Something kids can take when nervous about flying

[ColinCodyMom]

Hi everyone.
We are leaving in one week to go to Disney and we go at least once a year. My son has become extremely afraid of something happening on an airplane and I am wondering if there is anything safe that I can give him to reduce his anxiety? He doesn't get motion sickness or queasy at all. He is just scared since the Christmas Day attempt and we fly out of Detroit where that happened. There's a connection for him now and he is petrified! Has anyone had any luck with anything that might help him??? Thanks!

 

[Tara]

Honestly, I wouldn't give my child any medication without it being medically necessary. Practically speaking, IME, the medications that people recommend for producing chilled out kids like Benedryl often have the opposite effect on children - making them more hyper, not calmer. And if it's something he's never had before, there's no way of knowing how he'll react. I still remember giving my DS Triaminic right before leaving for a weekend away and he was fine when we left the house and in 2 hours he was covered in hives - the doc determined it was a reaction to the medication - he was so miserable!

How old is he? Do you live close to the airport? If so, maybe plan a little outing to go watch planes take off and land - give him some sense of how many planes fly out in an hour, then talk about how many that means per day, then per month - and that's just 1 airport. For the tens of thousands of flights just in the US since Christmas Day, ask him how many other incidents there have been. I know this is applying rational thinking to what is basically an irrational response, but I think any data that will help him put that one event into perspective can't hurt.

Also, make sure he sees that you aren't worried - and stress that you wouldn't put him into a situation if you thought there was a real danger.

Or maybe go into the airport and let him watch the TSA checkpoint so he can see the security in action.

For the plane, perhaps something new and special to distract him would help. Do you have a portable DVD player? If not, consider renting one at the airport and bring along favorite or new movies for him to watch. Or something like a Nintendo DS - if he has the DS, perhaps a new game to go with it.

Good luck - as a mom, I can certainly sympathize with wanting to relieve a child's anxiety!

 

[shan136]

How old is your son? If he is old enough your doctor may be able to prescribe something for his anxiety. Or if you have enough time before your trip, you may try to find a therapy for him, many times short term therapy can help with specific fears such as flying.

 

[ColinCodyMom]

Thanks for the replies. Sorry, I should've said this in my first post. He's 9 and we've flown since he was a baby. There has never been a problem until this trip. He knows the "ins and outs" of flying and security. He knows all of that but all of a sudden, he's scared out of his mind. He doesn't even care to go. I don't like giving medicine at all but I feel like I need to do something for him. Thanks again!

 

[disneycruising]

I would recommend going to see a Child Psychiatrist. They can talk with your child about their worries and walk them through it. Plus, they can give you medication if needed. You would also have to opportunity to get information on how you can help to make things better and also be educated on what kinds of things make it worse.

My DD has anxiety traveling and germs are her big fears. So, I completely understand.

I find that the best way to deal with her fears on our travel day, is to keep her busy. My DH gets to deal with all the 'other things' while I deal with keeping DD busy, so her mind "can not lock on to her fears". I talk non-stop about stupid stuff: I look for as many things as I can find to look at. I also give her a list of what we will do once we arrive check luggage, secruity, look for a treat near the gate, bathroom, board plane. I truly never let her have a quite moment once we leave the house. Once we take off she is fine.

 

[MarthaJr.]

You didn't say how old your son is, however, when we took a plane for the 1st time with our son--he was 3 years old. About 2 weeks before our trip we went to the library and got some books about planes. We also found a great video about riding on an airplane. (Sorry, I have no idea what the title was.) Spent a little time every couple days watching the video. This seemed to help our son who was anxious about getting on a plane. He is ADHD, OCD and has an anxiety disorder. We didn't use any meds.

Another thing we did for our son was pack a small brand new Buzz Lightyear backpack filled with small toys for the plane ride. We put a small lego set, coloring book with new crayons, modeling clay and a baggy with special snacks. We also asked the flight attendant for "wings" and all of this did the trick. Not one complaint or concern!

Good luck--hope this helps!

 

[ICan'tWait]

Thanks for the replies. Sorry, I should've said this in my first post. He's 9 and we've flown since he was a baby. There has never been a problem until this trip. He knows the "ins and outs" of flying and security. He knows all of that but all of a sudden, he's scared out of his mind. He doesn't even care to go. I don't like giving medicine at all but I feel like I need to do something for him. Thanks again!

In the same boat with DS, 7 yo. He read a scary book at school and now is refusing to go on our next trip. He too has flown many times. I posted on the family board and someone suggested dramamine. We even have a close friend who is a pilot and not even that is helping, so I totally sympathize with you. Please post what you decide/come up with.

 

[Tam1067]

I speak from experience with my son--take him to a therapist (get a referral from your pediatrician). Anxiety manifests itself in lots of ways and if untreated will get worse. but a therapist can help him learn coping techniques.

Since you're flying in a week, you are not going to have time for real therapy to work. But you can find relaxation techniques for kids online--our therapist said YouTube has some. Find a few, practice them at home, and then have him do them when you're at the airport, on the plane, whenever he feels stressed. They work.




I wish you the best.

 

[goofy4tink]

Your son is at an age where he now realizes that bad things do, indeed, happen to good people. He is no longer living in that little kid bubble. So, it's perfectly normal for him to be scared about flying....heck, even I get anxious.
Would I prescribe something for him? No, absolutely not. Sit and talk with him. Talk about how many planes are in the air at any one time. Talk about how those pilots and crew wouldn't be doing what they do if there were any reason to be worried. Just keep talking to him. A therapist? No, I wouldn't. I know that when my dd had some really severe sleep issues, we finally had to take her to a therapist. She kept saying that she must be nuts or crazy if she had to go to a therapist...nothing I said would make her believe that she wasn't crazy...she just felt that only crazy people went to therapists. Did the therapist help??? Absolutely, but there were deep seated reasons for her sleep issues. Your son's issues are pretty straightforward...there are bad people out there who want to blow up planes...easy to understand and to deal with.
Like I said...keep talking to him..he'll get it. The thing that made my dd, now 16, feel better about flying (and she used to get petrified) was knowing how many other planes were in the air...and that the crew weren't concerned about anything.
Good luck..hope everything works out. I'm sure it will. He sounds like a smart little boy who is concerned about something a lot of adults are concerned about as well.

 

[bleeps]

I have used Drammamine for myself and for my son for this reason -- not about being airsick necessarily, but about feeling very anxious about flying. The effect for us is that it allows us to sleep on the plane and to not feel acutely anxious. (DS only takes a half of one dose.) It's about a two hour flight for us, and we're alert by the time we arrive at WDW.

If you are thinking about trying this route (given how little time there is between now and your trip and the challenges of getting a mental health appointment between now and then), I'd recommend trying the dose first, if that's possible, since there's always the risk (as others have mentioned) of a medication's having the opposite effect.

I appreciate the comments others have made about addressing the root cause and not relying on medications, but also appreciate how close your trip is.

 

[2luvmickey]

Does he like books? Legos? Puzzles? Video games?

Since your trip is so close, take him to the toy store to pick up a few items that may help him reduce his anxiety while in the air. Make these toys "special airplane" ones to be opened on the plane only.

My DS 18 has anxiety (just diagnosed) and when he was 4 he became fearful of bugs. His love was Legos and we brought a Lego toy that became his "bug eliminator."

Your DS may be so excited about opening his new toys on the plane that it will help alleviate some of the anxiety.

I also agree that it will be a challenge to get him to a mental health specialist in such short amount of time. If he continues to have anxiety issues, by all means, contact a specialist to help him cope.

 

[ColinCodyMom]

Thanks everyone for all of the replies and awesome advice. I certainly don't like to give medicine to my kids at all but I just want to help him. I think I'll look into the new toy of some kind for him. I'm hoping once he gets on the plane, we'll be okay. We've never had this problem in all of the flights prior to this and they've all been smooth more or less. Thanks again!

 

[Tara]

Since he's very familiar with flying, it still might be worth it to make an outing to the airport so he can see that everything is "normal" there. Your trip is pretty soon, though, right? I hope it goes well and his anxieties are minimal.