First time air travel

[Worldisacircus]

I have a DS who is 28 months old. Next week is the first flight with him. I’ve heard that giving pacifier or lollipop is helpful while take off and landing. Can I give any lollipop or is there something I should be wary of.
he has stopped taking pacifier since he was a year and a half so I don’t want him to get into thy habit again.

TIA

So nearly 2 1/2? No to pacifier, no to lollipops, they'll be fine.

A drink in a sippy cup or a wee juice box and snacks can help with take-off and landing too.

Years ago yes, if on modern planes they keep the pressure higher so no need, it's 30+ years since my ears "popped" on a plane. Your biggest issue is keeping them in their seat for take off - I always took plane compatible car seats on board

Take a lollipop for him, why not. One of those hard boiled ones like a chupa chups. I sometimes have to pop my ears a bit on flights despite it being much better pressure-wise than when I used to fly as a child 20+ yrs ago. You could also give him a juice or smoothie carton, or squash in a sippy, to get him swallowing. Flying with kids can be stressful both for yourself and the child, so take easy routes to keep him happy. It’s not every day you fly anyway.

Just make sure you don’t show him the treats until the plane is literally starting to go down the runway, or if you do then of course you’ll get stuck in one of those pre-runway queues for 20 mins and he will have eaten / drunk everything 😂

Please don’t give a hard boiled / round lollipop to a 2 1/2 year old! They’re a choke hazard (not to mention horrendous for teeth). Agree with PP’s, ears popping on planes is much rarer these days, juice and snacks have been fine for my toddler who’s flown many times with no issues

This. Ear popping isn’t such a thing now.

I did a paediatric first aid course and the trainer wouldn't even let her early primary aged child have chupa chups as they are a choking hazard. I never give them out at Halloween to trick or treaters for that reason.

I'd give the child things to distract (not noisy toys). My ears pretty much always pop when I fly.

Thanks everyone. Even I’ve heard some horror stories about lollipops. So I was not sure if I’d give him that. But I will pack some snack so hopefully that will help.

I think you will be fine with just a drink as it's the swallowing that helps with ear popping.

Anything chewy that promotes saliva and swallowing will do