Mum’s trick for traveling with her kids is dividing the internet

Traveling with your little one can be tough.

And while there's plenty of tips, tricks and advice out on the internet as to how to make it easier, it doesn't always work. One parent recently shared a trick she uses when she flies with her children on Reddit - and the commenters were pretty divided. In a post in the Life Pro Tip section of the website, she advised parents traveling with their kids to bring balloons. She added:

"They take up no space, and are great for airports, especially on the way home when the kids are sick of all the toys they brought. "Many times I have been saved travelling with balloons. We've played with them in a hotel room when the kid need to get energy out. "And when I had a plane that was delayed at O'Hare [Airport, in Chicago, Illinois] I was able to whip out a balloon that was in my carry on & blow it up. "We found a gate that was empty and play volleyball over the seats for 90 minutes before the plane boarded. "There's almost infinite games you can invent with a balloon, and they work as well for 15 year olds as they do for 2 year olds. All hail the great balloon."

Parents were pretty divided by the suggestion, with many citing the loud noise should the balloon pop in an airplane as a reason not to do it. One person wrote:

"A popping balloon on an airplane or in an airport sounds like a bad experience waiting to happen."

Someone else added:

"As someone who hates being startled by the sound of a balloon popping, please don't."

Another parent wrote:

"This sounds like one of those things that would work way better for one kid than multiple kids. "Games of volleyball are fun, but I'm pretty certain it would eventually result in a game of 'How many ways can I annoy my sibling with one balloon?' during a layover."

However, other parents were quick to suggest bringing beach balls instead - and leaving the balloons uninflected while on the airplane. One parent said:

"I do this but with inflatable beach ball type balls. You can collapse them down to nothing and then inflate them in, say, an empty-ish gate of a layover airport to get some good run-around time in, then deflate them again to board. Less risk of popping etc."

A different parent wrote:

"I bring the little dollar store beach balls on trips. We lose it and it doesn't matter, it breaks and no one cares, I can pitch it. But it's nice for a quick toy to bounce to each other."