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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP I had the same worry about flying with my newly-two year old.  She's not in daycare, she didn't see people in masks beforehand, she was terrible at keeping it on.  What we did was:

1. Start drilling for it now.  Any time you put a mask on, you say "we're going to Safeway. Safeway is an 'always mask' place, like the airport and airplanes!  Afterward we'll go to the park, a 'no mask' place!"  Lather, rinse, repeat, wherever you're going.  
2. Buy some distraction gadgets and bust them out on the plane.  These don't have to be high-tech (DD likes the water wow books) but they do have to have a shiny new vibe to keep the kid's attention.
3. Use a lounge at the airport if you have a long layover or are going to be at the airport for a while.  "Sometimes mask" places give you a chance for some breaks.
4. Window seat for sure, or in between parents if it's a three-seat row.
5. Make a genuine attempt to follow the rules and the flight attendants are 99% going to give you a pass if your kid is struggling.  If you just try to walk on in no mask and assume you're going to get leeway, you'll trigger the thing that turns some FAs into martinets.  And you won't get much sympathy from nearby passengers (or DCUMers, as you can see).
6.  Bring a water bottle and snacks for DS, if he's having a mask meltdown or being super non-compliant then you can just be "feeding" him the whole flight long.  Not ideal but every plan needs a plan B and a C behind it.

Getting your kid ready for the mask is your new job, and it's stressful.  But the good news is that after all of that stress and worrying that a kid who had never worn a mask before would never be able to hack it for hours at a time, DD was great on the plane and it was fine.  I hope it is for you too.[/quote]

OP here - thank you! This is really helpful![/quote]

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