What's your most treasured bit of advice you were given re foreign travel with a 1year old?

[ElleOhElle]

If there's one bit of practical advice you stick to every time you travel please share it with me. I'm a bit nervous about travelling with a 14 month old in a few weeks and again in September when she'll be 18 months.
We're going to an all inclusive in Majorca for 1 week and then Turkey (own villa) for 2 weeks in September.
Thanks...

I've only flown with a toddler once. I found that lots of stickers, and lots of Pringles healthy snacks to keep them entertained on the plane helped.

My tip, don't fly with a 15mo when you are 6m pregnant. Have a lovely holiday

You will never see those people on the flight again.

That you will never see these people again in your life.

Stickers are great.

As are comics as they get crappy toy stickers favourite characters in stories plus take some pens and they can colour in all the pictures.

If old enough an ipad or iphone loaded with favourite tv shows/movies/games.

Have traveled alot with my 2, first holiday abroad when DS was 6wks. At 14 months they will pretty much be on the go all the time. My saving grace on the beach was a tiny paddling pool (one of those cheap 2 or 3 ring ones from the supermarket for under £5 are fab), we used to fill it with water and it saved them wandering to the waters edge every 10 seconds, in addition we even used it when we had a large balcony one year.
Make sure you pack talc, it is fantastic for removing sand from feet, hands and other places.

Make sure when taking off & landing they are sucking on a lolly (depending on age) or bottle to stop their ears popping.

Don't book speedy boarding for families. Board the plane last, and hope that there are only two seats together. Make your dh sit with your child. Sit by yourself at the other end of the plane and order a large gin and tonic.

splishyspolshy Love the paddling pool idea!
Clam just brilliant!

Definitely will take on board the fact I'll never see the other passengers again until they check into our hotel

If your child has a cuddly toy he/she can't sleep without: put it in your handluggage.

Plane: books, magazines, stickers and pen. Never anything noisy, it will drive YOU crazy. And no small pieces as the space is not big enough to bend down and recover.

Have at least one full spare outfit for your child and a top for you. Being plastered with sick and juice is not nice. Also bring enough nappies (if still in use) to cover a couple of hours delay.

You can't change a child in a plane toilet if it is older than 6 months. Change just before departure and hope there is no poo on its way.

Don't worry about routine, food and sleeping times. 2 weeks holiday won't kill your child if it lives differently.

get decent travel insurance - you never know when they'll get an ear infection, fall ovder and bump their heads, whatever

We had some little straps that you use to secure toys/rattles to a buggy, which we used with great effect on the aeroplane.

After all, who wants to be delving around on the floor of an aircraft trying to find a spit-encrusted toy that's been dropped for the 15th time? That's if you can even get down to floor level.

Stay in england

Go to your local charity shop and buy a selection of new (to you) toys, games, books, puzzles etc age appropriate. wrap them all in old christmas paper and then every hour on your journey get child to do a luck dip and then play with that toy. re-wrap on the way home they love trying to guess what it is. second getting good travel insurance and also dont get hung up about routines, giving them food etc. different cultures have very different ideas on what is suitable for a toddler to eat so just go with it.

Agree with boarding last

Most flights have pre booked seats any way

And if it's just you and child they aren't going to let a 2 year old sit by themselves! They will just get two solo travellers to move to make space

Saves whole planes sanity as they have had and extra 20 mins wandering time