Long haul with a two year old - is it worth it?

[Yika]

I'm considering visiting the US for 10 or 12 days in the autumn to see some friends (flying in to Montreal, travelling down into New York State and then on to Maine). My DD will be just 2. She's only flown once before - a short hop from the UK to Ireland so I'm not sure how well she would handle it. How easy is it to fly this far with a little one? NB I'd be travelling alone with her as I'm a single mum. Would I do better to wait another year? The longest trip she's ever done is an 8 hour drive with 2 stops of an hour or two (I did not enjoy it and nor did she).

Any thoughts/advice/experience?

I think it depends on the child. I wouldn't have taken ds anywhere as he it would have been hellish. We started to travel more when he was 5 and is very easy now he can watch a dvd

However I have friends who have always taken their kids away and find it a breeze.

I think the jetlag can hit kids pretty badly and it can take time to adjust. Have travelled as a nanny and it was bit of a nightmare with little ones.

I'm sure lots of people will be along to say how easy it is.

I've been doing it with my kids since they were both newborns (out of necessity as my family live 3000 miles away). I would say if it's a trip you really want to take then just do it, it may or may not be any easier in a year. It will certainly be easier in 4 or 5 years but who knows if you want to wait that long (mine are now 9 & 11 and it's a breeze!). If you decide to do it I can offer tips on dealing with the jetlag - I'm positively an expert on that now!

Watching tentatively. Not quite long haul but we're taking 18mo dd to Egypt in November which I've heard can be up to a 6 hour flight on the way back, depending on wind direction.

Hoping to steal some tips!

Thanks for your thoughts. It's certainly not a must-do trip - they are not relatives or anything - but I'd like to do it at some point. On the other hand waiting 3-4 years seems a bit long.

I'm wondering if I should try out a medium-length trip first (e.g. to Egypt!!).

My DD is not particularly difficult but she is lively, and I would still need to take a travel pushchair I think for longer walks.

We took dd long haul at 2.5. She was totally fine. Do some entertainment planning though - pit a bag together of toys for the plane that don't involve small things that fall on the floor!

DD's first flight was long-haul at 21 months. It went well, so well we did it again when she was 2.5. We're doing it yet again when she is 3.7.

I think in some ways it is easier because long-haul flights have a lot going on. There is always food coming round, films to watch, toilet trips to take. I took loads of stuff to entertain her but she was most enamoured by the tv control and playing phones with it.

My advice would be to do it, and to take children's magazines (lots of stickers to enjoy), snacks, and various "presents" to unwrap (I just collected cheap crap like crayons, cars, dollies etc in the weeks beforehand).

My top tip would be to put one of the disposable change mats on her seat. I found this invaluable on the one flight she was sick on (too much ice cream before the flight) but I had put it on just in case there was turbulence and we couldn't get to the toilet in time, although thankfully this has never been a problem.

Great tips, thanks!