Air Travel w Young Toddler

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
We go to Europe and Asia to see our parents. Our toddler son liked to run up and down one aisle of the two-aisle plane, and our toddler daughter liked to stand on my lap and look at the people behind me. No crying except during landing and take-off because of ear pressure. No particular issues at our destinations either, with the caveat that my daughter woke up several times a night every night when she was little, whether she was home or away from home - so we were our "usual" sleep-deprived selves. Even now, 10 years later, she still wakes up very early, but at least doesn't bother us.

I just want you to know, OP, that when I hear a little one crying non-stop on a flight, I have nothing but compassion for the baby and family. I know you're doing everything you can and it's not your fault. Some kids are like that.

This is obnoxious, don't do this.

This is even worse

and our toddler daughter liked to stand on my lap and look at the people behind me

It's better than screams. You can't physically restrain a 1yo and they don't give a crap about cartoons or whatever fun toys you bring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
We go to Europe and Asia to see our parents. Our toddler son liked to run up and down one aisle of the two-aisle plane, and our toddler daughter liked to stand on my lap and look at the people behind me. No crying except during landing and take-off because of ear pressure. No particular issues at our destinations either, with the caveat that my daughter woke up several times a night every night when she was little, whether she was home or away from home - so we were our "usual" sleep-deprived selves. Even now, 10 years later, she still wakes up very early, but at least doesn't bother us.

I just want you to know, OP, that when I hear a little one crying non-stop on a flight, I have nothing but compassion for the baby and family. I know you're doing everything you can and it's not your fault. Some kids are like that.

This is obnoxious, don't do this.

This is even worse

and our toddler daughter liked to stand on my lap and look at the people behind me

It's better than screams. You can't physically restrain a 1yo and they don't give a crap about cartoons or whatever fun toys you bring.

You can, of course, physically restrain a 1 year old. That's what carseats are for, but even otherwise, you can in fact hold a 1 year old.

How has your kid not been run over by a car yet?

[Anonymous]

That is definitely the hardest age for air travel! I found it much easier by about 18 months. Bring lots of snacks so they don't get hungry, especially if you have any delays. I found new toys helpful. Pull out new things to distract them (but nothing that makes noise or that they will bang on the seats/windows, etc). Try short songs/videos. Mine weren't really into videos at that age, but liked music and a short video (on repeat) might capture their attention for a bit. Pacifier (if they take one). Getting a seat for baby so that you have extra space for them to move around and don't end up with a seat neighbor that you are worried about annoying. And go into it with the mindset that you will spend the entire flight trying to engage/entertain your kid. And I think it's totally fine to walk the kid up and down the aisle a few times (especially as an alternative to them screaming).

[Anonymous]

Also, check out BusyToddler for "Tabie" activity ideas and utilize anything that might be feasible to do on a plane. Stickers, tape, wrap toys so it's a game to see what is inside, etc.

[Anonymous]

How long of a flight do you have? Honestly, at that age even a month difference may be a completely different kid on the plane so I wouldn't necessarily cancel all future flights. Can you fly at night when maybe DC will sleep?

Melissa and Doug reusable stickers worked well for us - daughter could put them all over the window and take them down. The screen wouldn't hold her attention for long even at 18 months but we tried - she enjoyed watching it for at least 5-10 min but refused to wear headphones, didn't make a difference in her attention span. We would also read books. Start with low key - what you would do at home, and then up the ante as attention span is lessening - new toys, screen time, etc.

Kids love pictures/videos of themselves - so if not a show, just show pics/videos of DC on your iphone over and over again. I swear, this will entertain my daughter forever.


The sleeping in a new place part sucks - we went to a hotel over inauguration and I just had to lie in the room for an hour to get my daughter to nap and fall asleep at night. I've heard you can try getting them used to sleeping in a pack n play at home for a few nights first so its a familiar place, but to me that just messes up more nights of sleep. And depending on her age, DC has been absolutely fine going down somewhere new or has required us to sit with her - it has gone back and forth so hard to guess in advance which it will be.

[Anonymous]

I flew with DD as a lapchild when she was 19 months and it was also a disaster with her not wanting to sit in one place for 2 hours. My husband and I agreed that the next time, we will definitely make sure she has her own seat to strap her in (like she is in the car, and she doesn't have a problem in the car).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
We go to Europe and Asia to see our parents. Our toddler son liked to run up and down one aisle of the two-aisle plane, and our toddler daughter liked to stand on my lap and look at the people behind me. No crying except during landing and take-off because of ear pressure. No particular issues at our destinations either, with the caveat that my daughter woke up several times a night every night when she was little, whether she was home or away from home - so we were our "usual" sleep-deprived selves. Even now, 10 years later, she still wakes up very early, but at least doesn't bother us.

I just want you to know, OP, that when I hear a little one crying non-stop on a flight, I have nothing but compassion for the baby and family. I know you're doing everything you can and it's not your fault. Some kids are like that.

This is obnoxious, don't do this.

This is even worse

and our toddler daughter liked to stand on my lap and look at the people behind me

It's better than screams. You can't physically restrain a 1yo and they don't give a crap about cartoons or whatever fun toys you bring.

You can, of course, physically restrain a 1 year old. That's what carseats are for, but even otherwise, you can in fact hold a 1 year old.

How has your kid not been run over by a car yet?

Oh stop. I’d rather have a kid walking up and down the aisle than it screaming because it wants out of the car seat - which is 100% what would happen for most 1 year olds.

[Anonymous]

Coscoscenera Deluxe for a car seat.

[Anonymous]

Yeah our kids were terrors on planes from 15 months- 24 months. And then it got SO MUCH BETTER. We don't do screen time, but on airplanes we doled out ipads loaded with Disney movies and they don't move a muscle, even on overnight flights. My youngest just didn't watch ipads until 24 months and nothing would keep him still or silent. We went on one 17 hour flight when he was 18 months old and I wanted to crawl in a hole and die. I tried EVERYTHING to get him to sleep- melatonin, benadryl and nonstop nursing. It was an awful night.

[Anonymous]

Go if you must

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah our kids were terrors on planes from 15 months- 24 months. And then it got SO MUCH BETTER. We don't do screen time, but on airplanes we doled out ipads loaded with Disney movies and they don't move a muscle, even on overnight flights. My youngest just didn't watch ipads until 24 months and nothing would keep him still or silent. We went on one 17 hour flight when he was 18 months old and I wanted to crawl in a hole and die. I tried EVERYTHING to get him to sleep- melatonin, benadryl and nonstop nursing. It was an awful night.

When I asked my ped what she recommended to make the flight bearable she said "Benadryl". She said to think of it as medicine they need, to sleep. My kids already had experience with it though due to allergies so just make sure you have tested it beforehand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
We go to Europe and Asia to see our parents. Our toddler son liked to run up and down one aisle of the two-aisle plane, and our toddler daughter liked to stand on my lap and look at the people behind me. No crying except during landing and take-off because of ear pressure. No particular issues at our destinations either, with the caveat that my daughter woke up several times a night every night when she was little, whether she was home or away from home - so we were our "usual" sleep-deprived selves. Even now, 10 years later, she still wakes up very early, but at least doesn't bother us.

I just want you to know, OP, that when I hear a little one crying non-stop on a flight, I have nothing but compassion for the baby and family. I know you're doing everything you can and it's not your fault. Some kids are like that.

This is obnoxious, don't do this.

This is even worse

and our toddler daughter liked to stand on my lap and look at the people behind me

It's better than screams. You can't physically restrain a 1yo and they don't give a crap about cartoons or whatever fun toys you bring.

You can, of course, physically restrain a 1 year old. That's what carseats are for, but even otherwise, you can in fact hold a 1 year old.

How has your kid not been run over by a car yet?

Oh stop. I’d rather have a kid walking up and down the aisle than it screaming because it wants out of the car seat - which is 100% what would happen for most 1 year olds.

Does your child scream in the car nonstop? My kid, by 1, had learned that screaming in the carseat just doesn't work. They aren't smart enough to know that they're on something totally different, so they might do some crying, but they don't scream nonstop on the plane because it's the same.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, I've also realized that the 12-24 month ages or so are just the worst ages for travel, so I'm only doing it if I have to (like for a funeral or something), and am prepared for the whole thing to be an unmitigated disaster. This includes both plane rides and long car rides. Vacations can wait until they're older (or be closer) and people who want to see us can come to us. It's just not worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah our kids were terrors on planes from 15 months- 24 months. And then it got SO MUCH BETTER. We don't do screen time, but on airplanes we doled out ipads loaded with Disney movies and they don't move a muscle, even on overnight flights. My youngest just didn't watch ipads until 24 months and nothing would keep him still or silent. We went on one 17 hour flight when he was 18 months old and I wanted to crawl in a hole and die. I tried EVERYTHING to get him to sleep- melatonin, benadryl and nonstop nursing. It was an awful night.

When I asked my ped what she recommended to make the flight bearable she said "Benadryl". She said to think of it as medicine they need, to sleep. My kids already had experience with it though due to allergies so just make sure you have tested it beforehand.

Yeah, beware the Benadryl. We have to do it here occasionally for allergies, and it makes one of my girls VERY hyper. You don’t want to find that out the hard way on a plane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my experience, this is a phase. Travel was a HUGE challenge between about 10mo and 2yo.
Sorry. Probably not what you wanted to hear.

Honestly this is fine if it is a phase, and helpful knowing other ppl just don’t fly with kids that age? Because I definitely felt like “that family” and don’t remember being on too many flights with a kid that whiny. We definitely got all the looks and I felt terrible. So I feel more perplexed than anything if there is a larger issue at play.

Had tons of snacks and new toys, not her own seat, though I don’t know how that would’ve helped because sitting still no matter where it was just wasn’t gonna happen.

You will NEVER see those people again. Keep repeating that to yourself.