Flying questions/tips?

[luvmyfam444]

This will be out first flight with kids so any tips would be great!

Do you take anything for your 4yo to sit in/ harness or anything or are the seatbelts adequate?

What about taking food? My gf took a bag of Tostitos & it popped on the plane - so that's made me think twice about what I should take...

Will I have any problems with putting food in my checked bags? - we're taking quite a bit of food - pnutbutter, chips, water bottles, etc....do I need to be concerned about any of that exploding?

 

[AKL_Megs]

Hello there, resident flight attendant here!

The only "harness" the FAA accepts is this one... The CARES http://www.kidsflysafe.com/ Other than that, the only other option is your FAA approved carseat, or the seatbelt, if you can keep them in it. Sometimes kids act better in the carseat they are used to having to stay in in the car. At 4, your child should be just fine.

As for food, no, things you check WON'T explode... the only thing would be luggage handlers "over handling" your luggage.

Your Tostidos bag popping is strange. I bring all kinds of food, and it's up and down, up and down 14 hours a day.

Now for TIPS!

Bring NEW toys, as in, toys they have never played with. Like a brand new Hot Wheels, or Barbie. The "newness" will be fun! I always have some sort of cheap Dollar Store toy, boy and girl, on hand in case some child is driving everyone crazy! The getting and opening and exploring and playing with this new "thing" is exciting for a while. It is also a "present" or "reward" for being well behaved.

Coloring books and crayons.

Books.

Stickers and paper. (It's okay if some end up on seatbacks or windows The next person will enjoy them! )

Fun snacks, something they don't usually get, but LOVE!

Ask the flight attendant for some cups. It's fun to stack cups, build with cups, etc.

 

[LindaR]

No helpful info. Just wanted to say that we (DD21 and I) ALWAYS have a couple of cereal bars/pretzels/trail mix/etc in our purses. We never fly without something!

Several years ago, we were flying from El Paso to Chicago, Chicago to Philadelphia. We should have arrived at 5pm. Arrived at 1am!

Sat (hostage) on the tarmac in Chicago for 3+ hours. No food. No water. Flight attendents were seated for takeoff (which they knew was not happening). My daughter sometimes would suffer from low blood sugar. We finally took off and she thought she could make it til Philly. Wrong. We had to divert because of thunderstorm and then had to go to Baltimore to refuel and then to Philly. She was sick to her stomach by the time we landed. The flight did not offer ANY beverage service because of rough weather (and we were sitting in first class and usually get numerous offers).

Never fly without SOMETHING regardless of age!!!

 

[Tinkermommy]

I would definitely take a portable DVD player with a "new" DVD.

Also, if they have a Leapster or a Nintendo DS or some type of hand held game those are good as well.

Snacks are a must. I've never had any problems with exploding snacks but as the PP said, you never know what will happen so bring snacks.

But NO water bottles (not until you get through security at least). Then I always buy one for the same reason as the snacks!

We typically travel with our car seat since we will need it during the trip. It's an approved one so we bring in on the plane. Mine always feel more comfortable/secure in it.

Have fun!

 

[luvmyfam444]

Thanks for the help!

I know we can't bring any liquid thru security but we can buy it on the concourse & bring it on the plane - right?

 

[aprilgail2]

At 4 years old my daughter would sit in her car seat on the plane- the 5 point harness type of car seat. It helped keep her quiet too- I told her the plane was just like a car, we did not get out of our car seat or seatbelts in a car so we would not be getting out of them on a plane. I would bring play doh and she would play with that on the plane and at that time she had leapster so she played with that a lot on the plane. I always brought peanut butter and crackers since that was her favorite food to eat.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Fun (and cheap and easy to transport and quiet and not messy) things kids on planes:

Pipe cleaners

Paper clips and a good bar magnet (security may check it out but it will get through)

Post it notes

silly putty and a comic book (look for the cheapest ink that will come off well on the putty)

add in a couple of kids' meal toys that they never opened (I used to get myself kid's meals a few times before a trip and save the toys), a variety of small "special" snacks and paper/crayons and PAY ATTENTION TO AND PLAY WITH your kids and you will be good to go

ETA about the paying attention thing--I am not indicating that most kids who melt down have inattentive parents AT ALL, I just know that planes are an environment where many of us adults are used to being able to zone out and where kids need someone fun to keep them from being antsy--it is much easier to prevent antsyness than to stop it once it starts.

 

[Mom-to-2-Princesses]

And try to keep the treats low sugar -- pretzels. goldfish, etc. I've seen some really sugared up kids on flights and you can't really blame their bad behavior since their parents were giving them so much candy.

For take off, make sure they have something to chew on or drink to relieve the pressure in the ears. You might even want to play the game "who can open their mouth the largest" to "pop" the ears.

As someone else said, if you have a DVD player it will make the trip a lot easier on you.

Have fun!

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Thanks for the help!

I know we can't bring any liquid thru security but we can buy it on the concourse & bring it on the plane - right?

You can take things you bought after security onto the plane. We just flew 2 weeks ago and DD and I each packed an empty water bottle in our carry-on and just filled it from the fountain after security.

 

[aprilgail2]

Even easier than bringing a DVD player- just fly jet blue and the kid will have their own TV and headset. My daughter watched TV one entire flight from Florida when she was little..... love that jet blue!!!!

 

[laurie31]

You can take things you bought after security onto the plane. We just flew 2 weeks ago and DD and I each packed an empty water bottle in our carry-on and just filled it from the fountain after security.

We do this too. We usually bring the CamelBak cups (which are spillproof ) but any empty water bottle would work. Just fill it at a fountain after you pass through security. We bring Crystal Light packets to mix with ours as our girls aren't fond of plain water.

We had an experience similar to LindaR where we spent a prolonged time with no access to food or water and we were all MISERABLE. My girls were 7 and 9 then and were near tears, they were so thirsty. I will NEVER get on a plane again without my own food and water.

When the girls were little, we let them bring very small backpacks with stuff to entertain them on the plane. They had granola bars, goldfish, their DS's, coloring books and crayons, the same type things you'd bring for a long car ride. Mine loved (and still do!) looking out the window at the clouds. If you ever play the "find shapes in the clouds" game with her, it will be a whole new experience when the clouds are BELOW you.

Also, if she brings a stuffed toy or other "lovey," be sure she understands that it will go through a special machine at security, but they are just looking at it, nothing will happen to it, and she will get it right back on the other side. I never told my young kids gory details about the reason for security, we were just kind of matter-of-fact about it. We take off our shoes to get on a plane, just like we brush our teeth before we go to bed. No big deal.


Have a great flight!

 

[funkychunkymonkey]

Magnetic toys are a hit. I bought a littlest pet shop magnetic purse for $5 off of amazon.com. It comes with two play scenes and 30 magnets. I plan to make family magnets (our pics on magnetic paper) too. Could be a bunch of fun for a imaginative child.

 

[luvmyfam444]

You can take things you bought after security onto the plane. We just flew 2 weeks ago and DD and I each packed an empty water bottle in our carry-on and just filled it from the fountain after security.

Well DUH! Why didn't I think of that?

 

[luvmyfam444]

Thanks for the ideas! I was looking at maganetic games last night @ Target. Everyone has something handheld to play with - if we can come up with the chargers-LOL

Good - my next question was gonna be if I could get thru secuirty with a box of Propel flavoring packets or not. Sounds like a yes to me....

 

[AKL_Megs]

Good - my next question was gonna be if I could get thru secuirty with a box of Propel flavoring packets or not. Sounds like a yes to me....

Yes.

 

[pooh4evr]

we haven't taken a carseat or harness with us for our kids- just didn't want to lug it around too- and depending on the airline - some can be a tight fit, with your kids legs being cramped into the seat in front of them- with no room to use the tray table.

 

[NHdisneylover]

we haven't taken a carseat or harness with us for our kids- just didn't want to lug it around too- and depending on the airline - some can be a tight fit, with your kids legs being cramped into the seat in front of them- with no room to use the tray table.

That also puts their feet much closer to the seat back in front of them--meaning it is much harder to keep them from kicking it. We prefer to use the lap belts. I actually like that is different than the car because it sets up a different expectation from the get go:
We cannot be as loud as we sometimes are in the car
We can (if the light goes off) get up to use the restroom
We cannot play with certain (electronic) toys during take off and landing (and sitting on the tarmac through storms
We need to be extra cautious not to jolt/bump/kick the seat in front of us (So do not count on a DVD player as your main entertainment)
etc.

I never had the kids who would try to take off the seat belts though. we flew about 5 or 6 times a years when they were carseat aged and I cannot recall one attempt at escape so that probably factors into my feelings a little bit. I think they liked feeling like big people in the regular seat belt.

 

[ksjayhawks]

Taking off a child's shoes when they sit in the seat will help with the kicking as well. Feet won't feel as heavy and if they do kick the seat in front accidentally, it isn't as hard of a kick. Plus kicking the seat in front hurts their feet more with the shoes off, so kicking isn't as fun!

 

[J Le]

Extra wipes and some paper towels. I try to pack a pair of shorts and an extra tee in my carry on for the inevitable spillage that will occur. Of course this is for me - I don't have any kids.

 

[luvmyfam444]

I so am worried most about getting stuck for hours on the Tarmac n being the only one with kids on there- I will defintely have food & drink & clothing -thanks for the reminders!