Airplane ride with a 2 year old - HELP?

[marybogue]

We aren't going until December, but it just hit me that I will be taking my very active, energetic 2 year old on an enclosed tube 30,000 feet in the air!!!

Please, tell me how to survive and have everyone arrive in Orlando safe and sound? HOW do I keep him entertained and sitting still??? He will be sitting on one of our laps and the other parent will have our 9 month old baby girl.

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

I believe you mentioned going for your son's second birthday. I just wanted to remind you that if your son is 2 years old when you fly home, he will need a separate seat. There is no way around that rule.

 

[marybogue]

I believe you mentioned going for your son's second birthday. I just wanted to remind you that if your son is 2 years old when you fly home, he will need a separate seat. There is no way around that rule.

My in-laws are getting the tickets and they know all that, thanks!

 

[tjmw2727]

We aren't going until December, but it just hit me that I will be taking my very active, energetic 2 year old on an enclosed tube 30,000 feet in the air!!!

Please, tell me how to survive and have everyone arrive in Orlando safe and sound? HOW do I keep him entertained and sitting still??? He will be sitting on one of our laps and the other parent will have our 9 month old baby girl.

You are required to purchase a seat for your 2yo - lap sitting after the 2nd birthday is not an option and you will be requred to provide a BC for your 9mo to get a "boarding pass" and bring her through security.

So - since you have to buy the seat I would highly recommend bringing a carseat for the 2yo - this will insure he stays seated and dosen't take off the seatbelt. Even children will be expected to remain seated and in the seatbelt.

Other ideas would be - magnadoodle, color wonder, pipe cleaners are lots of fine, dvd with headphones, books -an old fav and a new one read to by mom/dad. My dd once played with a roll of scotch tape for an entire flight so you never know what will keep them occupied.

New snacks are also great!

TJ

 

[alicebluebonnet]

I highly recommend the DVD player with your child's favorite movie. Also the carseat will help them stay seated even if they are screaming. Flight attendants don't care if your child is throwing a tantrum they will make you adhere to the rules. I know because my 2.5 year old daughter wanted to sit on my lap and they made me keep her in her own seat until she screamed herself to sleep. Much to the chagrin of myself and the other passengers. Good luck!

 

[marybogue]

On the way down he'll be a lap child and yes, on the way back he will have his own seat.

My in-laws didn't mention I need birth certificates. I guess I should have those handy, yes?

We are taking the Magical Express to WDW so will we need to put him in the carseat for the ride? Will our 9 month old need a seat as well?

And the portable DVD with Thomas the Train just may do the trick!

 

[marybogue]

I highly recommend the DVD player with your child's favorite movie. Also the carseat will help them stay seated even if they are screaming. Flight attendants don't care if your child is throwing a tantrum they will make you adhere to the rules. I know because my 2.5 year old daughter wanted to sit on my lap and they made me keep her in her own seat until she screamed herself to sleep. Much to the chagrin of myself and the other passengers. Good luck!

I can totally see this happening with DS on the way back. NOT FUN!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

I just wanted to give you a ray of hope that your son may be perfect on the plane. Our DD has flown frequently and she's always been fantastic on a plane. She never sleeps (even on red eyes ) but she's always been really good. We never bring a car seat because I don't want to deal with the hassle. However, she still knows that she has to stay seated. We bring plenty of things to entertain her (including a DVD player and a couple of new things from "tinkerbell"). We also started flying JetBlue so the TVs help (although DD hates headphones so she literally just watches the screen )

Definately bring a copy of his birth cert. If you can't confim his age, you may be asked to pay and then refunded when you can prove his age. DD is really tall so we have always traveled with a copy of her birth cert.

As for ME...you don't need a carseat and to be honest, I don't even know if you are allowed to use one...there is nothing to strap it into. It's a big touring bus.

 

[squirrel]

I did what other posters mentioned last year when I took my niece to DL. Since we had to get up early to get to the airport it worked great. Tell your child after getting the drink and snack that it is nap time. I believe I had her little teddy blanket in the backpack and gave it to her. She slept almost the entire flight.

Don't know if this would work for your son.

 

[tjmw2727]

On the way down he'll be a lap child and yes, on the way back he will have his own seat.

My in-laws didn't mention I need birth certificates. I guess I should have those handy, yes?

We are taking the Magical Express to WDW so will we need to put him in the carseat for the ride? Will our 9 month old need a seat as well?

And the portable DVD with Thomas the Train just may do the trick!

I would definately bring a BC for the airport. You need the BC to prove the child is eligible to fly free and sit on your lap so yes, you will need one for both children on the way to and for just the baby on the way back.

In order to get through security ticketed passengers have a boarding pass and lap children have a "boarding verification document" and the only way to obtain this is at the check in counter. You will need the BC to verify your children are between 14 days and 2yrs old and thus eligible to sit on a lap and fly free. Some airlines check BC's all the time and others only check if a child appears to be close to 2 years old. If you fail to provide proof of age the airline can require you to purchase a seat on the spot - if one is available and at full fare!

Also - there can only be one lap child per row due to the number of oxegyn masks so make sure you and dh are seated separately so you can each hold a child.

On DME, no you can not use a carseat on DME it is a coach bus. If you do bring the carseat it will be stored under the bus.

To further clarify a carseat is not required for your 2yo on the aircraft but recommended by the FAA, TSA and American Academy of Pediatrics.

I mentioned using a carseat in my OP because from your OP it sounds like it may make sense to help keep him seated and comfy. Lots of toddlers and preschoolers (like my nephew) have way too much fun unbuckling the seatbelt and its not a game you (or the FA's) want to play for several hours.

Thomas the tank may just do the trick - maybe a favorite episode and a new one to change things up. Target has some toddler size headphones in the electronics aisle right now - I got my nephew some Cars themed ones for our flight to Denver in a few weeks.

TJ

 

[troynkasey]

To calm your child and make sure he doesn't have a problem with his ears popping, give him a slight dose of children's Benadryl. It will open his nasal passage and also calm him slightly. If he takes a pacifier, that will also help because the sucking keeps the passages open. We take the mini-DVD player and our daughter watches a movie and falls asleep. Another tip I saw that I plan on trying is to make or take flash cards of Disney characters. Connect them with a zip-tie or some type of hoop and then give them to him to look at. If you can laminate them, it's even better. In years past, we've taken a car seat. This year we're taking the ME and they won't let you use a carseat on the ride, so we're not taking one. What we are taking is a special airline harness we found online. The name slips my mind at this minute, but it's approved by all airlines.

Good luck! In our experience, a crabby child is not a good passenger until they can get themselves to sleep.

 

[mamaLori05]

On the way down he'll be a lap child and yes, on the way back he will have his own seat.

My in-laws didn't mention I need birth certificates. I guess I should have those handy, yes?

We are taking the Magical Express to WDW so will we need to put him in the carseat for the ride? Will our 9 month old need a seat as well?

And the portable DVD with Thomas the Train just may do the trick!

We recently flew with our ds on our lap at the end of april through beg of may and never were asked to provide a B.C. We've also flown several times in the past three years with our dd on our lap (until she turned two) and were never asked for a B.C either. No questions asked and no id needed for either child. They just asked what the child's name was, and then how old, and noted it on my ticket. Pretty painless. I'd call your airline ahead of time and see if it is required, but we've never been asked for one.

 

[_queenie_]

I just wanted to give you a ray of hope that your son may be perfect on the plane. Our DD has flown frequently and she's always been fantastic on a plane. She never sleeps (even on red eyes ) but she's always been really good. We never bring a car seat because I don't want to deal with the hassle. However, she still knows that she has to stay seated. We bring plenty of things to entertain her (including a DVD player and a couple of new things from "tinkerbell"). We also started flying JetBlue so the TVs help (although DD hates headphones so she literally just watches the screen )

Definately bring a copy of his birth cert. If you can't confim his age, you may be asked to pay and then refunded when you can prove his age. DD is really tall so we have always traveled with a copy of her birth cert.

As for ME...you don't need a carseat and to be honest, I don't even know if you are allowed to use one...there is nothing to strap it into. It's a big touring bus.

I was about to write that exact same post, every aspect of it!

We've also been taking JetBlue (out of Logan too I'm guessing) and I really reccomend it.

 

[gigi1313]

ds took his first plane ride at 2.5yo and we brought some "edible" crafts... shoe string licorice and fruit loops to string (he made necklaces for the flight attendants and one even wore hers! yummy/sticky!)... pretzel sticks and cheerios (put a few cheerios on the tray table and have him pick them up w/the pretzel stick... not an easy task! LOL!)... i'm sure there were other things, but i cannot remember them off-hand... oh! colorforms if you are giving ds a window seat... he can decorate the window (or the tray table if he's not near the window)...