Snacks for 18 month old on plane

[ChateauProvence]

We are going away soon with our 18 month old - 7 hour flight - she’s doesn’t have a seat so won’t have a meal so I need to take snacks ideally that don’t need to stay cool. She is gluten free - does anyone have any ideas please? At the moment I have banana, apple, orange, yoghurt pouch

thanks!

I’d reconsider her not having a seat, we didn’t book a seat for our daughter once (she was just under 2 at the time) and it would have been a nightmare had there not coincidentally been a free seat next to my partner which we used after take off. I certainly wouldn’t want a child squishing me for the entirety of a 7 hour flight.

I flew with DS when he was 19 months, he didn’t have a seat either. Luckily it was just a 2hr flight. It was. Nightmare, no space, wriggly child, no space and also NO SPACE. Packet snacks work well

Nothing with nuts incase they annojnce someone on board with nut allergy.

i would use a cool pack if you are worried about time out of fridge as this opens up so many options and doesn’t need to be very large or heavy and you can reuse it on the way back if you have a freezer where you are staying (If you are in a hotel they might freeze it for you?)
crunchy veg (carrots/cucumber) cut into sticks with hummus ( small pot)
sandwiches (use gluten free bread)
yoghurt
fruit squeezy tube
satsumas/ bananas
small boxes of raisins - great as they take ages to eat
cheese ( babybel or cheese string stick)
breadsticks
crackers
some treats like Pom bears or choc biscuits - it’s nice to offer a treat for good behavior!
eat the stuff first that ‘goes off’
also the cabin staff will come round with snacks for you so ask if they can provide any for your child - also they may have a leftover meal that would provide something that she likes - you can always ask and if they say no then you have your options that you brought with you
alternatively have a big meal in the airport just before you get on the plane and that will hold her for a few hours

my girls loved Cheerios threaded on an elastic to make a necklace. took them ages to eat them, reminded me of the sweetie bracelets we used to get as kids.

do they do a GF version?

Have a big proper meal in the airport first. Then I’d go with pom bears, cheese string/baby bel, gluten free bread sticks, cereal bar. Take it from my bitter experience- do not be tempted to go overboard on the fruit, yoghurt, smoothie pouches etc. as that can lead to tummy issues which are quite common anyway for little ones on flights.

Also, unless the airline is BA and you can get that awesome toddler bassinet seat then honestly reconsider the lap infant booking. 18 months old and 7 hours will not be comfortable.

Snacks on a plane? I think I saw this movie.

Motherfucking snacks on a motherfucking plane.

Two tips:

Put the dry snacks into a fishing tackle box so she can use fine motor skills to retrieve each one.

Get a seat for her.

Agree with all others - for a flight that length you must get her a seat if you possibly still can. Otherwise, you and your DH (I’m assuming you are two parents travelling together) will have to take turns standing up the back by the loo queues while your DC uses your seat all the time the seatbelt sign is switched off. Ideally take kindles so you can easily read while doing this, irrespective of light levels and without having to hold a book up to eye level for hours at a time. (My DH and I have done this on long haul flights so that our toddler could nap across two seats - his own and one of ours).

Re food, try to stick to food that won’t make a huge mess if it spills, so ideally all dry stuff, eg cheese sandwiches, marmite sandwiches, dry crackers (but realise you’ll be covered in crumbs), breadsticks, dried fruit (but not so much DC needs the loo constantly from all the fibre), rice crackers, babybel cheeses. Be very aware not to let your DC eat way too much though - several times I made the mistake of letting my toddler DC snack constantly on flights because they were bored and eating kept them occupied, only to have them then throw up either on the flight or in the car ride from the airport.

Remember to pack a complete change of clothes in your carry on for both your DC and you, so that if your DC spills stuff or throws up over you, you can change. And keep the vomit bag within arms reach at all times. I’ve flown London / Sydney many times with my DC and my DH now rates airlines by how well they cope with vomiting children (not just ours, it’s common on long haul flights). Qantas staff get top marks; Emirates staff bottom marks.

too late to book a seat now as flight is full but we are going business so if I bring a cool bag I suppose I could actually take some bits from the lounge . Great ideas on here for the dry stuff so I will pack all of those and then take some cheese/ ham etc from lounge . Hopefully emirates business seat will mean we have a bit more room and if she falls asleep I can go and sit in the bar while her dad watches her 😂

Could you book a GF meal on the flight for yourself and feed that to dc, then just buy yourself a sandwich in WH Smith’s before you board the plane?

Oh yeah business will be fine, plenty of room for you both!

Rice cakes - Sainsbury’s do yoghurt covered rice cakes in individual bags.

Avocado, cooked carrot sticks, boiled egg, babybel, gluten free sandwich.

My tip isn't to do with food but to do with landing...make sure she's a bit thirsty so when the plane descends she drinks loads to stop her eardrums hurting. I saw an airsteward also give a baby Tiger Balm when it started screaming from airpressure. Not sure why that worked but it did!