24 month old on a 4 hour flight

[Whathefisgoingon]

Any words of wisdom?

First time he will have ever been on a plane. I need all the tips, recommendations on little bits to keep him busy etc

Flight is at 7 AM!

iPad.

DS was just under 2 last time we flew - lots of snacks and I raided the poundshop for little toys/books, hid them and then got one out every 20 minutes or so. That and looking at every one around him seem to take up most of the time.

You'll be up early so fingers crossed he might have a quick nap.

Kiddie headphones. A few snacks and some water.

It will be fine. Give them something to eat or drink for take off, a few different activities, colouring book and pens, ceebies magazine, a couple of books and a tablet with headphones. If they newly potty trained put them in a nappy.

iPad and more snacks than you could ever thought possible for a small child to consume.

Little tub of playdoh.
One of those magnetic drawing boards

If flight is 7am hewill hopefully sleep!

Take sachet of calpol/nurofen in handluggage just in case and a spare outfit for you too.

It'll be fine. Your wee one isn't a baby and it's a short flight. I always packed a small bag with little new toys, books etc that they couldn't look at until on the plane. That plus snacks etc and you'll be there before you know it.

My top tip is do NOT give a device until you are air bourne and the fasten seat belt sign is off. There is absolutely nothing worse than trying to wrestle an iPad off a child who doesn’t understand, whilst trying to keep them in a seat.

For this part, put them in the window seat and try and spot your house, wave to granny etc etc etc.

They’ll be fine. We took our just turned 2 year old to Cyprus last year and she was a dream. Had a nap. Watched cocomelon on the iPad. Ate loads and loads of snacks. She also loved looking our the window as we were taking off and landing. She was much much better than I had anticipated.

Ipad ipad ipad. I've done these flights with bags of small engaging toys and honestly... after spending the entire flight bending down to grab stuff it's just not worth it. Anything longer than 4 hours then yes you need lots of toys and screens. But 4 hours is good for a couple of books, maybe something he can fiddle with - lipbalm / a few fiddly toys but the bulk of his time will be watching horrific manic cartoons such as coco melon. Good luck

A sweet to suck

One of the things I remember realising when travelling with small children - once you're on the plane they essentially get your undivided attention in a way they rarely do at home.

Flown long haul with my kids since they were 8 weeks - stickers, lots of them. Especially the removable labels; little presents to unwrap on the hour.
I remember reading this tip from Joan Collins! Get a few small “toys” like a little car or whatever flats your 2 year olds boat, and wrap them up - then they get excited about opening something new. 2 years may be a little young, I did this from 3 onwards until they were out of the fussy years and entertained my iPads and plane snacks.

4 hours isn’t long at all, and remember, even if they’re absolute minions you’re probably not going to see those people on the flight again!

A few new things wrapped up in coloured tissue. Something new to unwrap every hour.

And a screen.

It'll be fine.