Flying with toddlers

[Grand fan]

What do other parents recommend for a 2 yr old? Do you take a car seat? I think we will be taking enough stuff. This is my 1st time flying with my daughter. She's active. I'm hoping if we put her by the window and take a backpack full of busy stuff, she will be ok. My husband thinks we should bring the car seat since that will restrain her more........Any advise? We will be flying out at 7 am so we will be getting her up early......

 

[Tigger&Aidan]

This is our first time flying with DS (23 months) and we did not get him a seat, so no car seat for us. I know he'd be screaming in the car seat (unfamiliar places can be scary...) and the flight isn't too long, so i'm hoping for the best. I'm taking a backpack filled with stuff too - I got those Colorwonder markers and a Diego book for it, tons of stickers (which he loves!), a few cars and other misc toys, as well as suckers, which he loves as a treat. If all else fails, he loves bottled water, so i'll be getting one of those once we get past security...that should keep him quite for 10 minutes!
Good luck on your trip!

 

[lpandorf]

Just returned from a trip with my 2 yr old son and 6 year old daughter. Just me and the kids this time so did not want to take extra things like a car seat. I just put him in the seat next to me and he was fine. I bought him one of those hand held machines that plays his favorite cartoons recently. Not sure of the name of it but it was from Target and about $28 plus the cartoons that went into them were about $5 each. I got him Sponge Bob, Danny Phantom and Avatar and kept him busy for a good part of the flight. Best money I spent. Also got some small aquadoodles, silly putty and sticker books and that amused him awhile. Plus the time for a snack and we were set. The flight was 2 hours.

Have fun and good luck!

 

[Jaymie]

We're giong in Jan with our 2 1/2 yr and we will be bringing our car seat. We've taken him at 5 mths and at 1 1/2 and brought it both times. Not only does it keep him contained, he's comfortable in it. Once he's in the car seat, he knows he has to stay in it, just like in the car.

 

[justhat]

We have a 2.5yo and we've done both with and without the carseat on planes. She's always had a seat since her first flight at 2 months old so she was in the carseat from then till 2. Then right after her 2nd birthday we went to WDW and I flew alone with her and I was 17 weeks pregnant and very sick so I didn't think I could carry the seat, her, stroller, diaper bag, etc. She was okay, stayed in her seat and all, but was definitely better in her carseat so we brought it on the flights we took in April and May. We just got back from another WDW trip last week and skipped the carseat again and wished we had used it. We brought it along and gate checked it but should have brought it on the plane.

We bring all the toys, books, movies w/ dvd player, but the carseat really makes her more comfortable. She has never really slept on a flight without the carseat but with it she falls asleep almost as soon as we buckle her in. And this is a kid who does not take naps at home so that says a lot. Also, she hated her infant carseat and screamed hysterically in it every time we drove anywhere but on the planes she was fine in it. And remember, even if they're by the window but in a regular airplane seat, they can't see much buckled in cause they're sitting so low and then once the plane is in the sky there's nothing to really see so that has never held my daughter's interest very long.

So my advice would be to take the seat and if you don't think you need it/want it for the way home then just gate check it. At least you'll have it and will see how things go with it, rather than being sorry that you left it home. BTW, my daughter is ~37 inches and 27 pounds and fits just fine in the seat on the plane, she's not cramped for space or anything like that.

 

[mcgrawfan]

An opinion from the other side... We took the car seat last time when DD was just turning 1. It was such a hassle. It was cumbersome to carry through the airport. We had purchased a bag but the seat ended up not fitting in the bag. We flew Delta and they didn't allow parents of young children to board early so people had to wait on us to install the seat on the plane. That was a pain. I am so looking forward to not have to mess with it this time.

 

[all4fun]

An opinion from the other side... We took the car seat last time when DD was just turning 1. It was such a hassle. It was cumbersome to carry through the airport. We had purchased a bag but the seat ended up not fitting in the bag. We flew Delta and they didn't allow parents of young children to board early so people had to wait on us to install the seat on the plane. That was a pain. I am so looking forward to not have to mess with it this time.

Usually when we go to Florida, we end up flying with Delta, so we've developed our system to deal with the lack of pre-boarding priveleges. What we do is one of us takes the carseat, stroller and at least one carry-on bag (usually a backpack) and get in line when the zone prior to ours is called, while the other waits with ds and lets him run around for a few extra minutes. I'm the car seat installation "expert" so usually it's me boarding first.

I break down the stroller on the jetway and board the plane with bag and car seat. This is where a backpack comes in handy because you can wear it which keeps your hands free to carry the seat.

Carry the car seat like an upside down "L" over one arm. This allows it to pass more freely down the aisle withOUT you having to hold the thing over your head.

When installing it, I always recline the airplane seat and pull the seatbelt almost all the way out. Buckle the seat in like I would in the car (r/fing or f/fing), then put the airplane seat upright which usually snugs it right up. Another thing you can do when the seat is f/fing is twist the latchplate around once so it's "backwards" which makes it easier to unbuckle at the end of the trip.

By the time I'm done, dh and ds are usually boarding the plane and no one is blocking the aisle while the seat is being installed.

Once you've got a system down, having a car seat at the airport isn't that big of a deal really.

Hth.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Usually when we go to Florida, we end up flying with Delta, so we've developed our system to deal with the lack of pre-boarding priveleges. What we do is one of us takes the carseat, stroller and at least one carry-on bag (usually a backpack) and get in line when the zone prior to ours is called, while the other waits with ds and lets him run around for a few extra minutes. I'm the car seat installation "expert" so usually it's me boarding first.

I break down the stroller on the jetway and board the plane with bag and car seat. This is where a backpack comes in handy because you can wear it which keeps your hands free to carry the seat.

Carry the car seat like an upside down "L" over one arm. This allows it to pass more freely down the aisle withOUT you having to hold the thing over your head.

When installing it, I always recline the airplane seat and pull the seatbelt almost all the way out. Buckle the seat in like I would in the car (r/fing or f/fing), then put the airplane seat upright which usually snugs it right up. Another thing you can do when the seat is f/fing is twist the latchplate around once so it's "backwards" which makes it easier to unbuckle at the end of the trip.

By the time I'm done, dh and ds are usually boarding the plane and no one is blocking the aisle while the seat is being installed.

Once you've got a system down, having a car seat at the airport isn't that big of a deal really.

Hth.

Ahhh, this brings back memories. I wish I knew about the DIS back when it was me trying to figure out how to balance 2 kids & 2 carseats + 1 Daddy. After a few rough experiences we ended up doing the exact same thing except DH had to go on the plane 1st & set the seats up because I wasn't strong enough to carry both seats at once. Strolling onboard with 2 kids and dropping them into their seats was WAY better than trying to squish 2 kids + me into 1 seat while DH fought with the seats and passengers gave us all dirty looks for blocking the aisle . Very good advice and very well described.

 

[katerkat]

Usually when we go to Florida, we end up flying with Delta, so we've developed our system to deal with the lack of pre-boarding priveleges. What we do is one of us takes the carseat, stroller and at least one carry-on bag (usually a backpack) and get in line when the zone prior to ours is called, while the other waits with ds and lets him run around for a few extra minutes. I'm the car seat installation "expert" so usually it's me boarding first.

I break down the stroller on the jetway and board the plane with bag and car seat. This is where a backpack comes in handy because you can wear it which keeps your hands free to carry the seat.

Carry the car seat like an upside down "L" over one arm. This allows it to pass more freely down the aisle withOUT you having to hold the thing over your head.

When installing it, I always recline the airplane seat and pull the seatbelt almost all the way out. Buckle the seat in like I would in the car (r/fing or f/fing), then put the airplane seat upright which usually snugs it right up. Another thing you can do when the seat is f/fing is twist the latchplate around once so it's "backwards" which makes it easier to unbuckle at the end of the trip.

By the time I'm done, dh and ds are usually boarding the plane and no one is blocking the aisle while the seat is being installed.

Once you've got a system down, having a car seat at the airport isn't that big of a deal really.

Hth.

And if you're alone, having a cute toddler who will bat his eyes at the passengers/flight attendants helps. Then other passengers will hold his hand while you fold up the stroller at the end of the jetway, and the flight attendant will lead him to your seats and play with him across the aisle as you do the carseat set up.

 

[missdramaqueen]

This is not from a parent but a sister
We went to disneyland when my brother was 2. He sat on my dad's lap and was perfectly fine. He is . He's very active. He was fine without a carseat but when we took him when he was 1 1/2 we brought a carseat.

 

[aussiegrl]

Wow this message came at a great time. I was just going to post a question very like this one on whether or not to bring the car seat on the plane. I have been debating it and DH really doesn't want the hassle.

Unfortunately we have a 2 hour layover so will have to haul the seat all around the airport on the way to Orlando. The good thing is on the way home we are non-stop. So I was debating on just checking it on the way down. I just think DS will be more comfortable in the seat. So I am at odds with what I want to do.

I will keep checking this post to see all the wonderful advice.

Thanks!

 

[golden1]

I don't think we are bringing ours. I did for awhile but recently, my 2.5 year old ds has been getting better at sitting and listening and I think he will be fine. I am going on Jetblue and they have tvs on the plane plus I am bringing lots of activities for him so he should be okay.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I don't think we are bringing ours. I did for awhile but recently, my 2.5 year old ds has been getting better at sitting and listening and I think he will be fine. I am going on Jetblue and they have tvs on the plane plus I am bringing lots of activities for him so he should be okay.

Jet blue is absolutely awsome . We took this airline when my kids were really small and it was a great experience. I was able to watch Food TV while the kids watched Nickelodeon and didn't hear a peep from them during the entire flight.

 

[Tinkerbell2002]

We flew with ds at 2 and brought his car seat. We flew at ages 3 and 4 and didn't bring it. The only difference we noticed was that he was more comfortable to fall asleep when the plane started when he was in his carseat. The regular seat belt made it a little harder for him to lean over in his seat comfortably when he was falling asleep.

 

[justhat]

Depending on how often you fly, if the reason you're hesitant about the carseat is carrying the heavy thing around, look for a cheap, lightweight seat for travel use only. All4fun suggested something like that to me in a previous thread and we took her advice and looked around for a lighter seat than our Britaxes. We ended up with a Cosco Gotham from Target. It was $49.99 and is super light and can be used as a forward facing carseat (with 5 point harness) or a booster seat. It's approved for airline use if you use the harness only. It's really easy to throw it in our carseat bag and wear it like a backpack since it's so light and when she doesn't need to sit in the seat on the plane anymore we can check it and use it as a booster seat.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

We hauled the car seat (Britax Marathon) when we flew with a 2yo.

We purchased a carry bag for the seat and didn't have a problem getting the seat in the bag (once it got fully streatched out after being stuffed in the package). What was also great was that once in the bag, you could place some extra toys inside the seat and zip up the bag.

We primarily took the seat under the idea that while we were putting him in a new environment (plane), he had something familier (car seat).

Now in our case, we were going on a 2 week Disney Cruise. We had a veranda and found the carry bag to be a great way to leave the seat out on the veranda out of the way, yet the bag did great at protecting it from the sea air.

 

[rgmartin]

We also purchased a smaller/lightweight booster seat with 5-point harness when we flew with our 2 yo. I had to travel solo with him, carseat, stroller, backpack, . . . Even travelling alone, the carseat made things much easier, he was supported better when he fell asleep, etc.