How did you entertain them?
What did you do if they cried the whole way- did you feel horrible?
My son will be 10 months old when we fly and is very very active! He loves crawling,exploring and looking at people, so I dont think he will like being held for 2 hours! I was thinking I might just wear him out by walking around the airport and pointing out the planes before we board. Any other ideas?
NANNER
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I have flown with my now 3 year old many times, and it can be challenging, but it also might go smoother than you think. :-)
Yes, books, toys, snacks and drinks are a must! I would suggest getting a few new toys if you can because nothing entertains a child more than a toy they have never seen before. (or if you don't want to spend the $$, hide a few favorite toys several days before traveling so they will be 'new' again when you offer them on the plane)
Using link-a-doos or string or something to tie his toys to his car seat or whatnot is a good idea. I also suggest placing some blue painter's tape over the speakers of any loud toys you take, so as not to disturb the other passengers too much. It comes right off and won't harm the toy.
Definitely do get to the airport early to let him crawl around and whatnot before boarding.
Best of luck!
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We flew a few times with our 16 month old and we choose a later flight so that by that time our baby will be exhausted from all the walking, looking at strangers and looking at all the planes coming in that she would fall asleep as soon as we board or even before. All the times we flew we were lucky enough that she slept long enough and was well behaved. Our usual flights are only 1 hour and 30 minutes long and I still stress about it because I know if I were to be a passenger I wouldn't want to deal with a cranky loud baby that isn't consolable. You should know best what your son is most entertain too, bring whatever you need to keep him calm, good happy mood. They are at their best behavior when they are happy babies.
Anonymous
Two hours really isn't very long.
Wearing him out is an excellent idea. Also does he have a favourite food which is very slow to eat? At about that age my daughter once spent the best part of two hours chomping through a bread roll in the back of a car on a long journey (plus eating will help if he has difficulties with the pressure changes in his ears).
And a couple of new toys if you can manage it (don't even show them to him beforehand). Not so easy with a kid that young, because the best ones for that are the ones with lots of small pieces - they take longer to get bored with. We had a soft alphabet with a shape for each letter to go in its own pocket which all zipped up in a carry case - we kept it just for long car journeys, and it lasted as a great distraction until my youngest was about 5.
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oh man good luck with that. I don't even like being on an airplane for 2 hours. So really all you can do is bring every toy you can fit in a carry on. Also maybe you can get him to take a nap on the plane, but mostly all kids cry on planes. It just isn't fun.
Anonymous
My son was 23 months when i flew with him and it was horrible. he screamed the whole way, he wasn't interested in the couple of toys i brought him. he thought you could just walk off the plane whenver you wanted. he finally fell asleep for the last little bit. it was bad because we were sitting next to people and he screamed in their ear for over an hour. Some lady came up to me and asked me where his mother was, that made me mad. next time i'll be sure to bring more snacks and a portable DVD player