Tell me how to survive flight with toddler

[Dalesgirl16]

We have to go to Cyprus later this year for close family wedding when my very boisterous daughter will be 23 months. It's 4.5 hr flight and we have never flown since she was born. Please can I have any tips on how to best amuse her. I can't see her sitting down for the whole flight.

Urgh we flew when my DD2 was 23 months last year and it was a pain in the arse. We hadn’t booked her a seat (didn’t think you could when they were under 2 but turns out you can) so she was on my knee. She’s 98th centile for height and weight so far too big to sit on a knee for that length of time.
I did a little ‘treat bag’ of toys she hadn’t seen before (nothing elaborate or expensive, just little bits of plastic tat really). We downloaded some of her favourite programmes to the iPad. Oh and lots of snacks.
We had a then 3 year old too so thought we would get some respite putting them both in the same seat for a bit but they just bickered and elbowed each other!

Apart from sharing a seat were they ok? Was your flight long? I'm dreading it but we have to go

You don't need to sit down for the whole flight...get up walk up and down the aisle. We did a 26 hr flight with our 2 young children and it was honestly fine. Melissa and Doug do a good reusable sticker pad.

She was ok but very very restless. She’s not one to sit down for long periods (or at all!) normally so she didn’t really enjoy it.
Our flight was a similar length to yours. I look back at it with horror but in reality it wasn’t all that horrendous.
We’re going again in a few weeks but she’s nearly 3 now so thankfully has her own seat!

Oh and we walked up and down the aisle but with people moving around/going to the toilet/refreshment carts going up and down there wasn’t all that much space to do so. Probably marginally more room on a long haul flight!

We did a three hour flight to Malaga last month. I bought some of the bbc magazines with the free toys (so if broken or lost, didn’t matter so much) and downloaded programmes onto the iPad. He slept for an hour so between watching the iPad and eating (take your own food and buy juice after security), the rest of the time wasn’t too bad. We thought he could go for a wander but, to be honest, between the never ending queues for the loo and the trolleys, I don’t think we would have been welcomed.

We're going to Turkey on Monday with a crazed 2 year old and a fairly well behaved 4 yo. We have been a few times but travelling with 2yo is really.... special

My plan is treats a plenty (magazines, stickers, paper, crayons, little trains/cars, games) and I'm downloading some stuff onto our phones with the cbeebies app. Snacks a plenty but savoury/low sugar as I don't need them anymore hyped up. DH can walk them round the plane a bit.

And wine. Wine for Mummy. I say this without shame - I won't be pissed but one will help!

I pad, blind bags (little bags with toys in from supermarket), lots of snacks, sticker books, comics.

When I flew with DS last year, I had a fully charged iPad with some films, programmes and games downloaded. I also raided pound shops for cheap toys like cars, dinosaurs, colouring books etc. Also some snacks that I knew he would like. He was just over 2 when we flew. He did nap for a little bit but not much

Thanks everyone, I'm wondering if I should go for a night flight in hope that she will be exhausted if doesn't even sleep. Didn't think of the wine, great idea!

A night flight is my worst nightmare! No guarantee he’d sleep and nothing worse than crying exhausted baby climbing all over me with nowhere to take him. Then there’s the wait to get through border control and the journey to the end destination. I rejected a few hols based on the flight times even though I really fancied the resort.

Did not think of that! Thank you! I'm going to download so much Peppa and Waffle Doggy!

If you haven't already booked, look at Aegean. They board families with young children first and it means you can settle them while everyone else is faffing around.

They do special kids meals and activity packs and complimentary wine and beer and fairly decent food.

Our flight from the UK to Cyprus landed at 4:30 am but my two toddlers slept the entire flight. It was the civilised times the other way that were the problem. So don't dismiss silly flight times!

Passport control in Cyprus is a walk in the park compared to the uk. Don't worry about that bit. You're off the plane and through in minutes.

Thanks *mrsnec I wouldn't have considered Aegean as I had previously heard bad things but will do so. We all have different experiences with airlines I suppose.

Yes a while ago lots of my friends and family had problems with them rescheduling and re routing flights but they've really raised their game recently. Only negative is they're not great re bringing equipment so that's worth considering if you want to bring a pushchair and a car seat.

....well I do need to take them! Will look into it, thanks

For a smooth start and a smooth finish, you must make your toddler drink something at take off and landing. It is to regulate the pressure in their tiny ears from the change in cabin pressure during take off and landing. It affects children a lot more than the adults. If your toddler has a pain in their ear, no matter what toys and snacks you produce later on, it will not make them happy. So you need to be proactive by making them suck some bottle of drink.

I have clocked up many many air miles travelling with kids. Top tips :
1)Once they are too big for bassinet- book them a seat.
2) Take an approved car seat on board to strap them into their seat.
3) Controversial but marvellous ; sedatives.
4) All the tv they want or iPad

Unfortunately it's not always logistically possible but I'd avoid night flights. Your toddler screaming when people are trying to sleep is less appreciated.

Pay for seat. Consider a car seat if possible. Let them have as much screen time as they like.

ALL the snacks and as many new or old but squirrelled away toys so you can bring out new ones. We take a separate bag so we can stow our larger bag in the overhead and keep the entertainment bag with us so we aren’t up and down all the time. We don’t board first, go for a last nappy change/toilet stop as late as you can then board otherwise you can spend an extra 20 minutes plus trying to entertain when you could have been roaming around with lots of space. When packing toys check noise level and roll ability, you don’t want to drop a ball and spend ages aggravating people to find it. Balloons are fab entertainment and take no space.

We flew with ds at that age and younger. It was fine but was relieved when they announced we were landing. I was getting to the end of my entertainment ideas and Ds was getting bored. I took lots of snacks and forgot about health for that time. Snacks that took him along time to eat. I took the iPad and downloaded lots of his favourite programs.

I wrapped individual small toys and gave them to him one at a time. This worked a bit as the unwrapping took time but he spend a second playing with each one. My child was not one of those ones who plays for a hour before the next toy comes out.

I let him walk up and down the spaces between the seats too. It was hard work and I felt he was the worst behaved out of all the kids on board- was trying to poke other children in the eye, didn't want his seatbelt on. But overall it was ok. Would not do longer than 4 hours though. It's only 3 years later we are attempting a 9 hour flight!

We flew just after DDs 2nd birthday. She was fine for most of it, except take off and landing. She refused to have her dummy or drink her milk and the pressure change really affected her ears. She didn't want to be strapped into her seat either so cried and screamed for the whole take off and landing. I had to pin her to her seat. It was awful, but only 20 minutes of a 3 hour flight. It did frazzle me though because it didn't even cross my mind.

The rest was fine though, iPad, magazine/stickers, toys, snacks.

For take off and landing I recommend a fruit shoot - half on way up and half on way down. You have to buy it after security but it has worked perfectly for mine - the first few times I had to really watch him and take it away so there was some left for the landing but now at 4 he does it himself. Just make sure you don't let them start drinking until the plane is properly racing down the runway otherwise they will have finished it while you're still taxiing. My son doesn't normally drink fruit shoots or juice very often so I knew he would drink it straight away.

We bought a seat for ours when they were tiny, even though the could have been on laps. Then they could stretch out a bit and have a snooze. Have a drink ready for the takeoff and landing to avoid ear popping.

We are returning from Turkey tomorrow with a 24 month old who does not do sitting.

You will need another seat, all the snacks in the world, walk up and down the planes as much as possible, my DD will play on CBeebies playtime island (let them practise in advance) for a couple of mins but she won’t sit and watch the iPad, books, songs, popping bubble wrap, looking out the window, CBeebies magazines, salvainan families all helped.

Avoid doing it in early pregnancy, no wine, exhaustion and morning sickness does not make it any easier.

It was fine but don’t tell them that you are going the next day as we had a very late night the night before as she was excited for the plane.