Are you anxious about putting your kids on a plane?

[hundredacrewood]

We are scheduled to visit Disney from October 26th through November 1st... I have flown in the past, but didn't enjoy it... I feel quite anxious about flying with my children... is this normal? How do you overcome the anxiety?

Thanks for your responses!
Lisa

 

[ThreeMusketeers]

YES! I thought this was just me. I am so afraid that something is going to happen. I am not sure as to how to overcome the anxiety. I am just trying not to think about it. We will have to put on our Happy faces though so our children don't sense it. I know my daugheter will be terrified if she even sees the slightest nervousness in us.
Everything will be okay.
Bring a CD player or MP3 and play some relaxing music..bring a book you are really interested in to distract you. And drink some herbal tea before your trip. I love cammomile really does relax me. Now if I could only spell. lol

Have a fun trip.

 

[DisneyKT]

Yes, I was that way last year. I ate almost a whole bottle of tums. I brought magazine's kindof helped. And stayed really close to my daughter.
Good Luck and Have a fun trip.

 

[hundredacrewood]

It's great to get such quick responses! I am so excited about the trip... it's just the 'getting there' that makes me nervous!!!

Thanks again for responding...

Lisa

 

[Colinsmom]

I've gone through periods like that. It's one reason that DS (who is now 3) still rides in a car seat on the airplane - I just feel like he's safer that way!

Keep in mind that flying is soooo much safer than riding in a car!

 

[jtopp]

If you are nervous or uneasy, your child will sense it and also be uncomfortable. My DW, who hates to fly, gets so involved in our childrens comfort that she is calm, thus our children are OK. As they have gotten
older, they have gotten more comfortable to the point that they help DW stay relaxed.

 

[tlbwriter]

How do you overcome the anxiety?

Xanax.

Seriously, I hate to fly, and I do not want to transfer that to my child. I do everything I can to not give her my phobias. So I stay calm and act like it's a lot of fun, and the result is that she loves to fly.

 

[Jakesmom504]

Yeah, so anxious I'm NOT flying! I'm making my husband drive. I just can't bring myself to do it!

 

[Boston Tea Party]

Xanax.

Seriously, I hate to fly, and I do not want to transfer that to my child. I do everything I can to not give her my phobias. So I stay calm and act like it's a lot of fun, and the result is that she loves to fly.

 

[allie&mattsmom]

Ya know, maybe it's just me, but I almost feel more anxious when flying without my kids. You know, the thoughts about them losing both of us, oh, ((((shivers)))) I can't even talk about it. But anyway, I worry more when I fly w/o them. Not that I don't worry when we fly with them, but sometimes a little cocktail or maybe a beer does help ease the anxiety a bit !

 

[ThreeMusketeers]

Ya know, maybe it's just me, but I almost feel more anxious when flying without my kids. You know, the thoughts about them losing both of us, oh, ((((shivers)))) I can't even talk about it. But anyway, I worry more when I fly w/o them. Not that I don't worry when we fly with them, but sometimes a little cocktail or maybe a beer does help ease the anxiety a bit !

OMG, i tottlly agree. We feel the same exact way. We have planned so many trips alone and canceled b/c I couldn't bear the thought that you had above..that I hate to even repeat.

 

[PatricenPete]

I am the most anxious flyer - even after years of having 2 parents work for the airlines and flying at least once a month for most of my life.

I am determined not to pass this fear onto my DS, so when I flew with him in June to Boston (a 45 minutes "test-run"), I put on a happy face and we had a blast. He actually LOVED the plane, so much so, that I am actually looking forward to our flight the end of this month.

 

[meandtheguys2]

Xanax.

Seriously, I hate to fly, and I do not want to transfer that to my child. I do everything I can to not give her my phobias. So I stay calm and act like it's a lot of fun, and the result is that she loves to fly.

My OB/GYN says that the only time she self-medicates is when flying! She swears by it! BTW, she never had a need to until she had her kids.

 

[Ladyw/theTramp]

Xanax.

Seriously, I hate to fly, and I do not want to transfer that to my child. I do everything I can to not give her my phobias. So I stay calm and act like it's a lot of fun, and the result is that she loves to fly.

I second this!! I have always made a quick trip to the doctor and she gives me the lowest dose... If I take them, I even split them in half. To be honest, I haven't even taken them most of the time, but something about knowing I have them, in case I get the jitters, makes me feel better!

 

[MNRMommy]

I am so happy to have found this thread. Now I have amo for the DH that I am not crazy and that there are other very concerned parents out there who hate the thought of either A) leaving their precious babies alone in the world or god for bid B) something happening to them. I hate flying (and my degree is in aviation management). I am dreading the flight to WDW next year with the kids but they are getting real sick of mom and dad going without them (and to tell you the truth I don't want to go without them anymore!)

On a side note DH also thought I was alone in being nuts about disney world til I showed him this site but that is a whole different thread we could start. Glad we all have each other.

 

[Lives4Disney]

Hi, guys. I am not a very comfortable flyer, either, but here are some things that have helped me.

I do have ativan because I get panic attacks but I never would use it on a plane, though, because I think it is important to keep your wits about you and not be sluggish or sleepy just incase something does go wrong. We had an 11 hour overnight return flight from HI last spring - guess who was the only one that stayed awake all night??

I always count the seat backs in front of me and behind me to the exits. Just so I have some kind of plan of escape. Weird, but it gives me some feeling of control. No caffeine before or during the flight. It could make me uneasy and panicky (and have to go! I do not use airplane bathrooms!! - another thing my kids laugh about - I get in my seat and stay in my seat!)

I have plenty of reading material to distract myself, bought myself a portable DVD player (my very own -kids have their own) & buy some great new movies every trip and have my music. I now enjoy the "me" time on the plane.

I watch "Airline" - and it has actually helped me feel much more comfortable flying. The pilots & airline hosts and hostesses are people with families they want to get home to. They LOVE what they do and wouldn't be doing it if they thought it was not safe. The funny thing is, now I almost always fly SWA - the show has worked like one big commercial on me!

My kids know I am a bit of a chicken and they hold my hand at take off and get a kick out of the fact that they are helping me thru something & they can be the brave ones.

We used to always drive from northern IL to FL (20 hours) and make the trip once or twice a year, but now that I am kind of over the flying issue, we go 5 or 6 times/year!! Gotta love that!

Good luck, everyone -

Lives4Disney

 

[cillakat]

<< just feel like he's safer that way!
>>

and you're right. he's significantly safer.

<<We feel the same exact way. We have planned so many trips alone and canceled b/c I couldn't bear the thought that you had above..that I hate to even repeat.>>

we have many friends and relatives who fly on separate planes for this very reason. they get to the same place, but just at different times.

i think it's a very good idea

katherine in atl

 

[Captain Blue Sky]

There are many self-help resources out there to overcome this very common fear. An excellent audio CD entitled Overcome the Fear of Flying by Glenn Harrold is available widely. It provides oodles of useful information and it might be available at your local public library.

Also, there is an excellent book entitled Flying Without Fear by Dr. Duane Brown. This provides a cognitive therapeutic approach to overcoming this phobia.

Then, there is another excellent book published by Qantas Airlines entitled The Fearless Flier's Handbook: Learning to Beat the Fear of Flying with the Experts from the Qantas Clinic by Debbie Seaman. Qantas has been an industry leader in flight phobias as they have largely long-haul transoceanic and international routes.

Another relatively new resource is the book Ask the Pilot: Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel by Patrick Smith. This takes a look at flight from the physics standpoint and how flight occurs.

Another CD includes some self-hypnosis in Free To Fly - A Head-Cleaners Hypnosis CD for Fear of Flying but I don't really know anything about this resource as it was mentioned to me by a colleague who happened to read a synopsis of the program.

Other than that I can assure you that nothing will go wrong as millions of people fly everyday completely without incident. But in my opinion the best cure of an avoidance phobia with flying is to fly more...