Toddler on a 10h flight

[oceanob]

Me and my son(3 he'll be nearly 4 by the time of the holiday) are going on holiday in the summer the flight is 10hours long and it's a day flight from morning till afternoon. He is very active and hardly sits down, does have any activities/advice to tell him stay busy on the plane? I've heard to get in the plane last to have the minimum time in the plane

Does he get travel sick? I think sickness meds make them drowsy 😬

I strapped mine into compatible car seats at that age, so much easier. I used to fly 2-3 times a year solo with mine (lived abroad) and it was fine, pre smartphones and tablets too.

My tips are puzzle and colouring books, reading books, basic travel games eg connect 4 or guess who, favourite snacks to distract on take off and landing, if you can get seats where they can see the flaps, that entertained them for landing (dd is now an engineer!) and the little plane on the map on the in flight entertainment system, 10 hours of fun there!

Seriously get him used to wearing headphones, bud ones are provided usually, check if you need an adapter for your own, BA used to need one. Most planes have charging on board now but check , take power if needed. Tablet with favourite things on. And book a window seat. Finally sitting still in non negotiable unless going to the toilet, if you let him out for 5 minutes, he'll constantly want to get out, so keep him in his seat, tell him over the next few weeks this will be the case, let him pack a few things he can use on his tray to play with etc. it really is fine but you just need to be fairly firm, we sit still!

@betterangels I never said I would do that?? I don't understand the jumping to conclusions the comment they put first was like my child can not fly on a aeroplane??

I'm obviously not the only one mentioning the kicking on this thread. It happens that much. Also, name change fail.

Seriously get him used to wearing headphones

Yes, this is a must. No-one wants to listen to your son's cartoons.

Oh and WH Smith at the airport and let him choose a comic, it will while away time too. Plus finally, use a backpack yourself not a wheelie case, frees you up

Haven’t done the long flight but we did do a 10 hour car journey with a 3yo. I appreciate that’s a bit different as we could stop 😅

• Sticker books were great (buy reusable ones!! Don’t forget about the return journey!)
• fidget popper toy/fidget spinners that sucker on to the window
• an activity folder like this one I’ve screenshotted
• orchard toys games like “Shopping Lists” etc
• does DC like books etc? We took DSs Yoto Mini player and his folder of cards for it. He listened to loads of audio books
• colouring in
• search and find books

For flights I would also pack changes of clothes, lots of snacks, an iPad (I wanted to avoid this in the car as he’s never had screens and I didn’t know if he’d get travel sick). What about one of those seat extenders for kids that allows them to have their feet up and turn their seat into a little bed? Again, I’ve never used one but maybe someone else will be able to comment on how practical they are. Obviously would only be using it in the window seat!

Oh and my dd1 is autistic, still travelling

I was planning on getting these x

@betterangels what do you mean name change fail?? You seem to be being rude for no reason I did just say I wouldn't let my son kick seats?

Namechange fail because you're not posting under the name you started the thread under. That's not rude to point out. Jesus.

These look great Thankyou!! X

I don't know but I might bring them just incase xx

^^second all this, especially the "no kicking the seat" rule (easy to overlook it's happening but a huge annoyance to the person in front), and emphasise the value of sticker books. Be ready to spend quite a lot of time walking the aisle with him as he explores. I've often seen toddlers wandering up and down the aisles without their parent but I never did this as I was nervous of them falling, helping themselves to others' snacks, inserting themselves into a different family that had better toys, etc! None of which was a real risk but I went with "constant vigilance".

I have found other passengers are very tolerant of children. Only time I've seen raised eyebrows or heard huffs is when a child screams non-stop when most passengers are trying to sleep - but even that is just an accepted risk, and unlikely with your child's age, it's usually infants.

Tiring but fine and the holiday was worth it! Enjoy!

I didn't know there was such a thing as in flight wifi!! I'll look into this Thankyou x

Drug him,? I also think it's mad to do this.

I think you're overthinking this. I recently travelled on a 12.5 hour flight with my 5 year old grandson. He was fine, played a few games, watched a couple of films, ate, slept. Passenger in from complimented him as we were disembarking and said how good he was.

As previously mentioned, I think a tablet with headphones is the best distractor. The tablet and your TV at home should be not turned on for the week before you go.
Many years ago, pre tech, I came back from Paris on Eurostar. The family opposite had a children’s tape recorder and played it through without headphones. I put up with about 45 minutes and then it went round again. At this point I told them I wasn’t prepared to listen to it again and they should have headphones. Several other passengers backed me up!!

Thankyou and yes I will be definitely buying headphones x

On some airlines, not all.

Lots of good advice on here, the only thing I have to add is an inflatable footrest. You blow it up and it sits in the gap between your kids seat and the chair in front so they can stretch out their legs and it makes it much more comfortable for them to sleep. A big part of the reason they get restless is dangling legs and it massively helps reduce the possibility of them kicking the chair in front.

amzn.eu/d/aRD9FeV

The inflatable footrest suggested by a PP might not be allowed by the airline. They are brilliant though if you are allowed them.

Fuzzy Felt was always a hit on flights and can't fall or roll away.

I NEVER let my kids do the walking up and down the aisle things. It's not going to tire them out but it is going to annoy everyone else. It's also going to make the kid want to keep doing it. You have to take them to the loo but otherwise they should be in their seat.

I used to travel long haul on my own with 4 kids several time a year. I used to make the flights slightly boring for them. As soon as they were old enough I let them play on their Nintendo ds's so they all just zoned out.

We flew from UK to Australia with our 3 year old and it was fine. They had a lot of screen time also did some colouring and drawing. Comfy clothes are best and definitely take one or 2 changes. Mine had been on multiple flights before so were very used to travelling, not sure if that made a difference!

😆

I've taken all my dc on holiday from being babies op, the longest flights being around 5 hours with them at that age. 2 of mine are boisterous boys who didn't like to sit still and I have to say the flights were pretty usually stressful, so I'd imagine a longer one won't be easy. Be as prepared as possible. I took Lego sets for them to do, played games with them such as squares, and also downloaded films onto tablets, obviously you know what your DC likes to do best. I also let them stay up late the night before so that they would be tired and sleep some of the way. I'd prepare for it to be hard going and if it's better than you're expecting it's a bonus.