Ist time flying with a toddler and need advice...

[Crazy4Disney43611]

All of you seasoned vets can you please share any tips/tricks to make the 2 hour flight we are soon to embark on more enjoyable for the other passengers around us. This will be the first time flying with our son who turned three in december. I imagine we should pack snacks and toys/books to keep him busy. Anything else I should prepare myself with? Does the altitude/pressure change bother toddlers ears as much as it does mine? Should I bring my portable dvd player to keep him entertained longer? (Man this is starting to sound like work, its supposed to be vacation! ) Anything that you have to share that did or didn't work will be appreciated. Thanks, Sean

 

[las3888]

Books, snacks, all that stuff is helpful, but the big item for us is the DVD player. It is a must-have for us on flights. I throw all the TV rules out the window and let him watch as long as he can. DS (almost 2) will watch about 1 hour total, maybe a little more. It's well worth it for us.

Good luck!

 

[LisaFB]

I second the DVD player! My kids are 15 months and 3 years and have flown quite a few times. Food, fav toys (sometimes a new toy or book they havne't seen keeps their interest longer) and DVDs!!! Since your son is 3, you can probably talk ot him beforehand and let him know what to expect. As for ears, drinking seems to help them a lot. Even if he's off sippy cups, bring one for him to drink from for take off and landing. Also, if your flight is around nap time (if he still naps), that's perfect. We always try to make our flights either at nap time or no more than an hour aftewards, that way the kids pass out for most of the flight!

 

[amarberry]

Definitely bring the DVD player if you think it is something that your child would be entertained with. We've brought ours on every flight we've taken since DD was 14 months old, but luckily haven't had to use it. We kind of look at it as a "in case of emergency, break out the DVD player" thing.

When we traveled in September, I gave my DD a brand new Winnie the Pooh backpack with a bunch of Disney trinckets that I had picked up at differnet dollar stores (I was on a mission to find things for a couple of months before our trip). Just looking through the new backpack kept her distracted for a while. Try not to pack things with a lot of little pieces though! I found this really fun dress Snow White magnetic set that had all sorts of Snow White accessory pieces (animals, flowers, etc). DD kept dropping the pieces, so it was a pain in the neck!

 

[mericletwins]

Books, snacks, all that stuff is helpful, but the big item for us is the DVD player. It is a must-have for us on flights. I throw all the TV rules out the window and let him watch as long as he can. DS (almost 2) will watch about 1 hour total, maybe a little more. It's well worth it for us.

Good luck!

I agree with the DVD. Also, our pediatrician told us when the twins were babies and we were flying with them to give them a dose of Benadryl and a dose of Tylenol about an hour before the flight. When they became toddlers we stopped with the Benadryl but still do the Tylenol. NOTE! Please make sure Benadryl makes your child sleepy before you go on the trip. If Benadryl makes your child hyper, don't use.

 

[mtemm]

we just flew for the first time with our 4 year old and 2 year old twins. I brought straw cups (empty) then bought water after security and filled them and gave them to the kids right before takeoff/landing, in case their ears bugged them. they actually didn't seem to have a problem with take off or landing.

if you are looking for something fun for them to do, color wonder paper with the markers is excellent. no mess, lots of fun. just hand out one marker at a time if your child is a thrower. lol.

 

[dougsmom98]

I agree with the other posters. I want to caution you about over-packing too much stuff though. It can be a nightmare trying to carry all the stuff that kids need through the airport. Stickers and paper always worked well with my kids and they do not take up much room at all. We found that using a back pack as a carry on is the best thing because it keeps our hands free to be able to pick up the kids.
Good luck.
Amy

 

[izzyBandlivismom]

Our DD was almost 3 for her first flight. She was soooo excited about being on a plane and where we were going, she did not care. It is about 3 hours for us and she did not get antsy until the very end. We used suckers for take off and landing. It was easier than getting her to drink, she does not drink a whole lot. My DH brought his video Ipod which worked wonders on the way home but she fell asleep about 45 minutes in so that was good. I gues all that Disney is a lot for a little girl!!

Good luck! Evjoy your trip!

 

[All Morganic]

I've flown with my 2 DD's (now 5, 3.5) since they were 3 months old - mostly by myself - 2/3 times a year. They are pros at flying now! My tips to you are:
1) DVD player
2) snacks
3) gum or some type of chewy snack (fruit snack, gummy bears) for take off/landing
4) crayons/coloring books or those books you can color with just water (I think by aquadoodle)

and most importantly

A change of clothes (at least shirts) for all of you. I was flying with DD's when they were 2years and 6 months and the 2yo threw up (sorry-gross I know) on all 3 of us during takeoff and I didn't have a change of clothes for me and had to sit for 3 hours with a squirming baby and puke covered shirt. Not one of our finer travel moments

Good luck and have fun!
P.S. Don't worry if you little one gets cranky on the plane. Most passengers understand and it's only a 2 hour flight!

 

[MommySiobhan]

We flew last year for the first time. Our kids at the time were 5, 3, almost 2 and 3 months old What fun.

It wouldn't have been so bad but security sucked and we MISSED OUR 7AM FLIGHT. Oh boy. We waited and waited in the airport. We had to get a connecting flight to tennessee and then to orlando. We begun our journey in Michigan.

We should have arrived in Orlando at 9:30am. We arrived at 8:45pm. It was the worst experience ever.
Thank goodness the trip went 100 times better.

The second flight was harder because the kids were exhausted. The first one wasn't too bad because they were very excited for their first airline trip.

My 3 & 5 year old I let chew gum when we took off. My 2 year old I let eat snacks, the chewing to help with ear pressure and because I had a window seat and we were near the back I ended up nursing the baby for takeoff. Original plan was to let him suck on a paci to relieve pressure.

As fas as what we took, coloring book, crayons, paper & stickers. A couple books, snacks for when I became desperate and one of their smaller favorite toys..matchbox car type size.

 

[justwinnie]

We've flown quite a few times with our daughter, who's now 3 1/2.

Here are my tips:

- Others have suggested a DVD player-- I'd second that! Make sure it's fully charged and if available, get a second battery. I've had flights delayed and was able to play a movie for a bunch of the other kids waiting too.

- Fruit by the foot snack. This seems to last longer than a bag of fruit snacks for chewing during take off. It's a novel treat for my daughter, and we reserve it for flights.

- New toy/coloring book/stickers/flash cards. Something small and easy to put away.

- Paper and Tape-- double stick, masking, patterned. My daughter likes to play with any type of tape.

- Pipe cleaners-- or "Cleaner Pipers" as my daughter calls them

- Car seat-- I'm an advocate for the car seat, even if it's only used on the plane. The one time I flew without it was the most horrible flight ever! My daughter was able to easily unlatch the airplan lap belt and I had a hard time keeping her in her seat. She wasn't able to nap b/c she did't fit well in the seat, and with the leather seats, she kept on slipping. She always sleeps while in her carseat and she does not try to get out.

- Re: Car Seat- I will sometimes have my husband preboard and set up the carseat and take on as many of the carry-on as possible. I wait until the final rows are called and then gate check my stroller. That cuts down the amount of time we're on the plane and checking my stroller late usually means it's the first one out.

- I pack one bag of all these things just for her, so I don't have to fumble through all the other carry on.

- A filled sippy cup or a juice box is allowed on-board for a baby/small child. We flew right after the new restrictions were in place and had no problems bringing them on. We didn't have to buy it after the security check.

- I talk to my daughter about the flight and she helps pack the bag of goodies. She looks forward to the different activities packed away. I always leave the new items as surprises.

Our flights are generally easy and not too painful. We also like flying JetBlue since they have free DirectTV. Since flying JetBlue, we haven't actually needed the DVD player on board, but we take it anyway for the hotel and airport.

Good luck!

 

[musicdude]

The first time we took DD to WDW she was 3 and the plane ride was so horrible with her we can only look back and laugh now. We had an early morning flight out of DIA so we we up at around 4:00am, DD gets an upset stomach if she doesn't get a good nights sleep, so she cried the entire drive to the airport. Right after passing through security and waiting for the train, she throws up all over herself and DW. We find the baby wipes and clean up as much as possible but miss that train. After making it to the gate we get her clothes changed and make it onto the plane. On our first leg of the trip she throws up again and has some poop soup. DW gets her cleaned up and changed again seals the grossed out clothes in a ziploc and throws them away. We were praying she was not really sick! We made to Houston to change planes late and only have ten minutes to make it to the opposite end of the airport, so I take DD 3 at the time and DS 7 at the time, DW take the carry ons and we take off running, and make just as they are getting ready to close the doors. Did our luggage make the connection? At that moment we really didn't care, just so we made it to see the mouse, but yes it did make it. DD had settled down and slept the 2nd flight and was much better once we got to Florida.

So my advice:

Take extra clothes(toddlers ar small and four outfits don't take up that much room)
Leave plenty of time for connecting flights
Don't take to much extra junk just incase you do have to run to make that connection.
Keep telling yourself it's only two hours and we probably will never see these people again!
Take lollipops for them to suck on if the pressure pops their ears (this can be a life saver)

 

[SalandJeff]

My dh has terrible problems with his ears when we fly. He uses earplanes which you can buy at a drugstore or airport shop. We got them for my dd also,but she doesn't really seem to need them.

My dd is a wiggle worm and hates sitting still. Do NOT sit in the bulkhead - too much room for them to escape. We had her in the seat between DH and I and she could not get out into the aisle. Bring snacks, clothes, sippy cups and drinks.

You'll be surprised how fast 2 hours will go by.

 

[JenEeyore]

I agree with many of the other posters.
We've been flying with our DS since he was 8 months old. For toddler/preschool age (DS is now 4 1/2 so it does get easier) DVD player is one key item - ditto with making sure battery is charged (oopsed with that one on our last return flight - ugh).

Color Wonder paper and either finger paints or markers that go with it for no mess fun. Sticker books - those kind where you have to hunt to find where the specific sticker fits into the pictures is great for taking some time. maybe a lift the flap book or something and a little special plushie friend. I've made the mistake of bringing too much in the past and only 1/2 of it makes it out during the flight and the rest is just lugged around.

Ditto for toys in the room...less is more. There is much to entertain kids down there and you'll end up with trinketts along the way anyway, don't lug too much down for playthings. Although one thing we've found to save $ is bring down those little light up things for night time that you may have anyway and cost an arm and a leg in the parks - the kids don't know the difference if it comes from home or a fancy kiosk - save the $ for something better for a treat! I recycle whirly-gigs, character sunglasses, hats, pvc people etc that we already have that he doesn't need to buy again!!!

 

[woodchuck]

I would all so do sippy cup to help with ears!! We did that for our sons 1st trip.

 

[mom_2_boys]

We flew for the first time this past August with DS2 and DS4. DH and I decided to not take the DVD player because of all the other junk that we were hauling with us. I was concerned that my boys wouldn't sit still for our 2 hour flight, but they did great!

DH and I played it up that we were going on a big advnture. I made sure that we had coloring materials (I found a small coloring book that used a "magic" marker to make the different colors appear on each page of the book but wouldn't write on regular paper), small snacks (gum for DS4, fruit snacks, crackers, suckers and a couple of Hershey kisses), a couple of matchbox cars each and their favorite stuffed animal. (the Dollar Store is a great place to go for small stuff that the kids will love and you won't mind tossing!!! )I can't say enough about the flight attendants on our flights (we flew Continental). They gave my kids a stuffed animal airplane, wings, lots of stickers and even an extra snack!

Good luck to you!

 

[amy1976]

I agree that the dvd player is the best distraction. We always buy her a new movie for the flight so she is excited to watch it (but also bring favorites in case they hate the new movie). We also bring the standard coloring books and stickers and playdoh always works. Have a good flight and try to relax and enjoy.

 

[D L and K's Mom]

We just got back and our DD who is 3 did GREAT! I was very surprised. I brought....

colorforms (she used them in the airport when we were delayed for hours)
Dora Color Uno cards (Again used in the airport)
suckers for take off and landing
books with CD's and the CD player (she used these the most)
CD's (mickey Mouse clubhouse, and other favorites)
small snacks (jellybeans which we sorted by color ...this took lots of time and she loved it)
Sandwiches (I bought some of the pb and j uncrustables and these were great when she was hungry...the snack on the plane was peanuts which she does not eat)
Small travel pillow (They dont have these on the flights anymore and she loved having her pillow on the flight.) We bought a small white case for it and had the characters sign the case so she had it full of names for the flight back. We used sharpies for the signatures and put cardboard behind it.


DD did great on the plane. The only time she was upset was when we were stuck at the airport for hours and hours and when we had to stay in the hotel in Atlanta due to a mechanical problem with the plane. It took quite awhile to get there and get checked in and by that time (3:00am we were all cranky). She was over tired by that time and hungry. Have a great time!!! Good luck.