To not think flying with a 18month old will be that bad?

[Hadriansfall]

Am needing some guidance from parents who have experienced an 18 month old!

I am turning 30 next year and the plan has always been to go to the Bahamas for a couple of weeks to celebrate.

DD is our first and is currently a very well behaved baby, but as I don’t have a crystal ball I’m wondering if DH and I are crazy to think flying for 10 hours with her will be fine.

She has flown a few times already (one trip being more than 10 hours), but she slept for most of those flights so not a fair comparison.

AIBU to think an 18 month old won’t be a total nightmare to fly long distance with?

We can’t wait much longer to book as the hotel is already holding a room and has given a deadline to book of next week (they sell out quite far in advance so are lucky to have a hold!)

YABU - 18 month olds are usually awful flyers. Don’t do it

YANBU - should be fine

It will be fine. Ive been going back & forth to New Zealand (avg 24hrs flight time) for years with little ones and only once was it a nightmare and that was teething, so make sure you take paracetamol/neurofen travel size. If they want to toddle its usually fine, those big planes have plenty of room. And despite the unnecessary comments up thread my experience is people have always been kind and helpful.

We always travelled at night for long haul flights with toddlers. So much easier!

I've done four three hour flights with our toddler (at 18 months and 22 months). The first set of journeys was ok though he was on our laps for that one. We kept him distracted with food and books and on the return leg he fell asleep half way through. It wasn't a massively pleasant experience but didn't scream or cry.

The second set of journeys was an absolute dream as he had his own seat both ways. He was very happy to watch downloaded shows on the iPad and eat his lunch. Our boy is quite tall so it made a huge difference for him to have his own space.

Oh she will definitely have her own seat, am contemplating an upgrade to ensure she can lie down properly.

Thank you for the tips! Sweetcorn is a genius idea, she loves it already so that’s helpful!

Do a night flight and get bulkhead seats and you should be fine. We flew with 17 month old twins on a 10 hour flight and it really wasn't that bad at all. They both slept for quite a lot of it.

Blimey with her own seat it will be fine!! Do it.

17 month old twins! I am bowing through my screen - this gives me hope!

We have flown with a toddler honestly it's fine!
We got a amazon kids fire and downloaded multiple things, had a bag of new toys, sticker book, colouring book and only gave one or 2 new items an hour.
Also depends on the time of the flight we found evening flights much easier as they had already burnt beans off during the day.

We flew long haul with 19 month old twins. It was hard work but we had a wonderful time away with them and I would take the shit 10 hours for the reward of 2 lovely weeks away.

In terms of other passengers, I think it’s really important to visibly show that you are doing your best to minimise impact on them. I’ve only ever seen passengers get annoyed when the parents aren’t doing enough to placate their kids. Remember their tolerance level will be lower than yours.

I’ve done this a few time as we have family in Australia. Going to be honest 15 months - 2.5ish is the worst - they are mobile, give no sh*ts about rules or not upsetting other people and get hyper out of routine. Saying that I’ve done it multiple times and survived but it’s very stressful - but 2 adults and 1 18month old for 10 hours won’t be that bad - you can take turns to walk up and down/entertain her and rest. Lots of snacks, surprise toys, Peppa pig etc. I found pull ups a bit easier than nappies to manage on planes - good luck!

i don’t remember it being that long a flight to the Bahamas, more like 8 hours? There probably won’t be enough flights to be a night flight both ways, usually it’s on the return. If you can upgrade and get a bed that’s one sector sorted! 18 months is a difficult age as they want to toddle constantly. Be aware of where trolleys and galleys are, they’re very heavy and a loose toddler could easily hurt themselves. I’m not sure that the suggestion of bubbles and toys with bright flashes will be any better for other passengers than a crying toddler.

So parents should never take their kids away to experience new places simply because there’s a a possibility they’ll be upset?

If you can’t handle crying kids, you shouldn’t be on the plane, because that is a you problem.

Have you thought through how DD will fit into your actual holiday when you get there? At 18 months there is a load of faff feeding them solids so meals are not relaxing, and you'll have to be in bed all three of you by 7pm every evening. 18 month olds won't sleep soundly in a park in the corner in the same way a baby will.

Then there is the sun cream, the daytime napping, the faff with car seats in taxis if you go for a day out, the fact that the two adults can't be in the pool or the sea together at the same time. They don't get anything out of being abroad. You will have no sex even if you have a suite because she probably won't tolerate not being in the same room as you at night in a strange place. Honestly I found holidays abroad with a child that age really frustrating as it was a constant parade of "lovely things we could do if our child wasn't here".

The flight is the least of your problems.

It'll either be absolutely shit or it'll be fine and any points in between. There's no way to predict it. You can do your best with toys and snacks etc but she could just decide to be difficult.

The airline I took offered mid flight/between meal snacks of an ice cream or a pot noodle. I always chose the pot noodle. Eaten with chopsticks. Fishing out each noodle and dangling it toward your toddler who sits like a baby bird waiting for it to drop in his mouth is both hilarious and an excellent time killer.

Sadly, not all airlines offer it

I'd reduce the holiday to week and leave her with family.

Ds was absolutely fine and had been on a few long haul flights by the time he was 2

he was a very content placid baby which certainly helped but there was one flight when he was over tired that was more challenging

the most difficult part was having to have everything to hand (travelled on my own) with the extra hand luggage but we managed

he was so happy that the flight attendants carried him off for a while so I could eat in peace

I would have more concern about the 2 week holiday then the flight tbh. They age they are in to absolutely everything, I can't imagine it being the relaxing holiday you visualise!

That said lots of people take toddlers on holiday and it works just fine, I found holidays very difficult in those early years but not even one does.

I've travelled a lot with mine and I would say 18 months is possibly the worst time. They sleep less, just want to toddle but are not yet at an age where the screens can keep them distracted for long periods. If you can wait a bit longer until 2-ish they should be better at staying glued to TV!

Agree with those who said night flight if possible.

Recently flew a couple 2.5 hour flights with a 13 month old, the flights were timed around his bedtime and they went great, he fell asleep very quickly and we had to wake him on landing. Obviously they were short flights but I'm sure he'd have slept the whole way even if they were long flights.

We're going on a longer trip when he's 17 months, a 7 hour flight followed by a 4 hour hour flight. We paid a bit more for the night flights but I'm pretty confident he'll sleep for most of them.

I agree. OP I know you said the plan was alwas to go to the Bahamas for your 30th, but plans can change. I'm not saying you shouldn't go, but it's going to be a very different holiday to the one you have been thinking about for the last few years.

I recently sat behind a lady who had what looked like a 2 yr old (defo not 3) and a 1 yr old. She was a bit of a hero. Evidently rocking would keep them settled. I’d estimate she rocked for 8 out of 9 hours. None stop cartoons on the telly. She’d got some sort of massive blow up cushion that I think may have filled the seat gap/footwell so the kids could nap on it. The dad was sat across the aisle and did have them for meals, but that was about it.

Oh, another tip- the beach is easier than the pool at this age. Less chance of falling in the deep end, more space, less chance of unexpectedly slapping cold wet toddler hands on an unsuspecting sunbather. Softer when they fall over. More obstacle free space for pottering about. More demarcation between groups of people, better sight lines.

We lived abroad when DS was this age. You learn quite quickly.

@TerraNostra Important to remember that all kids are different. 😉 No doubt OP will be well aware of her own child's bedtime and feeding routine. We're just back from a holiday with ours and there is no faff feeding him, he sits in his highchair and feeds himself. He slept in his own room at 10pm every night and we had plenty sex. It was so good that we came home and immediately booked the next holiday for 4 months time!

I've flown with my 3 at many different ages and, without exception, around 18 months was the worst 😂 Nothing that meant the holiday wasn't worth it but they were at an age where they didn't want to sit still and were too young to be hypnotised by cartoons. This was pre iPads though.