Long Haul Flight to Canada with 2.5 Year Old

[AnnieBeansMum]

Hi everyone,

DH, DD and I are flying to Canada at the end of June and I'm hoping someone on here can give me some suggestions for how to keep her entertained.

The flight is at 17:00 so we are hoping she will sleep for a bit of it, but we need to plan for her not sleeping. The last time we went back she was 1.5 and didn't sleep at all!!

She has a small rucksack which will be her carry-on. We were thinking of a couple colouring books and crayons and her favourite stuffed toy. Anything else? She won't colour for almost 8 hours!

As we are emigrating, space is extremely limited so we can't take anything too big. DH has an ipod and is planning on putting a couple of her shows on there as well as on the laptop - but the batteries won't last for long!

Any suggestions would be really helpful. Thanks

Hi Annie

We moved to Canada (Alberta) about 3 years ago, my son was almost 2. I hope this helps a bit.

First we went with AirCanada, phone & make sure your daughter has a meal booked, because we didnt, my son didnt have a meal, it was terrible.

We took laptop on with us, plus a couple of his dvd's which really helped, plenty of snacks, and fuzzy felt, honestly they get hours of fun with it. But with it being a night flight, it is quiet and the sound of the plane helps put them to sleep. Just try to stick with night-time routine, put blanket round etc.....

Goodluck with move, you will love it

A portable DVD player with a couple of fully charged batteries will last a few hours in flight.

Keep an eye on her stuffed toy during the flight; do not lose this or leave it behind!.

Take her favourite types of foodstuffs with you to eat on the plane (leave any uneasten fruit behind on the aircraft on arrival) and do not rely on the airline to provide in this regard. I suggest this as I've seen them run out of childrens' meals before now (besides which they are far too hot and rarely very tasty anyway).

Good luck!.

Thanks ladies! I have never heard of fuzzy felt before - will definitely look into getting some as DD would love it.

We have considered a portable dvd player but we just don't have the space. Our shipment left last week and there is still so much stuff to attempt to cram into our luggage. We're considering buying another battery for the laptop though.

We will make sure we get some fruit and nibbles for DD during the flight - she's a big eater so there probably won't be any left by the time we land anyway.

I'm Canadian littlepea72 so I cannot wait to go home (have been away for almost 10 years). It is such a huge move though and we are losing the plot completely as the day draws nearer.

We do UK to canada once a year and usually take a selection of for DS's;
New story book - little thomas the tank one's
Sticker books
Colouring books
Comic (with tat attached to front which will fall btw seats in 10 mins)!
Etch a Sketch
Savory snacks in one tub e.g mini cheeses,breadsticks,
Sweet stuff in one tub , yogurt raisins, fruit chew bars
Portable CD player with headphones
Teddy

Wrap up it all up, take a spare bag for rubbish and lots of wipes and water!

Who are you flying with? Check if they have the small tv's in the back of the seat in front. Usually there's a children's channel with cartoons on a repeat cycle.

I took loads of toys for my ds when he was 3 and he hardly played with any. He has much more fun with the fun pack the airline gave him (pens colouring book, stickers), though last time we flew he didn't get one of these so dunno if they're cutting back on costs perhaps. I could barely get him to do anything but watch the cartoons last time mind you.

Basically don't take anything that is going to roll off the tray a lot as your hair will go static when you try and reach down to get it and rub against the seats. It will drive you nuts too. Snap cards, if she's into those may be one idea.

Again if you're going on a night flight chances are the noise of the engines will send her off to sleep pretty quickly. Once the excitement of the flight wears off that is!