Flying with a 2 Year Old

jcyahne

So I just booked plane tickets and realized that I have no idea what flying with a 2 year old is like.  Any advice?  Our longest leg is from Seattle to Atlanta, I'm dreading it. Also looking on the airline website it looks like you can buy some special restraint that is more like a carseat but that it costs $75.  Has anybody ever done this?

IdahoGirl

I don't know about the restraints - I've always flown with lap children.  This last time that I flew with Madelyn and she needed her own seat, I didn't have a restraint for her.  I got lucky that we didn't have any issues on the flight (hello, the roof being ripped open and airbags dropping!??!), so that's the last time I do that.

Is it something like this?  https://www.extend-its.com/orderchild.htm

If so, I'd do it.  Easier than getting the car seat on the plane and your child is still safer.  And - it helps keep them in their seat when you need them to be.

That having been said - Madelyn was a TERROR on a flight to Hawaii when she was 14 months old.  I said I would never fly with her again   When we flew to Idaho at 2 years old, she was MUCH better.  I'd agree that the flight to Atlanta is going to be the worst - so here's what worked for me:

Portable DVD player
Color books
Magnetic puzzles
Snacks and juice

Our flight was short enough that this was good for us.  The DVD worked wonders and the others stuff was for when we couldn't use the DVD player.

Good luck!!!!

bunch

We break all our home rules on airplanes.  To us, its all about survival.  We don't usually do juice- so that's a super treat.  And we never allow extended TV- a movie?  sure!  cookies? sure!

I also try to scope out target's dollar bin for new toys- I pull them out brand new as needed.  Art supplies- esp those color magic things, a deck of cards (you can play a TON of things with this- when S was little, it was enough to take them in and out of the card box), interactive books (tabs), stickers, etc.  

Of course, the dream is that the flight is over nap time and you can get LO to sleep.  The reality of that is a little different, but we can all wish.  And when it does happen?  Bliss...

jcyahne

That link is exactly what the airline says is allowed...I just don't know if it's worth $70!  In fact it sounded like a car seat was no allowed except for an infant (under 2) who was not a lap child. 

Hayden is going to be 13 months by the time of this flight AND a lap child.  Maybe I should be more concerned about her!  I did do a trip to DC with Jillian when she was 12 months by myself and it wasn't a whole lot of fun but we got through it.  DH will be along this time.  There is no way I'd do it alone.

Seattle_JiLLn

We have that cares harness and I love it. So much easier than a cr seat and I like that there are shoulder straps to protect them in case of turbulence. Ben was nearly 2.5 when I flew with him by myself. He did great. But he did not nap. So it was beyond ugly when we landed. The others had good ideas for stuff to bring. I will add that we had those gel cling things and he played with those on the window and that was a hit.

pinktulips

So the girls and I just flew to WA and came back to MI last night. Here are random highlights...

I forgot the headphones for her to watch movies. So, it was all entertainment by mommy.

She was obsessed with buckling and unbuckling her seatbelt.

She liked coloring on post it notes and sticking them to everything.

With the arm rest up between our seats, there was enough room to sit Thea down when I needed to grab something.

Ella had to go to the bathroom, but once we got to the airplane toilet, there was no way she was going in there. So, she held it until we got to a potty chair. Everytime I tried to put her on a regular toilet she screamed "NO MAMA! NOOOO! NOOO!" at the top of her lungs. Fun times.

Occasionally she would stand and then play with the her toys on her seat. I think it helped a bit on the whole confinment issue.

We did lots and lots of "5 Little Monkey's Sitting In a Tree".

Seattle_JiLLn

jcyahne:

That link is exactly what the airline says is allowed...I just don't know if it's worth $70!  In fact it sounded like a car seat was no allowed except for an infant (under 2) who was not a lap child. 

Hayden is going to be 13 months by the time of this flight AND a lap child.  Maybe I should be more concerned about her!  I did do a trip to DC with Jillian when she was 12 months by myself and it wasn't a whole lot of fun but we got through it.  DH will be along this time.  There is no way I'd do it alone.

yes you should worry more about 13 months than 2 1/2. Definitely! you can rent the cares harness thing. There are sellers on eBay that rent them and some give an option to buy it if you liked it. I love it. I hate taking a convertible seat on the plane. They are huge and such a pain to install. But I really like having shoulder straps for turbulence. My mom was a flight attendant and she had two friends who broke their necks (not paralyzed but broken vertebrae) during turbulence when they got thrown up to the ceiling. So I get paranoid maybe. But anyway we have loved the cares harness. I swear it was more like $55 or $60. Shop around.

iheartstuart

Last time we flew with Mia, she was 16 months and the flight was a disaster.  It was SEA-IAH and pretty much the longest 4.5 hours ever.  We are flying back to Seattle in 2 weeks and she will be almost 2.5 years old so I'm hoping it is better.  We're just hoping that the directv, bringing a bunch of new toys, eating treats, etc will keep her occupied.  Pretty much every rule we have at home doesn't matter just as long as we can get through this flight and not annoy the whole airplane. 

JaimeCH

I'm so glad we decided to go on separate flights! Although, part of your plan could have been to put us in front of you to avoid annoying strangers.

I bet Jillian would do really well with a portable DVD player and every Elmo DVD available. 

jcyahne

JaimeCH:

I'm so glad we decided to go on separate flights! Although, part of your plan could have been to put us in front of you to avoid annoying strangers.

I bet Jillian would do really well with a portable DVD player and every Elmo DVD available. 

I'm sure you'll be very glad to have flown on a different plane!

MrsEditorJax

We just flew to Hawaii and back with a 21-month-old and he was actually really good. We did not buy him a seat, but we brought the carseat to the gate and they let us bring it aboard because there were open seats, so you may want to consider that for Hayden, too. We got seats on all four flights. I figured that if we couldn't get a seat, it was still better to gate-check the carseat because there is less risk of it being thrown around than when it is checked with the regular luggage.

The big hit on the plane was my laptop with DVDs on it (I got kid headphones from Amazon and they were great) and lots of books and snacks. I am glad I had an arsenal because he only slept for 20 minutes from San Francisco to Maui. He also thought playing with the tray table was the best thing ever. On the long flight (4.5 hours), DH and I took turns periodically walking around with him up and down the aisles a few times so he wouldn't feel so cooped up. He made friends with the whole flight crew and even took a walk with one of the flight attendants.

keri1013

We just flew to Florida and back with Max, and we went through Atlanta both times. You can absolutely take a car seat for a 2 year old who is not a lap child, we did. If you will need it when you get there, I would take it rather than buy the harness. I bought a luggage hand cart on Amazon and used a bungee to strap the car seat to it for transporting through the airport. Worked great, then it folded up and went in the overhead bin on the flights.

Ditto pp about whatever treats she likes. I packed a ton of snacks and broke them out whenever he got restless. We also used the DVD player, he wouldn't wear the headphones for long but then we'd just turn the sound on really low and he still would watch. Anything new will help--new movie, new books, new toys, etc. 

It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, having two adults definitely helped. Good luck!