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

[Anonymous]

Agree with the PPs who say this is the toughest age to fly, but I’ve done long flights with each of my kids around this age (international moves for work) and it is doable. Recommend buying some small toys that they haven’t seen before. Wrap them in wrapping paper if you think that will help capture their interest. Have lots of small baggies or containers of snacks, especially hydrating snacks like cut-up blueberries or grapes or orange sections. Painters tape or washi tape can be fun. See if you can score any pieces of an age-appropriate Lovevery box — those toys really do seem to keep kids busy when you give them at the right time.

Above all remember that no flight lasts forever - you will get through it!

[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.

Honestly, as someone who flew every summer back home with kids since they were born, splitting flights and staying in some hotel or airbnb or walking exhausted in a park, is not my idea of making travel with a toddler easier.

It’s adding significant complication and delay to an already long itinerary. The last thing I would have wanted to do is stay overnight (requiring more food / snacks for toddler, more supplies, more of everything) on my own, in a country I don’t know, adding passport control / security on way out and back in to catch the next flight, plus the risk of getting a fever or something while in a foreign country.

It’s easier to do this sort of stop over with an infant under 6 months, who’s breastfed, or an older child than a child who’s 18 months.

As hard as 24 hour flight with connection is, I imagine especially if op is flying alone, it’s way simpler than adding a stop over at connection.

[Anonymous]

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.

I have no idea, I haven't done it myself, but I have enough awareness that people lead different lives from me. So if you can't stay on topic, post somewhere else. Or get a life.

[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.

I have no idea, I haven't done it myself, but I have enough awareness that people lead different lives from me. So if you can't stay on topic, post somewhere else. Or get a life.

On topic? She asked what would make it easier. Nothing will make this easier because it is frankly cruel. I promise OP is going on an exotic vacation for social media. Sorry but posting an asinine idea like this on a public forum is going to get honest answers. If you don't like it don't read it, don't post about it. The only person I feel bad for in this situation is this poor child. Notice a lot of veteran moms chiming in to say the same thing.

[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.

I have no idea, I haven't done it myself, but I have enough awareness that people lead different lives from me. So if you can't stay on topic, post somewhere else. Or get a life.

On topic? She asked what would make it easier. Nothing will make this easier because it is frankly cruel. I promise OP is going on an exotic vacation for social media. Sorry but posting an asinine idea like this on a public forum is going to get honest answers. If you don't like it don't read it, don't post about it. The only person I feel bad for in this situation is this poor child. Notice a lot of veteran moms chiming in to say the same thing.

Really? I feel bad for all the other passengers sitting around them. Especially if there is a passenger sharing the row.

[Anonymous]

OP, get some new stuff, like sticker books and water paint books, and bring one out at intervals when your child is getting tired of playing with the same old toys.

[Anonymous]

I am in the foreign service and was posted in Asia. I had a baby while there. Should I have left the baby there because it was cruel to bring her home on the 27 hour flight?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am in the foreign service and was posted in Asia. I had a baby while there. Should I have left the baby there because it was cruel to bring her home on the 27 hour flight?

Why were you required to take a 27 hour fight?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am in the foreign service and was posted in Asia. I had a baby while there. Should I have left the baby there because it was cruel to bring her home on the 27 hour flight?

Why were you required to take a 27 hour fight?

I'm not the pp, but presumably because her work assignment had ended so she was moving back to the US

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am in the foreign service and was posted in Asia. I had a baby while there. Should I have left the baby there because it was cruel to bring her home on the 27 hour flight?

My, my, aren't you a bit too touchy! You posted on DCUM asking for advice and you have four pages. If this was your first time posting then this was a baptism of fire. The obvious question is why you can't break up a 27 hour flight. Frankly, I feel sorry for the other passengers because they are going to be on the flight from Hell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am in the foreign service and was posted in Asia. I had a baby while there. Should I have left the baby there because it was cruel to bring her home on the 27 hour flight?

My, my, aren't you a bit too touchy! You posted on DCUM asking for advice and you have four pages. If this was your first time posting then this was a baptism of fire. The obvious question is why you can't break up a 27 hour flight. Frankly, I feel sorry for the other passengers because they are going to be on the flight from Hell.

I don't think the person you are responding to (the foreign service person) is the OP. The foreign service poster says a 27 hour flight and the OP says a 24 hour one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am in the foreign service and was posted in Asia. I had a baby while there. Should I have left the baby there because it was cruel to bring her home on the 27 hour flight?

[Anonymous]

The target $5 section or the dollar store are good for little things to entertain: stickers, post-it notes, pencil case-sized box of snacks.

[Anonymous]

I've done 20 hour trips with 15 months and 20 months. It was fine. We've also done similarly long trips at younger and older ages with only one bad experience. A lot of international families make it work.

Does your child like tv? Find out now and make sure you have access to favorite shows. What's available on the plane might not be what keeps your child's attention. Also, books are toys are good, but they're not going to help much on such a long flight. Be prepared to turn on the screens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've done 20 hour trips with 15 months and 20 months. It was fine. We've also done similarly long trips at younger and older ages with only one bad experience. A lot of international families make it work.

Does your child like tv? Find out now and make sure you have access to favorite shows. What's available on the plane might not be what keeps your child's attention. Also, books are toys are good, but they're not going to help much on such a long flight. Be prepared to turn on the screens.

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Yes, if needed we will do all the screen time needed. Thanks