How did your 5 yr. old do on the plane?

[cinmell]

I know each child is different but I'm wondering how your child does travelling on a plane.

When my daughter was 2 months shy of turning 2, she was wonderful on the plane. At 2 1/2 she was horrible!

Now, at age 5, I'm hoping she'll do great again. I'm hoping she'll fall asleep on the ride to WDW since our flight leaves at 7am but she says she doesn't want to miss anything! I don't know what she thinks she'll miss.

I plan on brining crayons, stickers, coloring books, books, her leapster with headset and we are flying Jet Blue so we will have the tv. What keeps your 5 year old entertained if they are not asleep on the plane?

 

[Priorityonecb]

Both of my children have flown since infancy. Two completely different personalities...and they both are great travelers! I usually pack this huge activity bag...and it never gets opened! Pretty much the only thing my youngest dd used on our last 12 hour flight was her MP3 player (Tinkerbell of course!). I think at 5, you will have a very peaceful flight...especially with the TV there!

 

[KTSMOM]

My DD is 5 and she does a good job flying. Sounds like you've got a lot of good things to keep her busy. Don't forget to pack snacks so you can have them just in case she can't wait until the cart comes around. Also you might want to consider bringing gum for her to chew when the plane takes off so her ears won't hurt. Have fun!

 

[PrincessNancy96]

My ds was 5 when we last flew and he did fine! We brought all kinds of activities and snacks for the kids.. but he spent the majority of the flight down sleeping.. we took a late flight to Disney.. On the way home he talked the ear off the poor woman sitting next to him.. Lucky for us she was flying in to see her grandson about the same age!

My older kids are great travelers!!!

 

[tcolbert]

We bring a laptop that can play DVDs and earphones. I'd bring gum for ears, but it sounds like you have quite a to-go pack already planned!

 

[cara loves the poly]

Our 5 year old never looked up from his game boy,,, this year the got portable DVD players for Christmas!

 

[budbeerlady]

DD just 5 loved her first flight. I was so worried she wouldnt like it and cry the whole way. I had her take 1/3 a dramamine before we took off (and I was worried she would get sick like I do) and she slept part of the trip. But she just loved looking out the window and listening to her music.

 

[mom2riceboys]

My 5-year-old does great on a plane. His first flight was at 2 though and he was pretty good then too. I let him bring a backpack with a few of his favorite toys. I also wrap a small present that he gets to unwrap when we reach our destination if he has behaved during the trip. Additionally, I make a little book for him about the place we are visiting. I include pictures of fun places we plan to visit, coloring pages, etc. He spends a lot of time looking at the book and talking about how much fun we're going to have when we arrive at our destination!

 

[la79al]

My DD4 was terrified at the thought of flying. We left very early in the morning so I was also hoping she would sleep part of the way. Well no such luck. She did not take anything out of her bag except her snacks and would not even watch a movie. She ended up talking the ENTIRE plane ride.

 

[lovesdumbo]

I brought my DS (4 1/2 at the time) last Aug and we had a 7am flight out of Manchester NH. We had to leave the house at 4:30 am and he didn't sleep at all the night before. He didn't sleep in the car to the airport nor on the plane. He did sleep for about 15 - 20 minutes on the ME bus. BUT...he did GREAT on the plane. I had coloring books, stickers, story books, and a Pixter. I had a few different coloring books and stickers for the plane ride home. I'm sure your DD will do great.

 

[Rai's Mommy]

The only problem that I have had with my 5 year old has been from forgetting to bring gum for her ears. We've taken a lot of trips to Ireland and England so she is used to long flights but I always bring some surprise activities (new sticker albums and stickers, new coloring books or travel games) just in case she starts to look antsy. Polly pockets were my best friends our last trip! This trip I am going to make one of the autograph albums that were suggested by Alyssa on these boards and give it to her on the plane to color her favorite characters' pics.

 

[Xcited4Disney]

I have a question. This will be my dd's (6) first time on a plane. She' s very excited about that. However, she does not chew gum. She's tried it in the past, but never got into it. What can I do to help with ear popping? I don't want my baby's 1st trip to be uncomfortable. Help please!

 

[Fionasmommy]

I have a question. This will be my dd's (6) first time on a plane. She' s very excited about that. However, she does not chew gum. She's tried it in the past, but never got into it. What can I do to help with ear popping? I don't want my baby's 1st trip to be uncomfortable. Help please!

What about hard candy, lollipops or a small snack? You just need something to get her to swallow as much as possible during take off and landing.

 

[dsnymomof4]

On our first plane trip, I loaded up on the gum. However, my DD6 did not like the flavor of the gum I brought, so she didn't want any. On our descent to Orlando, her ears began really hurting and she started crying. The steward came over and told her to suck her thumb. The sucking motion actually helped relieve some of the pressure. So, for our trip in December, I bought baby bottle pops for them to suck on - no pain this time!

 

[theflowerladee]

My 5 yr old has taken about 3/4 flights and has always done pretty well.
Usually I bring a backpack with lollipops, coloring book, whatever video game my 11 yr old has. last trip we brought a video now player and spongebob
videos, we have brought portable dvd player in the past. I think our best
way of flying is jetblue with the tv's in the headrests, and they have the cartoon network and nickelodeon which really keeps him occupied. other
than his fascination with the bathroom(and that is anywhere we go) he
usually sits pretty well. he may want to switch seats to sit with different
family members. I also went to barnes and noble and got activity books
not just plain coloring books, they have cute activity stuff that can be
done from a seat without a table or other glue, etc. have a magical trip.
oh, and bring extra snacks. that always is a plus.

 

[Xcited4Disney]

Thank you for the suggestions. The baby bottle pops sounds like a great idea!

 

[Torontogal]

I am travelling with my 6 and 3 year old next week to Orlando from Toronto. I am a little nervous with my 3 year old. Make sure you give them some gravol before the flight - takes care of nausea and calms them down. When my son was 4 he threw up as the plane was decending. I did not expect it and he did not warn me. Bring a change of clothing.
I have packed a bag of treats that they have not seen before. I also packed lollipops which I am sure will help the 3 yr old. Another good idea is to prepare the children. Read them airplane stories, etc.
Some people bring portable DVD players. I know Toy Story always keeps my son's glued to the telly!

 

[jodifla]

Do you have a Leapster? My 4 year old loved playing with that on the place.

 

[disney longhorn]

My DD 5 flew for first time a month ago to Disneyland. I was very paranoid about how she would do. She did great. It was like an amusement park ride for her. She was very excited and once we got in the air and the excitement wore off, we turned on the dvd player and she was quite content. Had a few snacks, and before we knew it, we were on the ground again. We were on a 3 hour flight so wasn't too bad.

Just be sure to go to bathroom before takeoff and, while in flight, just before landing. I was really worried about the "I have to go potty" during landing.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

My son never had problems at 5, even with long trips (we flew from WDC to Banff, Canada that summer). He'd play leapster or I'd read to him or he'd just look out the window. He loved the idea of being in the air and was happy to be on vacation.