Toddlers and Airplanes Help

[LollieInwonderland]

This is our first time flying with kids. My 6, and 3 year old should be fine. I am worried about my active 18m old. She is a little feisty and we are not brining a car seat so I am trying to figure out ways to get her to sit for the 2 1/2 hour flight. I would LOVE some tips

 

[Gracie09]

DoeS she has her own seat? If so look at renting or buying a cares harness. It makes the lap belt a 3 point harness and more like the car seat

 

[dylans mommy]

I would look into the harness like the previous poster said. But my very active 2 year old did great on our 18 hour flight to korea. We made sure we had lots of activities for him to do. Then we would take walks around the plane to stretch our legs. Snacks are a lot of help too especially special snacks they usually wouldn't get. If you have a tablet put her favorite movies on it, we had the screens in the back of the seats and he loved it

 

[myrtleturtle]

Double check the size requirements before purchasing a CARES harness. My almost 3 year olds are still too small for it, so we always bring the car seats. If she is big enough for one, you can rent them through people on eBay.

For next month's trip, I'm making bento-type snack boxes to give them some variety. I always bring their straw cups so they can drink during take off and landing to open their ears. Color wonder markers, band aids to play with (stick it on mommy, stick it on the seat, stick it on dolly; comes off a lot easier than real stickers), iPad for a last resort. In the past I took cheerios and put them on a string like a candy necklace and they loved that. Check the dollar spot at Target, they always have Disney-themed small toys.

 

[Pesky]

First of all, patience! She does great, she does bad -- eh, either way you'll make it there. Just accept what comes and keep a good outlook with minimal stress. A combo of familiarity and novelty is your friend! At that age, short attention span so I planned for that. Portable DVD player with kidzgear headphones (run about $25 and are super comfy for kids) and a selection of the younger set - friendly fare (episodes of Elmo's World, Caillou, Wonder Pets, Pixar short films, etc.). With the DVD player I could bring a TON of DVDs and not have to worry about it hogging memory on my iPad (just space in my bag or the kid's bag!). Lots of snacks and water bottle. Wiki stix. Post-it notes, plain paper, coloring books and toddler friendly crayons. Favorite snuggle toys. Combo of favorite and new books. New little toy or two (nothing noisy) (smaller hand puppets can be GREAT for this like http://www.amazon.com/Aurora-Plush-...F8&qid=1442526337&sr=8-7&keywords=hand+puppet).

 

[tmh43]

Sounds crazy but I swear to goodness it works- if you have a short enough flight tell her airplanes are for sleeping. Like, everyday for at least a week in advance. Might be trickier since you don't have a car seat, or easier if she's on your lap, but my son hates sleeps and fights it like a champ but will crash within minutes of being on an airplane.

Get to the airport just early enough that she can run around before hand. Let her walk as much as possible and get all of her curiosity out (ha! As much as possible any way) then so that she's good tired for the flight- not overtired or worn out.

Also, hide the favorite toys and movies the week before the flight so that they're a novelty again. Works better than new toys because it's already a favorite Also, we always bring a favorite blanket (a+a) and a stuffed animal. Comfort is key.

Then what everyone else said- snacks, iPad, stickers, crayons... You should be set.

 

[robndani]

Snacks!

 

[jacknsally19]

I agree that wiki stix are pretty awesome... So is silly putty! I have always packed small backpack with new toys / books / stickers / snacks for our trip. I try to bring something new out as she gets fidgety. It worked fairly well but now she can sit thru movies and it's not as much of an issue. Lollipops are hugely successful too. The first time my dd ever got a lollipop was on a flight and whoa those are little miracle workers!

Personally, I have never done a harness or car seat on a flight. I usually fly with just me and my daughter and the stress of trying to handle setting up a car seat does not seem worth it.

I will say this - flights to Orlando are the best to deal with squirmy or fussy kids. There are so many families no one will bat an eye!

 

[BabyHabs]

Snacks, iPad, colouring book, books, stickers.

 

[LollieInwonderland]

Ohhh that's a great idea with the lollipops! Baby DD never had one so that might work for a while!

 

[LollieInwonderland]

And thank you everyone for your advice and tips!!! Let's hope for a smooth flight!

 

[scitti45]

I'll be flying with my 16 month old for the 1st time in November, and also very nervous! I've been looking on Pinterest a lot. Gel window clings have been something I've seen a lot! And mostly non toy things. Like bandaids, post it's, stickers, pom poms or Cheerios in one of those weekly pill holders. Anything new that will keep little hands busy! Good luck!

 

[FrozenDuck]

An iSpy book and iSpy activity container (a clear plastic bottle filled with sand, small toys, shells, etc.)

 

[PlutoPony]

Pipe cleaners

 

[JNS114]

A few different kinds of snacks and Ipad!

 

[kapstar]

Lollipops or a sippy cup are musts. It is the best way to relieve the pressure in her ears if the start to hurt from the pressure change.

 

[disneypolybride2008]

keep in mind that when something falls, it is hard to get, mostly rolls to someone else's seat before you can get to it.

our dd did great at age 2 on all her flights, some she slept, some she watched her dvd, she wasnt really interested very long for the toys we brought, we didnt do snacks except one flight that i thought she needed to eat so i was giving her foods and she puked it all up on a rough decent. Now i'm a bit worried how to keep our squirmy 13 month old happy for 2 hours on my lap. We'll bring the tablet, but the battery doesnt last 2 hours.

 

[DopeyDame]

Tons of great tips here. Give them all a try and do your best. And if it's still a miserable flight, just remember that you'll never see any of these people ever again.

 

[maxiesmom]

If you plan on watching movies, make sure your little one will wear the headphones before you leave on your trip. You don't want to end up on an airplane with a cranky baby who wants to watch Little Einsteins but won't wear the headphones.

 

[jeni16]

I planned on 1 snack for every 30 minutes of flight time & 1 activity for every 15 min of flight time. DS who had just turned 2 was just fine. I had actually loaded the I-Pad with episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse that he hadn't seen in awhile & he spent most of the flight watching them.

I would stick with snacks that are small so it takes longer to eat them. I also went to Target & the Dollar Tree and bought cheap toys, stickers, colors, books, etc. This way if we lost something it was no big deal.