likes to be “That crazy guy who’s rearranging his suitcase in the airport.”
     
   • This is also a good time to weigh your bags and make sure they aren’t too heavy. Paying an extra fee isn’t the way you want to start your trip.
     
3. You should probably hold your kids’ boarding passes. Get your ID and boarding passes out. Kids don’t need ID, you do. When you get to security it will be faster if you don’t have to go fumbling through your bag looking for your driver’s license to hand to them.
   
4. Get in the correct lane. After you pass security, there will be more than one lane. At many airports, there is an extra lane for people with children. If there isn’t such a lane, go to the lane that has people moving quickly.
   
5. Have everybody take off their shoes. (Unless they are unable to.) In American airports, kids under 12 no longer have to remove their shoes, but if your child looks like he/she is too old, have him/her remove them anyway to speed up the process.
   
6. Have everybody remove anything that will set off the detector from their pockets. This includes cell phones, iPods and any other electronic devices, coin, belts and metal bracelets.
   
   • These items should be placed in the provided bins along with your shoes to go through the detector.
     
7. Put any bags or purses on the scanner.
   
8. Have your kids go through first unless they are unable to, such as a wheelchair that does not fit, or they are young enough that they cannot walk. While you are making sure your bins get through the scanner, have your kids go through the scanner one at a time as the security agent tells them to.
   
9. Go through the detector.
   
10. Make sure everyone picks their items, belts and bags off the belt after they go through the scanner.
    
11. Find your gate and get on your plane.
    

[Edit]Video

[Edit]Tips

• Some electronics such as laptops need to be in their own bin.
• Medicines and baby formula are allowed. Authorities may require a copy of the prescription. Check first.

[Edit]Warnings

• Do not mention bombs, terrorists or weapons while in the airport. Even jokes about them are banned.