Please share stories of flying with young toddler

[tjlovespooh]

Have you heard about the family that got kicked off a flight because of their tantrum - throwing 3 year old? From what I've heard, the majority of people are not sympathetic towards crying children on flights. This makes me nervous about flying with my 17 month old. Kids are unpredictable and there's simply no way to reason/compromise/bribe etc with a toddler, they're too egocentric. So, I was wondering if anyone would be willing to share personal stories of flying with a young toddler. I'd like to hear the good, the bad, & the ugly! Thanks!

 

[LaraK]

I've flown with my kids a few times. My biggest problem was the kids kicking the seats in front of them. I even took them both on a flight (with a connection in Detroit) by myself when they were 1 and 3. In general, I found the other passengers to be very understanding and helpful (more than the staff).

I did several things to try to minimize the possibility of tantrums....pacifiers, lots of "treats", books, crayons, etc....Basically I bribed them like there was no tomorrow...it worked.

 

[becca011906]

we flew with my dd1 when she was 18 months old and i was 4 1/2 months pregnant with #3, it was fine, she flew as a lap child (if it was me paying i would have bought her own seat and brough the car seat having the CPS knowledge that i do now, but my grandparents were paying for the flight), i was able to nurse her durring take off and landing, she naped about 25 mins after take off, then was up the rest of the flight (2.5 hours total) she played with small toys, colored, and had small snacks with us, luckly she's was very easily calmed by nursing and if i hadn't still be nursing i'm not sure how it would have gone at all!!!

 

[becca011906]

another thing you could do with a child that's only 17 months if they are under 30-35lbs you could install the car seat rear facing so they can't kick the seat in front of them, they would be able to look at you face to face easier also!

 

[juligrl]

We flew with our then 2 year old daughter for the first time last January (to Disney of course!). We talked about the plane beforehand and got her preped for it. We took her FAA approved carseat so she'd have something familiar to sit in. We also took some of her favorite small toys and a DVD for her to watch on the laptop. Some snacks, a change of clothes - pull-up diapers (she wasn't potty trained yet). Pretty much our normal go anywhere stuff. She did fine. Even took a little nap.

 

[Deesknee]

The first time I flew with any children was when my triplets were 3 1/2 yrs.

The only problem we had was one of my boys is hyper and kept kicking the seat in front of him. I think part of the problem was my mom was sitting with him (seating config was 2/2) She took offense to the gentleman in front grabbing my sons foot. Of course she didn't take into consideration the man apparently had asked he stop kicking already. No he should not have touched my son, but my mom should have tried a little harder to stop him or told me about it when it was happening. Since then we have flown with them being 4 1/2 - 6 1/2 etc. etc. Now my baby we took on the plane to WDW when she was 11 mnths old - 22mnths old - 27 mnths. It has never been a problem. At less than a year she had her bottle, we tried to plan a flight where she would dose for the later part of the flight. We didnt' want her to be tired upon take off as her tolerance will be low. Hoping she would dose off 1/2 way we hoped if she was cranky that would give the rest of the passengers piece.
When the kids are toddlers and up we always give them a wrapped "surprise" for each way.
Personally, I have never gotten upset with a crying child, or a child whose parents are trying to calm the child, but honestly it is not my job to worry about that childs safety. As I read that article the impression I got was it was a safety issue and they didn't want the other passengers to start getting irrate. I would hope the employees gave the parents a resonable amount of time to get this kid safely in her/his seat. I always feel bad when kids are crying on planes. I figure it must be fear or their ears. If they are toddlers and close to me I offer their parents a juice box ( I usually carry extra), that always helps my kids(dh and I too for that matter.)

 

[dougsmom98]

I have found most people to be very patient when there are toddlers on a flight. We have had our share of problems. On my oldest DS's first trip, he was 16 months old. The airline we flew with did not have pre-boarding for little ones, so it was a nightmare trying to strap his car seat into his airline seat. We finally got him into his car seat and all set for take off when we smelled something. It was a poopy diaper. There is no good place to change poopy pants on an airplane. We also had to wait until the fasten seatbelt sign was turned off. My husband managed to change him in the restroom and we finally got settled again. He kept kicking the seat in front of him so we bribed him by feeding him Pringles. Well, that was a bad idea because he threw up all over me, himself, and his car seat. Another mess to clean up! Thank goodness we had extra clothes. After that flight, the flight home was a breeze. Just be prepared and try not to be too stressed out. Whatever happens is going to happen.

 

[tjlovespooh]

I have found most people to be very patient when there are toddlers on a flight. We have had our share of problems. On my oldest DS's first trip, he was 16 months old. The airline we flew with did not have pre-boarding for little ones, so it was a nightmare trying to strap his car seat into his airline seat. We finally got him into his car seat and all set for take off when we smelled something. It was a poopy diaper. There is no good place to change poopy pants on an airplane. We also had to wait until the fasten seatbelt sign was turned off. My husband managed to change him in the restroom and we finally got settled again. He kept kicking the seat in front of him so we bribed him by feeding him Pringles. Well, that was a bad idea because he threw up all over me, himself, and his car seat. Another mess to clean up! Thank goodness we had extra clothes. After that flight, the flight home was a breeze. Just be prepared and try not to be too stressed out. Whatever happens is going to happen.

I am going to be completely honest here ... I am the world's worst control freak/worry wart! I simply can't imagine not stressing out when the unexpected happens! Although, since becoming a mother I have learned to "roll with the punches" a bit better than I did before. I like to be prepared for the worst, that way there when a situation becomes "uncontrollable" I can cope better!

 

[PrincessGracie]

One of the major reasons that the family got kicked off the plane was because the child was 3 years old and FAA requires that anyone older than 2 years old be in a seat with a seat-belt on for take-off and landing. The parents wanted to be able to hold the child and console her. The flight attendants were just following the rules.

In your situation, regardless if you buy him/her a seat, you can still hold him on your lap whenever you want.

One suggestion, when we flew with my DD2 we had a new backpack (Tigger, of course), with new toys (mostly from the dollar store). She was very into playing with them because they were brand new. We didn't give them to her until we were waiting at the gate almost ready to board.

Good luck!!! You'll be fine!!!

 

[Liltx]

One word "lollipops"! They are like magic.

I have flown alone with both of my little ones (2 years apart) many times. Last summer they were 15 months and just turned 3. Flew to LAX, rented a car, and drove to San Deigo all on my own.

Take the carseat and then don't give any toys until they get bored. They should be able to wait 20 minutes until you have to do anything but give a drink. Then offer only one activity at a time in between a small snack. I think parents make the mistake of keeping kids too busy and they get overwhelmed and can't go to sleep. Give a lollipop before landing and you should be fine.

You have to relax. If you are nervous your children will feel it.

Best of luck,
Monica

 

[crzy4pooh]

We have flown several times with DS. We usually try to fly southwest if possible, and most of the time have been able to get in the first row with pre-boarding. This is great because there is a little more room if your little one needs to get out of the seat. They can stand up for a bit, and I was even able to change a diaper on the floor without being seen (it was not stinky, though... ) We also never travel without the DVD player. I also think the more relaxed you are about it, the more relaxed the child will be. Make sure you have a bottle for take-off and landing, or if the child is old enough - a lollipop (that is what our pedi recommended, and DS thinks it is the best treat!) We also have had great flight attendants on southwest, and they always help to distract DS.

 

[homedad]

i/we have flown(sp?) with are kids since 6 months at least a dozen times. Most people are very nice and when I have flown without my wife, and with 2 kids, people have actively offered help. As other posters have stated be prepared. Have activities, DVD player(if possible), snacks etc. One last thing most crying I've seen is from ears popping. So bring lifesavers, sippy, bottle or whatever you need for that. Good luck.

 

[LaraK]

I forgot....one other thing I do is to apologize to all the other passengers around me as soon as we get on (before the kids do anything naughty)....I say "Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding for flying with my children. They are usually well behaved, but if they do something that is irritating to you and I don't catch it right away, please let me know because it's important to me that they learn to be respectful of others"....it's amazing how well the other passengers respond to that. They're much more tollerant of any little behavioral quirks if they understand that you are invested in making sure your kids behave. In fact, I find that if the kids start doing something irritating, the other passengers take thier side and say "oh, that's not bothering me".

 

[disneymomej]

I also use lollipops, and a backpack filled with new dollar store goodies. I have already begun assembling the loot for our march trip. The kiddos are not allowed to open their backpacks until we are about to take off. I fill it with new books, coloring books, disney play figures, small stuffed animal, and lots and lots of favorite snacks. (ones they don't usually get) They love this. Dh is a business owner, so he always has the darn laptop! We wait until it is permissable, and then bring a DVD for the kiddos to watch, complete with earphones.

another note- if you are headed to orlando, odds are there are going to be a TON of kids on your flight. Your's probably won't be the noisest.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Okay- I will make you feel better. We have 3 kids and one on the way. They have flown quite a bit for their young ages (4.5,3,15months). We have experienced it all! The best thing you can do is just go with the flow. You can't control what will happen, you can only control how you respond. One trip my ds threw up all over as soon as we took off. Now we are vomit pros as my ds has a really bad gag reflex. So- we had him cleaned up, changed and the whole area wiped down before anyone even knew what happened. We have also had a 2 hour delay after we boarded the plane at nap time! Let me just say that we have tried to purge that one from memory! The kids weren't being bad- they were just bored and no matter what you do there aren't too many toddlers that are going to sit still in a seat for 2 hours while not even moving. Of course we weren't the only people with kids on the flight so obviously others were having the same problem. We never fly with carseats (flame away) and never really have any problems making the kids sit once it is time. We bring snacks, small toys, sometimes the dvd player etc. The only thing I can't stress enough is make sure you have a change of clothes for the kids, a new shirt for yourself (you never know) and if your child is on bottles then enough of whatever they like to drink (milk, juice etc.) to last the duration of your flight. There is no milk on board which we found out the hard way. I think you will have a great flight if you just relax and let it happen. The excitement is usually so much that the kids are great. I have never been on a flight where kids where screaming and out of control, and most people will offer help and not criticism if your child is having a hard time.

 

[PrincessasMommy]

The Airtran situation was a crazy one - 2 parents, one 3 year old, they delayed the plane 15 minutes for her to get in her seat, she apparently kicked and hit her parents and was crawling under seats and they couldn't take off unless she was seated which they couldn't get her to do???

I have flown many times with all 3 of my kids and as a parent that travels with toddlers and babies I completely disagree with the parents and I am upset that Airtran apologized - for what? For parents that can't control 1 child?? Should everyone else be delayed or miss connections? Silly.

That said, we do prepare our children very well for the flights. We expect them to have good behavior on an every day basis so our kids know better than to hit or kick us anyhow. I think that is a huge part of it. We tell them, even though they are really little, that we are going on an airplane, that they must stay in their seats the entire time because we are in the air, that they must be quiet when asked and listen to the "pilots" - they can't distinguish pilots from stewardesses . I also try to starve them for a bit before to make sure they are hungry and will eat/nurse as we takeoff(with special snacks I bring that are a treat) . We pack "surprise" dollar store bags for each of them - books, crayons, new toys, stickers, lollipops, etc. We talk to them alot instead of expecting them to entertain themselves - what are we going to do and when, where we are going, how cool the clouds are, etc. And if possible I hold off their naps so they sleep en route. We have flown to Europe, Florida, Mexico and Cuba (CDN here)and they have never given us a hard time, ever. I think if you share and enforce and reinforce your behavior expectations and you yourself set your example by not taking off your seatbelt at all during the flight - they won't either. My .02 cents.

Good Luck!

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

Just to clarify -- the family with the three year old wasn't thrown off because their child was crying, it was because they couldn't get her to sit in a seatbelt or carseat for take off, which is a safety concern.

My first flight with my son, when he was 12 months old I brought his carseat, and he simply sat in it like he does in the car. The one "tricky" moment was when I opened the shade so he could see the clouds and he got scared, so I closed it again and he was fine (if you can't see it why be scared of it?).

Having said that, I think that everyone on the flight understands that sometimes toddlers cry. As long as you're doing your best to keep him happy, and they can see that, they'll understand. They may not be happy, but they'll understand. On the other hand, if you have earplugs in and are playing games on your cell phone then they will be annoyed.

My last thought is that for my child (not sure about others) I'm not sure I agree that long preparations is the best thing. I find that if I spend a lot of time talking about something in advance, buying special things, "practicing" etc. . . what he learns is that this is a "big deal" and potentially scary. On the other hand, if he's in his same carseat (or his same mommy's arms) playing with well loved favorite toys, listening to a favorite book, he figures it's just another routine thing. After all unless you clue them in (or open the shade) a 1 year old doesn't have any idea that he's in a vehicle that can potentially fall from the sky. All he knows is that he's sitting in his seat like usual, except that there are a few extra people around.

 

[momtoBrandon&Jacob]

One suggestion, when we flew with my DD2 we had a new backpack (Tigger, of course), with new toys (mostly from the dollar store). She was very into playing with them because they were brand new. We didn't give them to her until we were waiting at the gate almost ready to board.

Good luck!!! You'll be fine!!! [/QUOTE]
That is a great idea! I just told my husband about it and it's a go. We'll get a bunch of stuff from the dollar store and bribe them one by one.

 

[HotMama]

We flew to WDW when DD was 20months. She cried when we first got on the plane but since they let families with children enter first she was calmed by the time everyone else boarded. Elmo's World on the portable DVD player kept her entertained as well as some new coloring books. She did take a nap and sleep through our layover and boarding our second plan. Everyone, attendents and guests, were very nice and understanding through all of our flights. Goodluck!

 

[PeachesDoesHair]

In September we flew with dd3 and ds1 (14 months). We talked to their doctor about our concerns and she suggested giving them a dose of benadryl (which is good for any motion sickness they may experience and makes them sleepy). We got the earliest flight we could, so they slept most of the way. DS1 woke up on the flight back, but he entertained himself by pulling the shade on the window up and down.