To ask how to travel long haul with a one and two year old?

[Waiteflower]

Hi all,

Posting for traffic

We're looking to travel from the UK to Florida with a just turned one year old and an almost three year old so was wondering if you had any tips for the plane really as that's the part I'm dreading the most! We're hoping to get a direct flights but there's a potential they may be a lay over.

What are some really good tips for the plane as I want it to go as smooth as possible, I'm a bit paranoid about the kiddies disturbing everyone else around us.

I thought I'd ask here as they'll be bound to be something I didn't think of - I can't take them when they're older (not at the moment anyway) as this trip is mostly being paid for as it's a wider family holiday (very thankful) but it'll just be me, DH and two dc on the plane as we need to leave a couple of days later than everyone else.

Thank you

What @PoTayToes80 said.
I’ve been by myself on a long haul flight with a screaming toddler and it WAS to visit a dying relative.
@Pussycatpaws you’re not traveling by private jet, transport is for all the people who buy a ticket, whatever the reason.

I've said this before.

My tip is hire a nanny, put them in coach with the kids and you and DH go into business class.

Obviously that's not practical for everyone.

Phenergan works a treat.

I used to do this a fair bit as we were living in Asia until recently. Quite often I’d do it in my own. My mantra was “it will be hell and then it will be over.” Some flights were actually ok. Some of them were awful and I hated everybody by the time I got off. One particularly memorable one was when I had a broken foot and was in one of those ski boot things. 18mo Dd kicked off as she couldn’t sit in her own seat for take off and did that rigid thing on my lap and was kicking me in my broken leg while screaming blue murder. Dh was giving me helpful parenting tips from the row behind. We’ve had 10 years of counselling and it’s all fine now though 🤣

I've done Bali with two little ones and Australia with one (they're now 6 and 8). Top tips I can give is get everyone their own seat - pay for one if kids under 2. Trying to manage 4 people on 3 seats is rubbish. 4 seats will give you the full middle aisle. Long-haul trips are not the time to limit screen time or unhealthy snacks. Give them plenty to keep them occupied. And if you can fly at night then do that. When I flew out to Bali with 1 and 3 year old, they slept pretty much the whole way as it was through our night time.
And lastly, it's never as bad as you think it'll be. You will get through it!

Don't rely on the bassinet - when we flew with Virgin with my 11 month old they said he was too big and he wasn't a huge child - they have weight restrictions.

When we did fly 10 hours with the baby- we took away his fav toys about a week before we went and reintroduced them to him on the flight so they were like new.

He was crawling but we spent a lot of time crawling up and down the plane.

We are going to Florida with a 2 and 4 year old. I am preparing for not sitting down much.

Think about snacks for you and the children. Going back to having a baby on your lap - really hard to eat the inflight meal as you are juggling baby and food. You need to keep your energy levels up too

Paracetamol/ Neurofen in travel sized bottles. Been stuck with teething/ suddenly unwell kids on a plane before & learned this the hard way.

Plenty of changes of clothes and wet wipes, lots of snacks. Assume there will be nothing they want to eat on the place. Buy calpol from boots after security.

I would also buy the extra seat (try and get the middle 4 at the front of the plane, so they can play near your feet.)

BTW we've come back recently from Florida and everything was astronomically expensive when we were there, even food from the supermarket.

There's also a high chance that your 3 year old will be terrified of the characters at the theme parks (if you're going to Disney), try and show him some videos of them before you go.

Buy all four seats in the row
Take lots of different small snacks
Aqua doodle cards / water colouring books
Headphones if you are planning on using iPads for them - no one else wants to hear Peppa Pig
Familiar blanket
We used to let them sleep lying across their seat & us, annoying and uncomfortable but they slept. I have seen you can now buy inflatable things to make their seat into more a of a bed. Might be worth buying or looking on eBay.

Try and get a row of 4 together, even if it means paying an additional fee for the baby to have a seat. You'll be glad of the space. If your 1 year old likes their car seat, see if it's possible to take it on the plane. Some fit in the seats, some don't. But we flew with dd when she was 13 months, there is no way she would have sat on our laps for the whole flight, but happily sat in her car seat for an hour or so, then we'd get her out for an hour.

Get a kindle, load it up with cocomelon, peppa pig etc with some Bluetooth headphones. Even if it's only used in short bursts, my 3 year old loves hers on long journeys.

Check your terminal, but some have a small play area for little ones which is handy for wearing them out.

When boarding starts, one of you goes ahead with the bags. Set up the seats, gets the kindle, drinks, comfort toys, nappies, wipes all stored in the seat backs. Then the other one waits in the gate walking the kids round letting them have as along as they can. It can often take 40 mins to board a plane. If you are first on with the kids it's an extra 40 mins they are on the plane.

All the snacks.

Change of clothes in your hand luggage for everyone (a couple for the baby) just in case. And a couple of plastic bags for dirty clothes.

A few small 'new toys'. I've seen one on Instagram someone bought a roll of masking tape and stuck little strips on the back of the seat for their baby to peel off. It seemed to keep them entertained, wasn't messy or disruptive for others.

You have had some great advice. I would add, If they become unsettled don't look on indulgently and say "he/she is only two, they can't help it" as was said by a parent when I politely asked her to ask her little boy to stop kicking my seat.

Which brings me to my second ooint. Please make sure they don't kick the seat in front. There is nothing more rage inducing on a flight than having your seat kicked for several hours.

I'm not advocating performance parenting, but if other passengers can see that you placating an unruly child they might cut you some more slack.

I’m flying on Wednesday to New Zealand with my 2. Ages 3 and 5. I’m dreading the flight. Ds (5) will not sit on a chair properly. At dinner he frequently sits to one side or falls off his chair. He refuses to sit up properly on the couch.

dd (3) copies him.

they both kick the driver and passenger seats in the car when we drive.

I’ve booked seats where I can at the front of a row. So we don’t have to deal with kicking seats in front (which I know will be superbly annoying for whoever is there). Where I can’t book them I’ve booked a 2 and a 2 in front of each other. So at least if ds is kicking he’ll only be kicking either me or DH. He’s the kicker of the two.

other than that. Snacks. iPads/tablets. Bribery.

Try and get the bulkhead seat. No one to kick in front of you. If the younger is small enough, you can get a toddler seat in the bulkhead instead of a bassinet.

Get the older one (and maybe they younger one) used to headphones NOW. Get toddler ones, they are great. Headphones are non-negotiable on airplanes and if they're used to it, it's not a problem.

Lots of snacks and pound shop toys.

Triangle crayons or pencils.

Direct or a stopover in Europe. Don't change in America. It's not worth it. Dublin is brilliant because you do immigration before you're all exhausted.

I've been taking mine to the West Coast since they were weeks old. It's long, tiring, but with lots of prep, it doesn't have to be too bad.

Well this isn’t to visit a dying relative is it?🤨

It’s for a holiday the children are not even old enough to remember. I think if it’s a flight over 5 hours and it’s not necessary then it’s a selfish and entitled thing to do and cruel for young children.

Don’t do it. Wait till they are older ffs

So everyone had to deal with your children except the children’s actual parents … Nice 🙄

This is such bullshit. Both my kids have loved flying from a young age. Apart from a full feed puke incident when DC1 was 8 weeks old neither have been any trouble on a flight.

You’re forgetting the fact that most kids are much better behaved for a nanny than their own parents!

Please, whatever you do, don't let them watch peppa pig on full volume on a tablet.

Definitely take a sling in case your pushchair goes walkies.

Play airports before you go, explore two year old so they understand the security arches or gates.

Most of all... just remember you are unlikely to see any of the other passengers again if it isn't a package holiday!

I often had to do 8 hour flights with very little ones.
Take some simple food that you know they’ll like. In our case it was Marmite sandwiches.

Take spare clothes for them - you can guarantee that they’ll spill something down themselves or wet themselves/leak from a nappy.
Wear something that won’t matter when something’s spilt on it or one of them wees on you. (Touch wood no poonamis….)

When poss I chose night flights, took them to airport in PJs with fingers Xed.

Take some little toy (preferably new and hitherto unseen) to amuse and distract them. Something cheap and trashy will do - keep it for when you’re actually seated.

Crying can be down to trouble with their ears because of pressure change. Something to suck can help, bottle or dummy. (For adults, in case anyone doesn’t know, just hold your nose and blow hard - almost always works.)

If you can… buy one of those pushchairs that you can take in the cabin with you.
that way you can have little one in sling, big one in pushchair as you get off, hang bags from it etc. game changer.
get a kindle and headphones, but whatever they like watching on it. Let them watch however much they want.
snacks. So many more snacks than you may think you need. Fruit, sandwiches, raisins … ideally something little that they have to pick up one by one (but nothing with nuts).
sticker books
window stickers
dummies if the use them (at least 2 each)
change of clothes for all, and more than you think (leaky nappies, spilled drinks, vomiting… all seen it)
wetwipes… so many wetwipes
blankets, pillows

its doable, but won’t be much fun. At least there are two of you.

Sure they are 🤨

Don’t do it

I travelled long haul to Asia twice and we booked an overnight flight so toddler went to sleep a little later than usual but slept most of the night. What helped was that we had hired a Stokke JetKids bed box which turned her seat into a bed. It meant that toddler slept with her head on her seat and legs in the gap between the seat in front rather than sideways on either parent, which meant that we were also more comfortable.

Book a late flight if that’s an option and hope they both sleep for most of the journey.

Do not be afraid to give iPads or tablets even if you normally wouldn’t. Same for sweeties, juice boxes etc.

Snacks, a few new toys, just little bits like a pack of crayons, books and 9 piece jigsaws etc.

There will be a little screen in front of you so you can watch hours of Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol type entertainment.

This!!!