First time grandson flying

Jailen's Gma

Mouseketeer
Joined
Nov 24, 2000
Messages
265
This will be the first time one of my grandsons will be flying. He is two years old. How do I prepare for this? The older one was fine his first time out, but this one is an entire different child. What can I do? Help!!

Thanks,
Mary
 
Unfortunately, you never know how a child will do on a flight. They could do great on one and then not so on another. Too unpredictable at that age, anything could set them off!

I would definitely bring their car seat with you and have them sit in that for the plane. They are used to sitting in them and it may help their need to roam around.

I bring new small toys, cars, books, crayons and coloring books, stickers and plenty of snacks.

If you are flying on an airline that has TV in the seat backs, that should keep them occupied for a little while. We have brought our portable DVD player and that has done the trick.

I also give my son some decongestant for the take-offs and landings for his ears. I have him drink from his sippy cup too and give him some fruit snacks so he'll be chewing and swallowing alot then.

Hope this helps, have a great trip!

Nancy
 
Thanks prplcrzy,

I just needed some ideas on what I could do just in case. Hopefully he will sleep most of the way. We have an early flight.

Thanks,
Mary
 
I'll be bringing playdoh for my first time flyer 2 year old. It amused her in the emergency room for 13 hours so 2 hours on the plne should be a cinch.
Good Luck
 

Start collecting Happy meal toys....Wendy's(Playskool), BK(Sassy type) and McD's(Fisher Price) all have nice under three toys..some of the regular toys are ok for younger kids...my son loves his moose from the Brother Bear happy meal. Magna doodle comes in a travel size, Crayola has magic color markers and paper. Fisher price has cute little people sets that run between 7 and 14 dollars...set of 6 animals for Noah's Ark is about $7.99 at Target and Walmart. My son(21 months) loves any opportunity to play with daddy's gameboym, we did buy the extended warranty from BestBuy so not many worries about him breaking it, cause now that I paid extra for a warranty it's sure to never break. Bring a favorite stuffed animal, sippy cups, fruit snacks, crackers, cookies....I wouldn't overload with candy..upset tummies and tantrums are not something that I'd want to deal with on the plane. Pack more diapers and wipes than you think you'll need for the flight.
 
My husband and I took our two and a half year old grandaughter on a trip to Arizona this May. It was her first flight too. We took her car seat and stoller to the gate. Then we gate checked the stroller. IT made it easier to carry her, the car seat, her suitcase of toys and our carry ons off and on the plane.

The car seat was the first best thing we did.
Then my husband carried his lap top and she got to watch Brother bear on the way and Finding Nemo on the way home. She isnt focused enough for a whole movie but I would say it was about 45 minutes of time taken up. We also had small people/toys. (They are called little people and came with her farm, house and amusement park. She packed them in a tiny carry on so she and I could play with them. We also colored for a while and ate snacks I carried on. I also carried her cup with a lid so no spills when she got the "airplne" pop. (Snacks we carried was beef jerkey, small cereal box, little gummy things like gummy bears and small pouches of gummy characters)

One thing I never knew they have small fold down tables in the bathroom for the need. (We had a change needed on the way home)

We gave her gum for the take off and it wasnt really necessary from what I could tell. She had a problem when we started to decend from the 30thousand feet or what ever we was at. She cried because her ears hurt. On the way home I had her small magna doodle to draw on and when she started to say her ears hurt we started to talk a lot more and darw pictures of what we saw in Arizona. By helping her to be concentrated on other things she didnt complaig as much (Kind of like people learn with birthing classes -learn to do something to get your mind off the pain.) She refused gum for the decent. I tried gummy bears and it didnt seem to help her. Making her focus on other things helped most. She didnt even cry on the way home.
 
I thought of something else.
I found a children's book called first time flying. It is one of those books where you open flaps and look inside. I found it at odd jobb for $1.99. it is great. It familiarizes kids with how an airplane looks and works. Now I know some people think a 2 year old won't understand. But I disagree. Everytime my 2 year old sees an airplane she says "I see Mickey Mouse" Hee, hee!
 
Thanks for all the great ideas. When my first grandchild flew, he had a ball. He loves to sit by the window and watch as the ground and things get smaller and smaller. I just hope this one won't have a problem. I don't want him or everyone else to have a bad flight. He might not want to fly again, and we do have to get home, don't we?

Thanks
Mary
 
Work really well - They have the Wiggles, Bob the Builder, etc. I always get a little "surprise" bag, like a fanny pack or a small back pack and let my son "pick" what he wants on the plane. I also pack a reserve in my suitcase, so there will be new "goodies" on the flight home. The little .99 cars, stickers, mini flashlight - they have Nemo, Lion King, etc (good to do on the flight there, then he can use it on dark rides, if he gets scared)

My son, now 4, flew the first time just before he turned one (3 hours to Boston from Florida), and has since flown to Las Vegas, California, Jamaica, and Turks & Caicos. He absolutely loves to be "Way up in the clouds, Mommy!!" and we have never had a problem.

A definite YES on the car seat, and the stroller. When he was younger, we always made sure he was drinking on take off and landing, and only once did we have an issue with ear pain.

Good Luck! You will have a great time!

iluvtig
 
I agree with all of the above posters, especially with getting a few NEW toys (color books, books, little people). Also, bring some his/her favorite snacks!

My youngest DD was 3 the first time she flew. She slept through the flight there and back! When she was 5, we were flying again to Disney. For weeks leading up to the trip, she was so excited. When we got on the plane and it started backing up, she said she didn't like this and wanted to get off. Of course, it was too late. When the engines really got loud for take off, she started screaming!! The poor child was terrified!!! Fortunately, once we started "cruising" at one set altitude, she calmed down and had a great trip. When we began to descend for landing, she and I were looking for "Cinderella's castle". She did fine. (On the trip home, she was scared, but she didn't cry) She's flown a few times since, and she's fine now! She loves to look out the window!

Anyway, just be prepared, and enjoy the trip! Hope yall have a great time!!!!
 
I had to share what I found at walmart tonight for the floight. A finding Nemo viewmaster! I'm hoping to get at least 20 minutes of amusement out of it.

Magic200, you have me scared now. I hope my little one doesn't freak.
 


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