LONG haul flight with 22 m.o boy/Retaining everyone's sanity

[Anonymous]

Ok, so, I've read the posts. And they've all been helpful. But here's the deal -

1. My husband and I will be traveling to Asia with our fairly active son this fall. He can sit still if he's being read to, but is generally a pretty squirmy little guy.
2. He's flown twice before - at 5 months and again, at 11 months and he handled the flights ok. The longest of these flights was 2 hours, AND, most importantly, he was not crawling or walking yet.
3. The new flight will be 7 to 8 hours to Europe, a 3-4 hour layover in Europe, followed by another 7-8 hours. (And, the same deal on the trip back, of course!)
4. We may have the option of one business class seat and one coach seat. Or three coach seats. (Which is better?)

Any tips, tricks or advice would be much appreciated as I plan for this.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

First of all, you MUST get 3 seats. He is practically old enough to have one required, and you will be crazy with a 22 month old on your lap for 16 hours. That is true insanity. At that age, he will be much better if you take his carseat on board, even though it's not required. He will sit more comfortably, be able to rest his head to sleep, etc. In a regular seat he can't get comfy, and he'll be undoing the buckle and running around.

After that, go with the tips you've seen already. Pack snacks and drinks. Buy a few new books and random toys. If he still uses a pacifier, bring a few on the plane - (he'll throw them, but they soothe to sleep). Have extra clothes for all of you so a spilled drink doesn't turn into sticky pants for 12 hours.

Good luck! HOpefully he'll sleep the whole time

[Anonymous]

If you allow him to watch TV/movies, and he likes it, bring a portable DVD player.

[Anonymous]

I've done trips before with my very active toddlers (one at a time, not all together) and haven't bought an extra seat. I never regretted it. Most of the time, I just walked my kids around the plane except when they were required to sit in their seats. There was so much for them to do and see. Mine never even played with the toys I carried on. The one thing that I found to be a lifesaver was to bring all of the food I expected to feed my kids.

[Anonymous]

I haven't had to do this yet, but a good friend had to fly to Europe with her then 20mo and 3-1/2yr olds last year. Assuming you'll have one of the "red eye" flights to Europe, she treated it like bedtime. Actually put the kids in their pajamas, did as much of a bedtime routine as possible after dinner (bedtime prayers, read a story), then "tucked them in". She said they both actually slept for a number of hours. fwiw, they did buy a seat for each child.

[Anonymous]

OP here - thank you all and keep them coming.
The extra seat idea is a good one - will look into it. Meanwhile, I'm not sure about the DVD player. He's 17 months now and couldn't be less interested in the TV - not sure what the next few months will bring, but this is where we are now. Lots of interest in cell phones, computers etc. though. At least one of the flights will be a red eye - but we will arrive at night. So, I'll have to figure out a way to finesse that.

[Anonymous]

Depending on what airline you use to fly to Asia, you won't need your own DVD player. Some (EVA Air for sure) have individual movie players at each seat. When I flew recently, there was something for everyone to watch (well not anything x-rated).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depending on what airline you use to fly to Asia, you won't need your own DVD player. Some (EVA Air for sure) have individual movie players at each seat. When I flew recently, there was something for everyone to watch (well not anything x-rated).

LOL re the X-Rated bit!

[Anonymous]

Not that I'm a big fan of TV, but the closer he gets to 2, the more he can actually FOCUS on TV and be interested in it. At 17 m, my DS couldn't care less, but he suddenly got an interest closer to 2. So yes, use the TV/DVD when possible. Also, try to get him to nap/sleep. I just got back from a Europe trip and trip home (9 hours) fell at the end of a naptime and the beginning of bed time. It gives you a few hours to rest yourself and then you don't have to think about it as a 20 hour flight in one block!

You can do it! Plenty of people do, and it is so worth it.

[Anonymous]

I recommend the extra seat. My legs went numb when my daughter fell asleep on my lap for 3 hours. She was way too big for the infant cots the airlines provided. Plan on lots of walks in the aisles. Get him interested in tv (ha! ha!). Bring lots of snacks and little dollar store toys.

[Anonymous]

I also agree to absolutely buy him a seat. Sure, others have traveled with toddlers on their laps -- but to ASIA?? It's far. He needs a seat and you need him to have a seat.

[Anonymous]

My pediatrician said that pediatric Dramamine makes very young children sleepy. I had some on hand just in case.

We had tried Benadryl on a previous trans-Atlantic flight and that didnt work; it jazzed up our toddler.

I believe we're probably in the small minority, but, we actually have one child who was so excited on his first overseas flight that he stayed awake all night long. really. After that we started experimenting with OTC meds.

[Anonymous]

We fly overseas often with our two toddlers and the key is to bring the carseat. If you have a layover in Europe you might want to purchase a go go kidz cart to pull the carseat. This way you can use the carseat as a stroller in the airport. You can strap them in and often they are more comfortable and sleep. We also put them in their PJ's right before we get on board and talk about how we will sleep because it is bedtime.
I have two very active little ones and they do fine on the flights. Our newest find is the Ipod. We download tv shows and then they can watch them. They are not normally into TV but this is a special treat and they both like to wear the ear phones. Stickers are also a great thing for the plane. I do not bring toys on board any more as they are never played with. I bring some fun snacks as well as some milk drink boxes.


It really is not that bad and your little one will surprise you how well he does traveling.

[Anonymous]

I flew solo with my 23 month old to Australia. She didn't watch tv, nor did she want to (and I tried). What worked for me: anything in multiples - toy cars, stacking boxes, pez dispensers, etc. She loved to sort and stack things and could do it for ages. She was too young for crayons, but she'd hold them and sort them into color piles; lots of new books; small photo books of recent trips/family faces, home, etc. Also, Definitely BUY HER A SEAT. No way would I have made it without having a designated seat to keep her in. Bring her PJs. Usually on long-haul flights, there is a long narrow space between the cabin and the bathrooms in the back. We played in this area as much as we could. And, most importantly, try, try, try not to stress too much about the noise she will inevitably make. I was so worried about disrupting everyone around me that I think she picked up on it. On the way home, I was too exhausted to care and she was an absolute doll. Slept for 10 hours straight! A Godsend. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I want to say that my 19 month old is absolutely NOT interested in watching TV. She prefers using the remote as a phone.

GET a 3rd seat unless your lucky to have a seat empty. We flew to Italy when my daughter was 12 months. We did not buy her a seat that time. we were lucky to get a third seat one way but not the other. It was very very hard without the seat hence we bought one when we went to asia when she was 14 months. She slept in her car seat for 7 hours of that 15 hour flight.


Also carry plenty of his favorite foods. And try to carry fruit. Constipation seems to be a big issue for my daughter.