Tips for flying with four year old

[kt_mom]

I think we'll skip any medication. I don't know for sure how she will do, but I don't think any meds will be necessary. I may get some earplugs and pack some gum and starburst for her to use if she needs it. Thanks for all the advice. I had thought of the bathroom thing. I will have to make sure she goes close to our departure and I think she'll be fine. She won't have had much to drink yet at 7:30 in the morning but you never know!

 

[deejohn]

I have gone with 4 year olds 4 times and here is what I found:
1. Bring snacks for the plane ride - gum & "chewy" candy are good
2. Get/give her the window seat
3. Don't expect her to sit the entire way down - all of my kids thoght the plane's bathroom was a fun visit
4. I bought a portable DVD player and bring it on the plane with movies
5. Make sure you tell the stewardess, she will get you some wings
6. If she likes books or coloring that is always a good occupier for about 20 minutes.

Good luck and have a nice flight!!!

 

[mom2my3kids]

These are great ideas, my soon to be 4 year old is very active.

 

[disney_fan_fam]

Your flight should only be about 3 hours I'm guessing, it'll go by quick. I would bring a dvd player or laptop and earplugs so he can watch a movie, some snacks , some bubble gum, and some new coloring books, you should be good to go. Start hyping it up now, it'll be the start of your adventure to see Mickey! It'll be fun and you'll be at Disney before you know it.

I got a 10+ hour flight with 3 kiddos I'm not looking forward to....

 

[Hope73]

My kids are great but active. I refuse to carry tons of stuff to entertain the. I pack as lite as possible.

Each child carried a backpack with coloring book, paper, 24 crayon and this cool puzzes I found at the disney store. Puzzel is 9 blocks with pictures that make 6 different whole pics.

Hubby and I sit and color or write words with them. Lots of tic tac toe.

One awesoem thing we found was a white dry erase board that hung on a doorknob. It was hard plastic, came with a black marker that had a eraser tip, but small and lite. This was great for games and we practiced words, write disney draw a ride.

The kids school asked them to keep a journal of words and pic of what they did, this wa good for the plane.

I bought these Crayons that are awesome!!!! Crayola twistable mini crayons. Harder than a normal crayon. I love them.

I basically told them it is only 3 hours, this is part of the deal you have to do this and be good and your reward is disney.

On the way home they ar esoo tired they always sleep.

 

[Hope73]

I know some people will bring dvd players and all kinds of electronic things I just stay away form all the extra things.

 

[vanreg]

My 4yr old flew for the first time to Disney this past January. She brought a backpack of things to do along with her....which we overpacked, she didn't touch half of it.

She spent all of her time doing a disney sitcker book that I got at Costco. It had sections from 5 different disney movies....she loved it! I also packed a couple of snacks for her to eat on the plane.

I would have dramamine for kids handy....my 4yr old didn't have any problem, but my 10 yr old did. The flight down was miserable for her....we made sure she took dramamine before the return flight and she was fine.

 

[NotUrsula]

Gravol is a brand name of the same med that is in Dramamine, which is an antihistamine and anti-nausea agent. AFAIK, the brand-name Gravol isn't sold in the U.S.

I don't think that giving OTC meds to children for flying is any really big deal as long as you follow the dosage recommendations carefully and *TEST* the med at home before you get on the plane. Addiction certainly isn't a risk from occasional use, but the possibility of adverse reaction is. Some kids get extremely hyperactive when given antihistamines.

FYI, antihistamines are pretty useless for preventing ear pain. Decongestants are the proper choice for that. Peds who recommend antihistamines are doing so for the prevention of airsickness and in order to encourage the child to sleep through the flight.

 

[supersuperwendy]

We just traveled this past week and our 5 year old son was great on the plane. We didn't use a booster...we just buckled him like everyone else. I packed him a backpack of his own as his carryon. He loved wearing it all through the airport! At walmart they sell a mr. potato head and friends set. It comes in a clear plastic carrying case. I put one in his bag as well as in my daughters' bags (ages 9 & 6). Even the TSA guy at security giggled! They played with them for most of the flight. I also found him a great pirate coloring book that came with the crayons and an eyepatch! He loved it! Each of the kids got their own pack of gum to help with the ear pressure. And lastly I packed him a mickey coloring set that came with scented markers! He was so occupied the whole time..he didn't even ask to go potty! It was great!

 

[dweitzel0]

Another good idea for active kids is to keep a list handy of "action" type games that you can play with them. I would keep a list to remind you because it's hard to remember that stuff when they're getting wild and you're racking your brain to find a solution. My DD's (5&3) love to play "making pizza" where we act out rolling out the pizza dough, flipping it in the air, spreading sauce and adding toppings. You can make it as fun and silly as you want and it gets them moving around a little bit without causing too much disturbance. We also like to make cakes, sandwiches, and they especially love it when I "plant" a garden on their backs. They get to choose all kinds of silly things to plant and for a Disney trip it would be fun to plant fairy dust, bubbles, Pluto snacks...you name it, just be creative and have fun.

There are also all kinds of finger play games and songs you can learn and do with them when they get squirrely. The songs might be a little distracting, but they're certainly better than whining and fussing.

Good luck!

 

[tjmw2727]

Another good idea for active kids is to keep a list handy of "action" type games that you can play with them. I would keep a list to remind you because it's hard to remember that stuff when they're getting wild and you're racking your brain to find a solution. My DD's (5&3) love to play "making pizza" where we act out rolling out the pizza dough, flipping it in the air, spreading sauce and adding toppings. You can make it as fun and silly as you want and it gets them moving around a little bit without causing too much disturbance. We also like to make cakes, sandwiches, and they especially love it when I "plant" a garden on their backs. They get to choose all kinds of silly things to plant and for a Disney trip it would be fun to plant fairy dust, bubbles, Pluto snacks...you name it, just be creative and have fun.

There are also all kinds of finger play games and songs you can learn and do with them when they get squirrely. The songs might be a little distracting, but they're certainly better than whining and fussing.

Good luck!

Great ideas - I can totally see my 4yo nephew onboard with this

My dd's love finger games and even rock paper siccors and thumb wars.

TJ