Wait for Bags
At the baggage belt a child cannot do anything about when the suitcase arrives, and that helplessness makes the wait heavy. The pictures below show what happens while you wait, so the empty time gets a shape.
♂Wait for bags
A boy waits at a baggage belt as bags move along it.
About this visual support
Waiting at the baggage belt is unlike other waiting, because a child cannot speed anything up or change anything. The bag arrives when it arrives, or it is late, and meanwhile you simply stand there. The uncertainty is the hard part, not the time itself.
Visual support helps by filling that empty space with something to look at and follow. When the child sees the pictures, they can track the sequence: bags come off the plane, the belt starts to move, suitcases pass by, ours finally arrives. The wait becomes a process with direction instead of a still silence where nothing seems to happen.
One concrete tip for this exact moment: give the child a job that belongs to the waiting, such as being the lookout who spots your specific bag and calls it out. A small piece of responsibility in the middle of the helplessness brings a sense of taking part, even though the speed of the belt cannot be controlled.
If you want the visual support along on the trip, gather the steps in the Routined app, so they live in your phone even when the wall is bare and the sign is in a language you cannot read.