Travelling 15 hours with a toddler

[frodoxjodo]

I just need some advice from any parents who have done this.

I'm a single mother of a 20 month old, we are meant to be travelling to Vietnam for a close family members wedding, we live in London. We are travelling from London to Doha, staying in Doha for a few hours and then back on the plane from Doha to Hanoi. All in all around 15 hours of flying.
Perhaps if I had a partner this would be easier but doing it myself could potentially be a task. (Other family members are travelling with us so we wouldn't be alone).
My toddler is very much at the stage of never wanting to sit still. The thought of travelling gives me a great deal of worry as I know how stressful and particularly hard this could be.
Basically I have to decide now if I'm going or not. I'm completely undecided because of course I'd love to go but also I think the travelling will be extremely stressful and hard for me and my child. Is this completely mad and unfair to do this or is it not that a big deal and easily done? Any advice would be helpful 🤣

Umm, I mean it’s doable but I think it will probably be pretty stressful to be honest. I know mine just wouldn’t sleep with the excitement of a plane (well, not without getting massively overstimulated and overtired first and probably being a complete nightmare). At 3 he’s more likely to stay still and watch a film or do some drawing - not a chance at when he was 2. Every child is different though - yours might be a total angel!

It will be a fucking nightmare, as will the jet lag.

I've travelled a good deal with my children from age 12 weeks, both short haul and long distance, but even with help it's hard work. With a toddler - you couldn't pay me enough. Add to that heat, humidity, and the expense I'd stay home. Don't forget you will need lots of jabs too.

I traveled with my two a lot, mostly just me and them (I lived overseas) and it was fine, you just need to be prepared. We didn't even have the luxury of smart phones then and still managed to contain them, McDonald's toys and crayons were my secret weapons

I did a three hour flight with my two year old quite recently so it's fresh in my mind. I'm sure I'll look back at it all with rose tinted specs soon enough but in short, it was horrific. Three hours sounds very manageable by itself but factor in time getting up the airport, standing around, check in, queues and the same again on the other side with a toddler who doesn't like to sit still and it's more than double the time.

Unless your child is unusually placid and stationary I'd pass.

No way would I do this! I have never done long haul with kids but flown with a baby and it was easy. 3+ is ok as you can distract them with a screen. In between is hard work!
is there anyone you can leave dc with? If not I wouldn’t be going at all.

Lots of things to amuse - we did long haul a few times with little ones. Always carried balloons as you can get them running around before getting on the plane (try to tire out).
fuzzy felts
stickers
they will want to walk up and down the plane - let them. Often they will want to interact with other travelers - again let them.
Good luck

My two year old son is and always has been a very active child who hates sitting still. I was very worried that he would be a terror on planes and yet he is as good as gold 🤷🏻‍♀️ I think ultimately you don't know how your child will react until you try it.

The most we've attempted as yet is three hours though.

No one is going to say it is easy, but plenty of people do it regularly and get through it. Any flight between Aus and Europe will have a number of mums on their own with small kids and you will have family with you to help. The best thing would be to get the child his/her own seat if you can afford it, that would make a huge difference. Otherwise you do need to make sure you are sitting with family as your chances of keeping a 20 month old confined to your own lap are zero and he/she will be too big for a bassinet. Years ago you could probably get a seat blocked next to you but most long haul flights are full these days. I would opt for an aisle seat. Bring snacks, small new toys that can be doled out regularly. Think of it as two separate flights (not one 15 hour) and count down the hours accordingly, try and time the flights so your little one would normally sleep when lights will be off on the plane and others expect to sleep. It would be a shame to miss out on such a wonderful experience.

We recently did a flight from Gatwick to Florida (nearly 9 hours) and DC was just turned 2 (26 months) very active toddler, as per normal. Typical boy as such. I was SO worried about the plane journey.
But he was an angel! He loved looking at the planes before getting on, he loved looking out the window, he wasn't bothered by the noise he was just a dream. Think he had about a 2hr nap as well whilst on there.

Of course they're not all like that and it's really child dependant!

Couple of things that really helped

• buying an approved airplane seat harness. Made him feel secure and like he was in a pram. Expensive but worth every penny
• taking a bag with loads of new toys etc (cars, play doh, new books, iPad, sticker books) and we gave these every hour or so and tried to keep him entertained as much as possible

It's definitely doable. But it will be stressful even if little one is an angel! But you just never know

Definitely a no from me! There's no way I would take my toddler all that way. My DD struggles to sit still for 30 seconds

Mine travelled well long haul. There's so much you can do these days to entertain them. I'd go if you want to.

Thanks for all the comments! If the journey wasn't as long I would go in a heartbeat, it's just the fact there is sooo much travelling involved.

If you can make a proper holiday of it, like 2 weeks minimum, I would say go for it. Vietnam is an amazing place and very child-friendly.

I'm also a single parent and I live in SE Asia. I flew to Europe for Christmas, 2 flights each way, with 3 kids. The youngest is 2. It was fine. I mean, it wasn't a pleasure but it was fine! We had a 7 hour layover in one direction which was far from desirable but it was the middle of the night so I put blankets on the floor and made them all lie down and go to sleep haha!

The TV screen is a win, especially if your child isn't used to much screen time as it is a HUGE novelty. My little one loved wearing headphones for the first time.

Also - plenty of snacks!

People are generally helpful, especially when you are travelling alone. I prefer night flights so they are likely to sleep at least some of the time (they all did). I made a big fuss in the lead-up about the fact we were going to SLEEP on and AEROPLANE! HOW EXCITING! So they were expecting to go to sleep.

If you decide to go for it, good luck and remember, even if it all goes to pot and is a bit of a nightmare, it is over after x number of hours.

I took DS to Thailand, Singapore, South Africa and Antigua before he was 2 so I’m not adverse to it but it doesn’t sound that easy. Can you fly direct?

It will be long and parts will be stressful but I'd say youbshoykd go for it.
Lots of preparation beforehand. Prepare your child by playing at being at airport/aeroplane and talk about how you've got to sit and wear seat belt (or see if you can take. A car seat on board). Get some children's books about aeroplane trips,and talk about it lots.
Be as organised as possible for being on the plane. Pack loads and loads of snacks, favourite blanket and soft toy for sleeping, lots of little toys wrapped up individually. Stickers, post it notes, little cars, fidget spinners, little figures, play doh, books.
Take multiple changes of clothes for them and a change for you.
Buy a buggy that you can take on as hand luggage (GB Pockit, YoYo) or depending on size if toddler use a carrier.
Lots of running around in the airport to try make them tired
Forget about screen time rules and go with the flow.
I have just flown with a 3 year old and a 15mo. My youngest spent a lot of time walking up and down the aisles, waving at everyone, and I mean every passenger. Its got a bit embarrassing but she was happy and most other passengers were obliging. She also loved playing with an empty cup and spent ages trying to put her jumper and socks on by herself. Sometimes it's the simple things😂