long Plane Journey with toddler help...

[milehighmonkeys]

A car seat is the only way to go for us. DD knows that if she's strapped in her car seat that there's no running around. Bring LOTS of activities. (Looks like a PP said this, but) I have a friend who took some of their kids' toys and wrapped them like presents. Even though the toy wasn't new, it was fun to open them up. We also have a travel DVD player. We've got some episodes of Between the Lions that DD loves. We only pull it out as a last resort.

Don't forget to bring plenty of snacks and drinks. We were on a flight recently that didn't have milk or apple juice. Go figure. Make sure they are eating or drinking during the ascent and descent to help clear their ears. When DD (also 2 1/2) refuses anything to eat or drink, she can't resist Yogos and they're pretty chewing. They're pretty sweet, too, but it's a tradeoff. I'd rather have that than her screaming in pain from the pressure.

DD also loves dry erase. You can get a travel size one. She often wants me to draw for her while she erases. Keeps her occupied for quite a while. This is actually one of our standby tricks while eating out. She's able to wait more patiently for our food to come if she's occupied.

[uk2usa]

Originally Posted by ultconsumer We also have a travel DVD player. We've got some episodes of Between the Lions that DD loves. We only pull it out as a last resort.

We were going to bring our lap top and play movies on that, but I realized that Virgin has individual TV screens with kiddy shows...

I also just bought a leappad from ebay, so hopefully that'll help too...

Thanks for your suggestions...I'll be using most of them

[little*sprouts*garden]

I second (or third,lol) the wrapping small toys suggestion. I have done LOTS of traveling before and I would go to the dollar store and buy a bunch of toys and gadgets from there and wrap those up...that way I didn't have to spend a fortune to get the toys and my heart wasn't broken if we lost them.

The small packs of mini-playdough are AWESOME!! Target sells some that have a "built in" tool on the mini playdough container for about a dollar...that worked AWESOME for us!!

Also, crayons and coloring books are super! (buy a pack of the "twist up" kind of crayon...they don't break in half if your little one colors too hard).

On long car trips we used to like to take a cookie sheet with letter or number magnets and that was a HUGE hit.

Also, my son used to have some favorite "kid" music he liked to listen to so we would bring a walkman for him to listen to his music on.

Good luck momma!! Have a GREAT trip!!

[uk2usa]

Originally Posted by ultconsumer A car seat is the only way to go for us. DD knows that if she's strapped in her car seat that there's no running around.

Our car seat is FAA approved, but Virgin Atlantic provides their own seats for toddlers and doesn't allow us to bring our own...

I'm all set for our trip. I bought a large ring binder and plastic velcro pockets that I'm filling with various activities: colouring pages, matching game, lacing cards, twistable crayons, jigsaw puzzles etc...

I have high hopes for this trip, but I have to expect the worst...

Wish me luck.
Thanks for your help

[uk2usa]

I'm definitely going to the dollar store this weekend too...

[LuAnn]

Ds is 22m now and he loves his doodle thingy (like an etch a sketch--can't think of the name) touch/feel books, coloring/drawing, toy cell phone, we have a dollar store chalk board and he loves that too...
Ill post more if I can think of more

[Namaste]

Can you bring a portable DVD player. They are great for this sort of thing. I travel between California and Boston several times a year and I never look forward to it.

Hugs!

[uk2usa]

Originally Posted by SusanSmiles Can you bring a portable DVD player. They are great for this sort of thing. I travel between California and Boston several times a year and I never look forward to it. Hugs!

We're flying Virgin and they have individual tv screens for each seat. They usually have a good choice of kiddy shows. I might bring some DVD's anyway, b/c first class pasengers get portable DVD players-we're certainly not flying first class, but they might be nice enough to let us have one if I ask nicely...

More suggestions are welcome. I plan to fill the plastic folders as much as I can...

[uk2usa]

Originally Posted by LuAnn Ds is 22m now and he loves his doodle thingy (like an etch a sketch--can't think of the name) touch/feel books, coloring/drawing, toy cell phone, we have a dollar store chalk board and he loves that too... Ill post more if I can think of more

magna doodle? that's a good idea. We have a mini doodle that would work.

Making a list. Checking it twice.

[wagaboodleMuM]

I just traveled across the states (not as far, I realize) with a 2.5 year old and a 4 month old. We had 3 flights and had to go through security at two of our stops. Here is the advice I received from a missionary mom from Africa who traveled with her little ones for years:

1- this is a time to let some of the normal rules be more relaxed. You just want to keep your toddler happy. If a few more snacks or something fun is more agreeable then that is OK for one day.

2- we wrapped up some small things whether it was a toy or snack to open at different intervals on the trip so they had something to look forward to. Sometimes it helped to have some leverage for better discipline also. (This worked great for us. We normally don't use this type of thing for disciplinary leverage, but it was a special day for all of us. I'd also like to note that you may not be able to use normal wrapping paper. I didn't even try. I just went to the wrapping paper aisle at Target and bought cellophane bags, so they were partly see-through.)

3- feel free to ask flight attendants for help when you need it. they usually are very willing to help. You don't usually ask strangers to help but in the event that you need to lift bags overhead or someone to help make faces at your child from the next row, go for it! Since you can't take drinks with you on the plane feel free to ask for a drink for your toddler at anytime to help, not just when they are serving drinks. make sure you have your own snacks for him to eat. (At one of our trips through security, the official reminded me that it's ok to have beverages for the kids. If you need to bring along a few sample packs of formula to make your water stash believable, go for it!)

4- don't bring toys with small pieces that can get lost on the plane if they fall off the seat or tray. FYI- Hot Wheels
cars on the floor of the plane can travel well with take offs and landings!


I would also say regarding quiet toys for your younger child, don't worry about noise. Playing noise is much better than crying, and planes are very loud with engine noise, so very few rows will hear your child anyway.