Flying with Toddler Feedback
I know there are usually a lot of posts asking for advice flying with toddlers and since we just got home from a trip across the country, I thought I'd offer feedback from our perspective.
1. Get your toddler a seat and put them in their car seat. SOOOOO much easier than doing the lap child thing at this age. We put DD in the window seat and she loved looking out the window especially when we were on the ground. DD napped well in the car seat on the flight. It is worth looking at how/where the seat belt gets threaded through. The buckle ended up right behind her back and we were worried she'd be really uncomfortable. I'm sure it wasn't the most comfortable, but she didn't seem to mind too much.
2. I think 2 flights with a layover is better than 1 long cross country flight. Flying east, we had a layover in Chicago and DD could get out and run and play and stretch her legs. Way better than the 8 hour direct flight back where we were limited to the aisle of the plane for "exercise." Also, much better to stop and eat half way through travel than trying to take enough "real" food on the plane.
3. We gate checked the stroller, but could have done without. If we had less time on our layover or there was risk of being late, the stroller is easier to run through the airport if needed...We let DD walk as much as possible whenever she could.
4. We used DD's puppy backpack leash. She was completely fine with it so long as we weren't yanking on the leash part (aka keeping us with her). It was much easier to let her walk/run ahead on the leash without trying to keep ahold of her hand.
5. Snacks were key. DD ended up eating mostly carby snacks on the long 8 hour flight home. But it kept her occupied and happy. We also froze 2 gogurts to take with us. And you can take those through security, just declare them.
6. Be prepared for the melt-down. Toward the end of our flights going both ways, DD was just tired of being on the plane. No toy, food, drink, book, song, etc. was going to make her happy. So we offered everything we had and then let her cry it out for a few minutes before re-engaging at which point she was usually more amenable to what we could offer.
Hope this helps with anyone who is traveling soon!
Re: Flying with Toddler Feedback
Thanks!! we leave on the 8th and are flying a 2 leg trip (there is no such thing as a sdirect flight where we are going) DC to MOntana.....
that being said we did not get DS a seat, because they were over 800 bucks and that was not worth it to us....I have most of your other advice already accounted for....haha one thing I keep telling myself, is if DS is a disaster, we will never see the people on the plane again..at least i have plenty of htings to try to keep him occupied!!
Thanks for writing this up!
Thanks! We're flying Philly to San Fran in August. Also, not a direct flight, which I know will be better.
Did your LO have any issues with ear pressure? I think I'm going to give DS a sippy going up and going down to help relieve the pressure.
And I am STRONGLY considering getting the backpack/leash. DS is a runner and, after sitting for 4 hours on a leg of the trip, I would love to be able to have him walk around without fear of him taking off (he is also not a hand holder - extreme meltdowns happen when I won't let go!).
We gate checked our stroller too - on the small planes, they took it right as we walked up the stairs and then we got it as they unloaded that compartment getting off the plane.
On the larger flight, we left it in the walkway just before entering the plane, and we would have picked it up there but they were slow in unloading, so we just got it with the rest of our luggage on the luggage belt.
If you have a tight connection, it might just add to the stress of rushing, but in our experience they were pretty good about getting them unloaded quickly.