flying with a TODDLER

We took our first trip with our then 2 1/2 year old in Feb for a 3 hour flight. I brought lots of snacks - always a good thing, I bought her a brand new baby and backpack for the trip that she filled with the stuff she wanted to bring, a book, a teddy bear. I also bought her a brand new boo, a coloring book and a book of stickers and we had a great uneventful trip. The way home was a bit harder, but she still did well. Good luck and have a great trip.

My husband and I live in Tokyo with our two 1 1/2 year old babes. Here are some ideas I have used, gotten from many travelers....We work on a military base with lots of folks who are always moving. 1. Get a small note pad and some stickers. Let the kids put the stickers on the pages. 2. Dot to Dot books or maze books. They make them for young preschool age children. 3. Finger puppets. They really worked with the little little ones. 4. Portable DVD player. 5. You don't even need anything for this one. Take the babies in the bathroom on the airplane, the one with baby changing table is best, and let them look at themselves in the mirror. They will love it. 6. If you can find the books made of clothe that have activities like snapping buttoning counting. Where the kids can take off and put back the pieces. hope this helps

We're leaving in a few hours. *twiddles thumbs* Thankfully, Nick is napping early (we will be going to the airport during normal nap time). I feel that's a blessing in itself. Thankfully, oh thankfully, I'm not showing too much so that Nicholas can still comfortably ride in the Mei Tai in a front carry so I won't have an issue in the airport. More blessings, indeed.

Uhm: word to the wise: PLAN FOR A DELAY ON THE RUNWAY. We sat for an hour and a half on the runway. Nick was fine once we got into the air but was MISERABLE when we were holding still. I think this would be a great time for a hand held game that was age appropriate even though I don't normally approve of such things. It's just something I'm considering buying before we fly home on Thursday. Eesh.

Jenna, I have thought of a delay like that! Would there be a hand held game for our young uns? Mine is 2...I am also bringing the DVD player. And I am NOT using headphones on him b/c he hates anything on his head. If the other passengers don't like it, oh well, then they can listen to a screaming toddler for 2.5 hours! Other suggestions I've found: let the little one run around as much as possible before the flight. If you are traveling with your spouse, one of you pre-boards and does the car seat and the other stays behind and boards AT THE LAST MINUTE. Also, be sure and change the diaper right before boarding. MUCH rather do it on the floor in the terminal than in that tiny bathroom! Jenna, let us know about the game and your return trip!

to the above post, we do the exact thing - my dh goes on first boarding after 1st class and puts in the carseat and carry on luggage, and me and kids go LAST! SO SMART.. As to airplane survival 101 - Buy a DVD player and make sure the battery is charged and bring EARPHONES. One flight we didn't use them, but on another - the attendant said my dd could not operate her dvd without headphones! Another idea is to buy little toys at the $1 store and wrap them like gifts. When u see them getting bored, let them open a new "gift" great for 3yrs up Aqua doodle is good, but magna doodle is better. As for traveling thru the airport and from the car, I found this more stressful than entertaining a toddler in-flight, especially if you have a connecting flight. We bought a collapsable (durable, but light weight) luggage carrier and then used a waist belt (like for hiking) that has the water holder made of nylon and at least a 2" buckle (for strength) We sat the carseat on the carrier, secured with the waist belt thru the back. Then straped dd in carseat and away we went, she loved it, it was SAFE, and a bonus cupholder! - hope everyones travels are safe and fun.

We are back from our vacation and I can say we SURVIVED! Both of our flights went very well and I can tell you what helped us out. 1. Travel NON-STOP. It was wonderful....I wouldn't consider anything else. I am a major tightwad and I wouldn't even bat an eye at increased cost for non-stop. 2. We traveled late at night and that worked well for us. On our flight home, dd was asleep before we even boarded the plane. Slept the whole way home. 3. Dd loves camera's. We took along an old 35mm camera for her and she had the best time snapping pictures of everything on the plane. Worked like a charm...She loved being able to play with the zoom and hear the shutter motor. 4. Dd is in love with our housedog and we found a stuffed dog at Wal-Mart that was very similar to our dog. The dog is in a little nylon carrying case and says Pucci Pups on the case. She rubbed, kissed, rocked and "fed" the dog off and on throughout the whole flight. Kept calling him " Gizmo". So cute. Jenna-Hope your flight home goes well. Are there many hand-held toys for kids his age?

Making this brief: we are home (to my parens) as well. 1. We are now and forever taking EARLY flights. I had to wake Nick up just before 5am to leave. By the time we were sitting on the runway (again, an hour, stupid Philly), he had fallen back to sleep. He slept the whole way to Pittsburgh until the Pilot woke him up. 2. Take that snack that you don't normally let him have but you know that he loves. For us? Cheese balls. Oh, so unhealthy but Nick was pleased to snack on them before he fell asleep and after he woke up. A treat he normally doesn't have sure did keep him occupied. 3. Make sure you know what day you are actually set to be flying. Long story short: we accidentally went to the airport a full day early. Thanks to a kind ticket counter agent, after I called my Dad in tears (dad used to work for the same airline) and thus a hysterical baby because Mom's anxiety was through the roof, we got the ticket(s) changed without the $100 fee. However, if we would have had any other ticket agent who was having a bad day, didn't like brunettes or hated kids, we would have been screwed. (I tried calling D to come back and get me at the airport but her cell phone was off! LOL) 4. While he was sometimes a handful sitting on my lap, I am now fully aware that he was not ready for his own seat. During the first flight, the seat next to us was empty and I tried setting him in it and buckling him in. He wasn't down with it. The Munchkin, however, faired well in her own seat from the time she was two. While I don't see us flying again in the next six months, if we have to, Nick WILL be sitting on my lap as opposed to in his own seat. He's just not there yet. :)

ANOTHER question: I was planning on using a "hand me down" car seat that my cousin gave me, prefectly good but old (1992!), on the plane. On the back, it does say "safe for airline travel". I wanted to use it b/c the one in my car is a beyotch to get in and out and the one in DH's car is H-E-A-V-Y and we don't want to lug it thru the airport. Seriously, it's SO heavy that last year when I flew with DS, I had to get a luggage carrier thingy with wheels and bungie it to it. So, I was pushing DS in the stroller with one hand and lugging the car seat with the other! I mean, really, if the plane crashed anyway...would the car seat help vs us being in a lap belt? Not to mention that they suggest you HOLD the child till they're 2! No offense really but I find it mind boggling that it's "ok" to hold your baby in your lap, but you MUST stow all carryons and/or put them under your seat! In effect, they're saying...hey lady, you CANNOT hold your purse, laptop, whatever in your lap but a baby is ok. Does anyone else find that weird? Anyway, back to my ?, would the old seat be ok? (BTW, it is NOT being used in a car once we get there).

OK, carseat question....my lil one is 2 1/2 and I know he will not stay in the carseat on the plane, but we need to bring one for when we are out and about...we want to check the carseat in w/ the luggage...do we have to put it in a big bag or just check it in as is? We also have to bring a booster seat for our oldest....I have never traveled w/ the boys on a plane before and didn't realize how much extra stuff we would need....UGHHH!!!

You can ck your carseat just like luggage. But beware, they treated just like luggage and might even rip the fabric. And they might count towards your luggage count...so Go on the airline site; and see what they reccommend or require for carseats. Go to Craigslist and see if anyone is selling carseat travelling covers. Under $20 and they have backpack type straps to help you carry them. If your renting a car, it might be less headaches to just rent them from the company. If your son isn't going to stay in a carseat, chances are he ain't going to stay in a simple lap buckle either....but he can't get out of his carseat. I've always used the carseat except once: My daughter was sick flying cross country and i had her on my lap sleeping..she was 3 and the stewardess insisted that she be put in her own seat on landing. I told her if i wake up this baby, she will SCREAM and cry. dd had ear infection and was MISERABLE.. She insisted and then i just smiled and said alright let me rearrange her blanket...the stewardnmonster walked away and I kept my sick daughter on my lap the remainder of the flight.

Well we survived otay, but no one told Mother Nature when we were flying, so she decided to send storms to Dallas/ Ft. Worth and we were stranded there for two days! We got a hotel so it was somewhat bearable, but it broke my heart to see all the people who slept in the airport on cots! The plane itself wasn't that bad w/ the kids as they usually tried to sit us in the back w/ all the other families....the only thing that really bothered me was on the way to Dallas we sat in the 1st row right after first class and when I tried to take L to the bathroom at the front of the plane to change his diaper the stewardess told me that was the first class restroom and I had to go to the end of the plane....what????? I thought that was ridiculous, and we got lots of stares and glares from first class passengers when our boys were being loud, but I didn't ask for those seats so what could I do....LOL! We ended up putting the carseats in a huge duffel bag and checking them in, which worked fine. I felt bad for a family sitting in front of us who had purchased the shoulder harness seatbelt that you can hook up to the seat for their daughter and she screamed and wanted nothing to do with it....with L being 2 1/2 he sat 1/2 the time in his seat and 1/2 the time on my lap... Next time we fly (which hopefully won't be anytime soon) we will not have a layover in Dallas as both there and back we were stuck for hours in an airport trying to entertain two boys w/ too much energy....other than that our flights worked out otay! How did everyone else do w/ their flights????

We are going to be flying with a 16 month old on our lap in a week and a half. God Help Us. I'm reading up on all your suggestions and experiences. We are stocked with lots of things, but we plan on taking the laptop and viewing DVD's of Thomas and Cars which Woob has never seen before, so I hope our batteries stay charged long enough to lull him into submission. The whole sitting confined on a lap thing really has me worried.

Having flown several times with both infant/toddler and toddler/toddler combinations, the biggest advice I have is to fly at night! Here, in Alaska, it's not that difficult to do though. Most flights leave in the middle of the night. I swear, the airport is busiest at 1:00am. We would put the girls to bed at their regular time in the pjs, wake them at midnight or whenever we were leaving (after luggage and everything was loaded) and they have always fallen back to sleep on the airplane. Now, how much they sleep sometimes depended on how chatty the pilot or the flight attendant were (honestly, are 3am announcements really necessary?). We also made sure they had their blankets to hold. We'd bring snacks and water, coloring books, and dvd player. I don't think we've ever used the dvd player though. Sleep and snacks have done the trick. Then, whenever we land, whether at our destination or on a layover, we change the girls into their clothes, go potty, etc. and it seems to have worked pretty well. We will be leaving in two weeks for Phoenix - yes, that is a 6 hour non-stop flight! This actually will be better than the 3 hour trip to Seattle or Portland, wake the kids up at 5:00am, change planes, and endure another 3 hours to Phoenix. I will be so excited if they sleep most of the way, wake at 8:00am in Phoenix and have a super day. Hey, I can wish, can't I?

We flew 2 days ago from Michigan to Atlanta, then to San Francisco. We have a 2 month old and a 2 year old. It would not have been bad had we not then attempted to drive 3 hours to our in laws when we got to San Fran. By the time we finally got there, it was 1:30 am, which was 4:30 am to our poor bodies! It took us all day yesterday to recover! Thank goodness for grandma and grandpa to watch the little ones while mom and dad rested! BTW, I bought and brought SO MUCH stuff! Bubbles, coloring books, DVDs, trucks, puzzzles, the Leap Frog, silly putty and MUCH MORE. Wouldn't ya know, the 2 year old was not interested in any of it! He was kinda crazy on the plane, but I think that was from lack of sleep!! There were TONS of families also on the plane, so I did not feel so bad when he wanted to be up and walking around. At least the 2 month old slept pretty much the whole day!