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Parenting

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Original poster

Long haul flight with toddler

14 replies

greenlizard · 16/02/2017 21:51

I have a 10 hour flight coming up in a coyple.of weeks with my 2 year old and my 4 month old baby. I am dreading it!

What are your top tips for keeping everyone calm and entertained on the journey?

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Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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SavoyCabbage · 16/02/2017 21:54

Let your two year old have as much tv and Ipad time as he wants.
Take a usbourne sticker book.
Take fresh fruit.
Take a sippy cup.

BiscuitMillionaire · 16/02/2017 22:02

Get some cheap little toys in advance and wrap them up - give the toddler one every hour or so (can be reward for good behaviour - or good enough behaviour )
If you have a seat with a cot for the baby in front of it, take a lightweight piece of fabric and something to stick it with so you can make a little tent over the baby to keep out some of the lights and distractions if you want them to sleep.
Take comfy pillows/blankets to make a little nest for toddler to settle down to sleep (is it overnight?).
Take books to read to toddler.
Take spare clothes for both DC on flight in case of leakage or food/drink spillage.

Fooferella · 16/02/2017 22:05

All of the above and don't forget to bring snacks and drinks plus toiletries and change of clothes for yourself!

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Peppapogstillonaloop · 16/02/2017 22:09

The present thing never worked for us but I think I have children who are impossoble to distract with anything like that..utterly unimpressed!
Take threee times as many snacks as you think you'll need and lots of fruit for sure. Have a couple of utterly amazing snacks/treats that will stop a meltdown in its tracks..
Take kids drink bottles
Sticker book, pens, colouring and as much iPad as they will watch! Download movies onto it or download a load of iplayer programmes.
Def spare change of clothes for all of you
Hopefully you are on a night flight? Mine always slept pretty well..
You will be fine! I did this with almost exact same age back from SG, it was long and boring and exhausting but I found as I was expecting it to be the absolute worst it actually wasn't that bad!

WeeM · 16/02/2017 22:17

All of the above, I went mad in the pound shop buying some things to wrap up. But in the end she didn't even get round to opening them all. The most successful thing I got was a packet of pipecleaners and then some pics from Pinterest on what you can make with them! Slept a lot of the time and watched the kids stuff on the plane tv. It even had some games. The food kept her occupied too. I thought it would be awful but it was actually fine!

Fitzsimmons · 16/02/2017 22:18

Recently did something similar and my two were fine. They loved going up and down the plane aisles and there were plenty of people willing to interact with them.

There was a toddler across the aisle from us who screamed the entire flight. He seemed in pain so I'd definitely take Calpol sachets in case you end up with something similar. Also the noise of the plane drowned him out quite a lot so if yours do start to cry try not to stress about it as it's probably not bothering people as much as you might think.

Pack more nappies and clothes than you think you need in case of travel sickness or food poisoning etc. And if the only way you get through it is by continually feeding the two year old chocolate whilst they sit glued to the ipad non stop then don't worry, it's all about survival

clarabellski · 17/02/2017 14:10

I second the point about the nappies. Our DS (at the time 8 months) shat 4 times in a 4 hour flight

Sling for naps as holds them to you rather than them lounging across you and the stranger sitting next to you

LiefieLiefie · 17/02/2017 14:59

I don't have kids but fly long haul frequently. Make sure you take the USB for the iPad as most long haul airlines have in-seat USB chargers.

Also take the two prong adapters for headphones and get over the ear kids sized headphones as the airline ones are pretty shit.

My old boss used to play "Airlines" with his then-2 year old to prep him for the long haul flights back to the UK from their home in Asia. Helped him practice what to expect, how to behave etc.

WeeM · 17/02/2017 20:15

Yes get kiddy headphones-mine loved her pink pair and they have volume limiters on them. Tenner well spent.

Original poster

greenlizard · 18/02/2017 19:12

Thank you for your replies!

OP posts:

SunshineHQ · 20/02/2017 23:43

Ooooohh happy memories (not!)

My best advice was to make sure you had help upon arrival to help with any jet lag, especially if you and the little ones need to sleep at different times.

I used to travel back to England (from Alaska) with kids at this age. Having grandparents to help upon arrival was essential.

Other tips:

Toddler slept best in light weight car seat - head support and 5 point harness always helped.

Take more nappies and spare leggings/tops (including for yourself) than you expect to need.

If you run out of nappies, ask another mum on the flight.

Small toys, brought out one at a time - play doh, fiddle toys, books, crayons, popular (but not irreplaceable) soft toy.

Never underestimate you inventiveness... I once ended up creating puppets out of sick bags, and the laminated 'in an emergency' card can buy you at least 10 minutes entertainment.

Good luck!

GnusSitOnCanoes · 21/02/2017 17:35

I live abroad so fly long-haul with my toddler a lot. Echoing much of the above: it's the only time he has the iPad (I load it with his favourite shows before the flight), I take masses of snacks to cover delays, spare sets of clothes (include a top for yourself too), a big muslin cloth for naps/if it's cold/for wiping up mess, kiddy headphones and an iPad charger. I take one or two books and stickers, but to be honest he's usually happy with food, iPad and chatting to me. He's fascinated by the plane and flying so it helps that he thinks it's all very interesting! He also has a tiny wheelie bag that he takes on the plane (and can pack with things) that he loves. Lastly, crew are almost always happy to help, so ask if you need extra hands. It will be easier than you think!

whatsagoodusername · 21/02/2017 19:06

Headphones for the toddler - they can't watch iPads without them and the grown up ones don't fit well

Triangular crayons - they don't roll so they won't disappear under the seats

Extra outfit for you as well as the kids

Aquamarine1029 · 24/02/2017 12:44

Everyone has given such great advice! My only input is to make sure you have extra clothes for YOU, just in case one of the kids gets sick on you. This happened to my friend and she was stuck on a plane for 5 hours with a sick covered shirt. She was so careful to pack everything for the kids yet she forgot about herself!

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