Tips for Surviving a 24-Hour Flight with an 18-Month-Old

[Anonymous]

1. Definitely buy the child his own seat and bring his carseat, as well as a comfy blanket or stiffed animal.

2. Bring a roll of painter's tape and let him put pieces of tape on himself, the tray table, the window, etc. It is painter's tape, so it co,es off easily.

3. Walk the aisle every hour when he's not sleeping.

4. Bring tons of snacks, and request drinks as often as possible.

5. Bring some type of sensory toy or a "busy book" that has snaps, zippers, soft surfaces, etc.

6. If he uses a pacifier, bring a minimum of three.

7. Bring a minimum of two extra changes of clothes for each of you, as well as plenty of diapers.

8. Bring at least two extra pairs of socks. You can hide things in a sock and ask your child to get the item out. It doesn't take up much extra room in your carry-on to put a few small toys and a few extra socks in there.

9. Require sleep times, and you should sleep, too.

10. Bring some chocolate chips to use as "incentives" for not screaming. Yes, like a dog treat. It works!

[Anonymous]

If you have another seat, I would get one of those things that fills up the foot space to make it like a bed.

Shift his schedule leading up to it so that he sleeps a lot.

Get as much exercise as possible at the layover.

Painter’s tape

If you have a tablet introduce it before. A lot of times kids this young need to warm up to things. Don’t turn the sound on. Have him play or watch without sound. He won’t know it’s an option

Something to suck on for take off and landing

[Anonymous]

We did a 9 hour flight at 2, which went totally fine. We just did 26 hours at 3.5, also went better than thought and was easier than 2. We got those inflatable mattresses for kids on airplanes and brought a big blanket for sleeping. At 2, our toddler liked reusable stickers, duplo, books we could read with him, (basically brought a whole bag of toys that we could bring out) and switched off with screen time — at that time he could watch a little cocomelon and could look at videos and pictures of himself for a while. Brought a lot of snacks and otherwise he slept for a big chunk of those flights too.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did a 9 hour flight at 2, which went totally fine. We just did 26 hours at 3.5, also went better than thought and was easier than 2. We got those inflatable mattresses for kids on airplanes and brought a big blanket for sleeping. At 2, our toddler liked reusable stickers, duplo, books we could read with him, (basically brought a whole bag of toys that we could bring out) and switched off with screen time — at that time he could watch a little cocomelon and could look at videos and pictures of himself for a while. Brought a lot of snacks and otherwise he slept for a big chunk of those flights too.

Good luck!

OP here, that is good to hear. Thanks

[Anonymous]

Mine didn't care for a tablet at that age. She was a big fan of the magna-doodle and spinner/popper, however. We also brought her favorite lovey and blanket and lots of books. We were also blessed with some lovely grandparent-type passengers in the row behind us that interacted with her a bunch (she was in a rear-facing car seat).

Disregard all the people calling you a monster. By 18 months, I'd been to Asia twice, from Boston. We all survived fine.

[Anonymous]

To all the people saying why would you do this, bla bla, just move on, you’re not helping. It’s not difficult to imagine why this would be necessary.

In any event: kid needs their own seat of course. Second, screen time limits go out the window. Third, yes reusable stickers, those little coloring books that work with water and are reusable once they’re dry, no limits on sleep. Yes, lots of changes of clothes and snacks that you know kid will eat.

As with infants, try to sleep when they sleep.


Good luck, it will be okay.

[Anonymous]

We did a 28 hr flight with 10 month old. Not exactly the same but baby slept for a few stretches. Rest of time played on our laps or next to us. We brought a gallon ziploc bag of his favorite toys. We took turns holding him for an hour or so each (not sure if you are traveling alone). We had a long layover and let him crawl around as much as possible. We also set ourselves up mentally for the worst - imagining we would not sleep for a day, would get into fights, and just be exhausted. Turns out it wasn’t as bad as we imagined so even felt like it went well!

Small things we did that helped though -
Prepped all his bottles and food before hand so minimal prep needed. Had a special lunch tote just for bottles that we could fit in front pocket. You could even switch to powder formula for the trip so all you need is water.

[Anonymous]

Lots of activities: small books, coloring, etc
Lots of snacks that your kid would eat
A couple changes of clothes
Try to rest before you fly

In my experience, it’s the worst age to fly. They’re mobile but hard to reason with. My absolute nightmare flight was when dd was just under 2. It was horrible. I had a seat for her, but still, it was hard.

[Anonymous]

OP,
Don't listen to the harpies on DCUM. Many of us are immigrants and we want to remain connected to our families.

I took my kid to India at 18months to visit family and I used baby Benadryl on my pediatrician's recommendation.

My baby slept through the flight. Also, make sure that the baby is nursing or drinking milk too to not be dehyderated. Use Ayr moisturizing nasal gel too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Make sure he has his own seat. Make sure none of what you are bringing will be stopped by security if you have to go through security and passport control at your connection.

Make sure you have PLENTY of time for your connection. Even better if the airport has a kid spot where they can run around a little.

Practice how you're going to carry things in advance. It sounds silly but lugging a toddler around plus your carry on can be difficult if you're doing a lot of walking!

Stroller. You use a stroller.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you subjecting your child to this?

There is literally NOTHING on planet earth that would make me take an 18 month old on a 24 hour airplane trip. Literally nothing.

This is amazing advice, thank you so much. I'm sure OP is flying back and forth to Disney land 3x for fun

Look I have three kids. Please tell me what is important enough to subject an 18 month old to this for? I can think of one scenario only: her parent is dying and she literally has no one to leave the child with- not another parent, not a friend, not a nanny. OP is this the case? If so you get a pass. Otherwise? This is cruel and borderline insane.

Military orders, foreign service family moving, child or parent needs medical care not available in the home country . . .

This is going to be harder on the parent than anyone else. If OP has decided it’s worth it then respect her decision.

Barring medical emergency, all of these reasons can be accomplished by splitting the flight into segments with good breaks in between to leave the airport. Keeping a mobile 18 mo on a plane for the better part of 24 hours is cruel. And no, I don't think it's worse for mom than toddler.

OP, break up your flight with layovers that let you go to a park and a hotel.

[Anonymous]

Fly business or first class. Did that with a 14 mo old on a 24 hour flight and it was more comfortable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fly business or first class. Did that with a 14 mo old on a 24 hour flight and it was more comfortable.

Why not fly on a private plane? One with a full queen bed and a seperate bedroom. It is fabulous. You can fit in a dedicated airhostess or two and a nanny too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you subjecting your child to this?

There is literally NOTHING on planet earth that would make me take an 18 month old on a 24 hour airplane trip. Literally nothing.

This is amazing advice, thank you so much. I'm sure OP is flying back and forth to Disney land 3x for fun

Look I have three kids. Please tell me what is important enough to subject an 18 month old to this for? I can think of one scenario only: her parent is dying and she literally has no one to leave the child with- not another parent, not a friend, not a nanny. OP is this the case? If so you get a pass. Otherwise? This is cruel and borderline insane.

Military orders, foreign service family moving, child or parent needs medical care not available in the home country . . .

This is going to be harder on the parent than anyone else. If OP has decided it’s worth it then respect her decision.

Barring medical emergency, all of these reasons can be accomplished by splitting the flight into segments with good breaks in between to leave the airport. Keeping a mobile 18 mo on a plane for the better part of 24 hours is cruel. And no, I don't think it's worse for mom than toddler.

OP, break up your flight with layovers that let you go to a park and a hotel.

Thanks breaking once. OP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP,
Don't listen to the harpies on DCUM. Many of us are immigrants and we want to remain connected to our families.

I took my kid to India at 18months to visit family and I used baby Benadryl on my pediatrician's recommendation.

My baby slept through the flight. Also, make sure that the baby is nursing or drinking milk too to not be dehyderated. Use Ayr moisturizing nasal gel too.

Thank you, I was going to use Vaseline to keep her nose from drying out. Luckily we are flying overnight so hoping she will be sleeping for the majority of the time we are in the air. Packing plenty of milks and all her fav snacks