Flights with young kids - nonstop to LAX vs connecting to SNA/ONT?

[bumbershoot]

Re: stubborn 2-yr-olds on planes:

• expect that he'll be cranky part of the time

Also know that he's not going to be the only cranky person on the plane. And that your 2 year old almost certainly isn't The Worst 2 year old ever. And people understand 2 year olds.

The worst is when you think your child will sleep and therefore opt for an afternoon flight. There are so many distractions that they don't sleep and they end up tired and cranky (trust me - btdt).

So very much yes.

Though in our case it was thinking that a super-early morning flight would let DS sleep. But we are night owls, so the early morning wakeup was utter misery, then there was just so much new stuff he never went back to sleep, so I didn't go back to sleep (if I could even sleep on a plane) though DH did (stinker), and it was exhausting. I say to plan for flights when the kids are already going to be awake.

Ear pain:
The only thing that has ever worked for me was having grommets put in

What does that mean????

I love earplanes, though I'm not sure even the kid-size go into a 2 year old size ear.

If the kids have ingredient issues, be careful with what you give them. Gum, gummis, lollipops, candies...most have ingredients DS cannot have, and when he was little it would exchange ear pain for a massive violent tantrum. Choose your snacks wisely!

even sniffing a eucalyptus scented towelette can help

That's a pretty strong allergen, in case you don't know. Was torture for me growing up in the Bay Area and visiting SF and driving through the eucalyptus groves... Try to not bring strong scents like that on planes, pretty pretty please.

 

[zanzibar138]

What does that mean????

I love earplanes, though I'm not sure even the kid-size go into a 2 year old size ear.

Grommets are little tubes that go in your eardrum to allow air to pass in and out. They are usually used in small children who suffer from recurring ear infections. You may have different terminology for them in the US.

That's a pretty strong allergen, in case you don't know. Was torture for me growing up in the Bay Area and visiting SF and driving through the eucalyptus groves... Try to not bring strong scents like that on planes, pretty pretty please.

No, I've never heard of eucalyptus being a strong allergen. Personally I don't carry eucalyptus towelettes, but they used to carry them on planes over here for that specific reason. Maybe that's why they don't carry them any more. I assumed it was a cost-cutting exercise lol! It's pretty hard to avoid eucalyptus in Australia.