Flying with a three year old... help!?

[lilmape]

Hello! We are planning on flying to Disney with our daughter in October. She will be 3 in May and is already 40 lbs and about 38 inches tall... She's not chunky just solid. Anyway! We have never flown with a kiddo before and I really don't know what to expect. Also, we will use ME from the airport to WDW. What do you do? Do you use a car seat or toddler harness? I don't anticipate us flying again for a while so I don't know if we want to invest in a CARES harness...

 

[Minnesota!]

My kids were tall for their ages, too. Flying with kids.is easy, I would just buckle her in the seat as normal. And, no car seats allowed on.DME. again, just have her sit in a seat as you do.

 

[Jonno]

We will be heading to WDW in November with a four year old daughter. Still debating on the extra harness for the plane, but ME doesn't require anything special. Since we're sticking with Disney transportation no car seat needed, one less thing to haul around.

 

[cluno]

We flew to WDW when my son was 3yrs 2months We just used the regular buckle on the plane and it was just fine.

 

[merina888]

We've done quite a bit of flying and traveling. Unless you are renting a car, leave your carseat home. The seat's belt should be fine. Just bring things to keep her occupied. I recommend gate checking your stroller so it's easier to get around the airports. My 3 year old is rather slow so it's easier to put her in a stroller and push her.

 

[msmama]

At that age I used the CARES because I had it, but my son would've been fine without it (he was a big guy, too).

I just made sure to have enough entertainment that he was okay sitting. Ipad with movies has always been the best.

 

[Flynnismine]

DD started flying at 3 and we just buckled her in using the planes seatbelt. It snugged down securely and restrained her, no problem.

 

[DopeyDame]

Given her size she should be just fine with just the airplane seat buckle.
The only question then is, do you trust her enough not to unbuckle the seat belt and to stay seated? Most 3 year olds are fine, but I know some that are still bouncy and won't stay still unless physically confined - for those kids a carseat would be worth it.

 

[pumpkin_tx1]

Just using the seat belts will be fine. I have my DS who is 4, take his own backpack on the plane with some snacks and his leappad, coloring pages, and crayons onto the plane. He likes feeling like his own traveler and not have to rely on mom for everything.

 

[scrappinginontario]

For entertainment at that age I went to the dollar store and bought a new doll plus a box of bandaids. Kept her occupied for a good long time and we have some cute pics of her dolly with the boo boos.

 

[Hawkeyegirls]

I flew with my 3 year old a few months ago to Disney. I packed her a backpack with lots of coloring books, stickers and her ipad with movies loaded on it. It kept her very busy and she had fun! Riding the magical express was nice because you don't need a car seat for any of the Disney busses.

 

[maxiesmom]

If your little one likes to watch movies, make sure you have kid friendly headphones, and that they will wear them. Anything that makes noise must be used with headphones. Or with the volume off.

I'd also pack along some disinfecting wipes, to clean the tray table off. That thing is germy!!!

 

[HeyKoolaid]

I always made sure to bring something for them to suck on during the takeoff. Their little ears have a hard time, and it helps if they have something to suck on. I know a lot of families who bring suckers, but we always used beef jerky (sounds weird, but it worked for our little dudes).

 

[blackpearl77]

My son was 2.5 and he just sat in the seat with the seatbelt. We didn't use any harness or car seat. He fit fine. He was great on the way - he used the iPad and coloring books. I got some dollar store little toys for him to open and that kept him busy. Bring snacks. I brought dum dum lollipops to suck on for his ears but he never needed them. On the way home he did have a fit - he had to poop while we were taking off and the stewardess made him sit in his seat and be buckled and he's crying because he can't sit he has to poop! So make sure to use the bathroom before takeoff! Once that passed he was fine. He actually slept the whole way.

 

[brittamouse]

Keep in mind you usually cant use an ipad or tablet during take-off/landing so you may have to be strategic and have something in your back pocket which is even "better" than the tablet. The trick we used was to alway carry a bag of potato chips (or some other treat our daughter rarely gets) to bribe her to put the tablet away. Not an ideal parenting technique, but it gets us through the flight without incident

 

[maxiesmom]

Keep in mind you usually cant use an ipad or tablet during take-off/landing so you may have to be strategic and have something in your back pocket which is even "better" than the tablet. The trick we used was to alway carry a bag of potato chips (or some other treat our daughter rarely gets) to bribe her to put the tablet away. Not an ideal parenting technique, but it gets us through the flight without incident

You can use them all of the time now! They started not so long ago allowing the use of most electronics for the whole flight. I put my Nook tablet (not just an e-reader, but the one that surfs the web too) on the minute I get in my seat!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Keep in mind you usually cant use an ipad or tablet during take-off/landing so you may have to be strategic and have something in your back pocket which is even "better" than the tablet. The trick we used was to alway carry a bag of potato chips (or some other treat our daughter rarely gets) to bribe her to put the tablet away. Not an ideal parenting technique, but it gets us through the flight without incident

Yes, you can use iPads and other tablets and e-readers (in airplane mode) during the entire flight, including take-off and landing. You do have to stow laptops during this time.

 

[brittamouse]

Well that is awesome. Would have been great if that had been the case last year!

 

[lilmape]

Thank you all so much. I feel so much better lol. We have a kind,em fire that has tons of puzzle games (which she loves) and I will definitely add some shows to my iPad. She is a kiddo who will sit still especially with activities. I really appreciate all of your responses.

 

[Honeybee83]

Hello! We are planning on flying to Disney with our daughter in October. She will be 3 in May and is already 40 lbs and about 38 inches tall... She's not chunky just solid. Anyway! We have never flown with a kiddo before and I really don't know what to expect. Also, we will use ME from the airport to WDW. What do you do? Do you use a car seat or toddler harness? I don't anticipate us flying again for a while so I don't know if we want to invest in a CARES harness...

My husband is an airline pilot so we have flown with our daughter many times. She is about to turn three. Here are some of my tricks: (try to stretch out each activity as much as you can)

1: change diaper/potty stop right before they start boarding. (Don't stretch this one out )

2: bring or buy a few small snacks for the plane

3: Bring a few dollar store toys in your carry on they've never seen and only introduce one at a time in a cycle so they don't get bored as easily (peel and stick window stickers are a great option for a window seat) play doh, action figures, mini dolls, puzzle.

4: download some no wifi or Internet needed games or shows onto your phone or iPad for when they're getting restless.

5: bring crayons and a drawing pad to make a picture for the pilot and first officer and/or flight attendants

6: play games like I spy, can you guess what I'm thinking of, can you guess the song I'm humming, etc.

7. If it is a very long flight you can try to overlap with nap time. This can be a double edged sword if your kiddo gets super cranky if they miss it or will fight it because their routine is off.

My kiddo is normally great. There was one time though that we had to fly after 4 hours sleep and she was just done. She was screaming crying fighting a nap on the plane and after about 15-20 min finally went out. Most people are very understanding. I even had several people ask me if I needed help at all. Just don't lose your cool. Your kiddo looks to you to set the mood. You'll do great, just set the tone that this is a good experience. It'll all work out fine.