Flying with a toddler

Des321 · April 2016

I posted this in the toddler forum but it's pretty dead over there, so I thought I'd ask you ladies.

Does anyone have advice for long flights with a LO under 2? We are flying to Hawaii in 6 weeks and I can't decide if buying him his own seat is worth the extra money. He's very active and hates being held for long periods of time unless we're walking. I figure if he gets tired in his carseat, at least he could take a nap. But I'm wondering if anyone else has had any experience with this? Also does anyone know if Alaska airlines has enough space for a big carseat without him kicking someone in front? I'm really stressing about this and just want to make the right decision so we have a peaceful flight.

TIA!

Katemr1146 · April 2016

I absolutely recommend getting him his own seat if you can swing it. We fly a 4 hour flight frequently and having the extra space is so much nicer. Wrangling our toddler in our laps is just a nightmare.

No no idea about the space on Alaska. We fly United and the economy plus seats are big enough that I can put a car seat and he can't kick the seat.

aquasocks · April 2016

We flew with my daughter just over the age of 2 so we had to buy a seat, and I'm very glad we did. She sat in it the whole time. She loved the tray table. We brought sticker books, snacks, finger puppets (her fave! They were new and she was giggling uncontrollably at the antics I got them into!), coloring book, and iPad (which she is never allowed to use normally.) We did not bring a car seat on board. I know that all the car seat people will tell you to, but... We gate checked it. I have actually never seen anyone bring a car seat on board a plane. And we flew to Orlando so there were plenty of kids on our flights. She stayed buckled in her seat the whole time, except bathroom breaks. Good luck!!

eta- not trying to discourage you from bringing a car seat! Just saying what worked for us.

kmmnocal · April 2016

I have not done this but my sister has, and I'd recommend making sure your car seat is cleared by the FAA, otherwise they won't allow it on board. In her case, the infant car seat was fine, but later the next size up was not approved. My niece ended up in my sister's lap for most of the flight, so that was wasted money. (You may know this, but just in case. I know airlines are very strict about it.)

shevaCC · April 2016

I would buy him his own seat especially if he's very active and even more so if he's somewhat close to 2. It's much safer to have him properly buckled in for take-off and landing, plus it's soooo much more comfortable, especially for that long a flight.

My DD was pretty calm and content to sit on our laps -- she flew several times as a lap child, but DS is another story entirely so we've gotten him his own seat. Though now that I'm more safety conscious I likely won't fly with a lap child again due to not being able to properly restrain them when necessary.

As for entertainment, will your DS do screen time? That's definitely the easiest solution to kill a lot of time but my DS still has no interest at 20 months. When DD was 2, she and I flew cross-country while I was pregnant with DS. I went to Walmart to the party favors section and bought ~$10 of new toys. I wrapped them each individually, then when I needed a distraction I took one out. We got the sticky frogs that you throw against a wall/window, a mini coloring book and crayons, a few little cars, and some mini sparkly purses with zippers. Those were the biggest hit. She loved opening and closing the zippers and putting things into the purses and taking them out again. I had some stickers and some paper too.

My other trick was to get up right before the cart got to our seats and walk to the bathrooms in the back. Then when we were done we would be "stuck" on the wrong side of the cart as they finished up the rest of their service. That gave us several minutes to walk back and forth, wiggle, stretch our legs, etc. until sitting down for a bit longer. We also walked from the front to the back of the plane and back, but that seemed to annoy some people so I tried to not do that too many times in a row.

DunkinDecaf · April 2016

Having a seat for the child for takeoff and landing, and for turbulent patches where they put the fasten seatbelt sign on, is safer for them. For that reason alone I would definitely get him one.

For our last flight with DD she didn't really want to stay in her car seat *unless* I let her watch movies on my iPad. So she watched movies back to back for the whole flight, except for the brief nap she took in the middle. I'm a firm believer in "whatever it takes" for rare and difficult situations like plane rides. I would also pack lots of his favorite snacks. Having some of DD's favorite bread to chew on for takeoff and landing really helped her ears not to hurt so badly.

Good luck! Also I'm super jealous. Hawaii sounds incredible right now.

lilwonder · April 2016

I'd love to hear @AdmiralKitty weigh in on this one. I do like hearing from a parents perspective, but I also want to know how FA's and the airlines honestly feel about it.

We're going to be traveling to Europe next year with our first LO who will be all of 6mos and I've been wanting to ask about this, too.

ETA: We've been thinking about doing a trial trip with the LO, maybe in Jan or Feb 2017. Somewhere that is around 4-5 hours away via plane, no layovers etc.

Des321 · April 2016

You all have good points, I think I'm just gonna go for it and get him a seat. I looked at his carseat (graco 4ever) last night and it has a sticker that says it's safe for aircraft. Thank you all for sharing your experiences!

@SRose109 this is my first time going, I'm really looking forward to this trip!

MrsMaritime11 · April 2016

You just posted that you've been convinced, but I wanted to add in that I absolutely agree with the other ladies. I took DD on her first flight when she was 14 months old, and had no idea what to expect. It was a short (2.5 hr) flight so we decided against buying her a seat of her own. It worked out ok because it was short, but any longer with a squirmy toddler on my lap probably would not have gone as well. I brought an iPad loaded with some baby shows and that entertained her when she wasn't napping. By the end of both flights she was pretty squirmy, so a seat of her own to wiggle around in would have probably improved that situation.

AdmiralKitty · April 2016

Hey ladies! I'm at work about to do 3 flights today with lots of delays already posted. Woof.

If you can, definitely get the extra seat. Personally, I wouldn't bring a car seat as its really hard to get up and down the aisle and usually not that easy to get buckled in properly. Especially if your kiddo is closer to 2 having the extra space in the seats without the car seat is a lifesaver. Alaska is a great airline (I will be working for them in about a year when my own mergers with them) and they fly their bigger 737s to Hawaii. The back galley is definitely flight attendant territory and usually their only space to sit down/take breaks, so just be aware if you're going to stand back there to try and do it while they're out on the carts or ask where the best spot would be to be out of their way. I try so hard to be sympathetic to parents with rambunctious kiddos but sometimes I have 10min to sit down on a 6 hour flight and so help me god if you're blocking my only seat I will cut you. (J/k... But really...)

I second the idea of bringing new trinkets and toys that your kid has never seen before to whip out every hour or so when they get fussy. Just try and avoid stickers that aren't the removable/reusable kind. I can tell you how many times parents let their kids cover the tray table and windows with REAL stickers and leave them for us to scrape off. Not cool at all.

I also highly recommend avoiding the juice on the airplane unless you cut it with water as its extremely sugary and giving it to a 2yo and then telling them they can't run around is a recipie for disaster.

If if I think of more things after 3 flights today I will post more later- otherwise feel free to ask questions and I'll definitely be back to answer.

P.S. - enjoy the complimentary Mai Tais on Alaska. They whip those out around an hour out from landing

AdmiralKitty · April 2016

Omg I forgot the most important thing: NEVER under any circumstances change a diaper at the seat. Nobody wants to see/smell/take the thing from you. There are changing tables and trash cans in the restrooms for a reason. It doesn't matter if it's just pee or not a bad diaper. It's still human waste that is potentially getting on a seat/tray table/floor that won't be cleaned for many flights after that. I can't even begin to tell you how many people try to hand me their kids diapers while I'm serving food and drinks... Really people?

LindsayLuLu27 · April 2016

Definitely get him his own seat!!!! It will save your sanity! We let my daughter (she's really tall for her age) sit in the seat and we checked the car seat! She felt like an adult and was so good. Also go to the dollar store and buy random toys and items and wrap them in baggies or tissue and give him a new toy as he gets rambunctious! The winner for us was a handheld fan that looked like a cow lol! Also bring snacks and a drink but honestly they love getting drinks from the flight attendants.

LindsayLuLu27 · April 2016

AdmiralKitty said:

Omg I forgot the most important thing: NEVER under any circumstances change a diaper at the seat. Nobody wants to see/smell/take the thing from you. There are changing tables and trash cans in the restrooms for a reason. It doesn't matter if it's just pee or not a bad diaper. It's still human waste that is potentially getting on a seat/tray table/floor that won't be cleaned for many flights after that. I can't even begin to tell you how many people try to hand me their kids diapers while I'm serving food and drinks... Really people?

Oh hell no!!!! I can't believe anyone would do that!!! Are they not aware there's a friggin bathroom on the airplane?!?!

TheBorg7of9 · April 2016

I would highly recommend bringing your car seat on the plane and buying him a seat. I have travelled many times with 1-2 kids by myself with their car seats. It's not easy to get on the plane but it is safest and best for your sanity. Even peanuts have to be secured on a plane, so why not babies? Some people may argue that if the plane goes down then you're all going to die anyway, but runway accidents and turbulence are much more common than the plane exploding in the air. Many accidents are survivable, but g forces make it impossible for you to hold on your child and he'll go flying.

To keep him occupied, I downloaded episodes of Mickey on the the iPad and let him play endless ABC, which he loves. Plus stickers, new small toys from target and lots of snacks.

https://csftl.org/leaving-on-a-jet-plane-the-csftl-guide-to-safe-air-travel-with-children/

What kind of car seat do you have? I have brought on a Graco transitions, evenflo sure ride, and Graco click connect 40. Check your manual for how to install on a plane. The great majority of car seats are faa approved, you just have to find the sticker. You could also buy a cheap seat like cosco scenera next for $40 just for the trip. It's light.

kmmnocal · April 2016

AdmiralKitty said:

Omg I forgot the most important thing: NEVER under any circumstances change a diaper at the seat. Nobody wants to see/smell/take the thing from you. There are changing tables and trash cans in the restrooms for a reason. It doesn't matter if it's just pee or not a bad diaper. It's still human waste that is potentially getting on a seat/tray table/floor that won't be cleaned for many flights after that. I can't even begin to tell you how many people try to hand me their kids diapers while I'm serving food and drinks... Really people?

A woman tried to change her baby next to me ON THE TRAY TABLE on a flight home to the US from Asia... I flipped out and the flight attendant moved me to a new seat right away. I got the sense she sees it all the time. Thankful I didn't need to stay put for the remaining 10 hours.

aquasocks · April 2016

Oh and our sticker book was awesome, it was Melissa and Doug and there were landscapes to put all the stickers on. They were removable too! I think I enjoyed more than she did!

And re:diapers. Ew. Also bring sanitizing wipes for the tray table and arm rests. Kids find weird places to put their fingers so wipe them before he eats too.

Elev429 · April 2016

I also suggest getting your lo their own seat. We recently took a series of 9-11 hour flights and i could not have imagined my lo being on my lap that long.

MrsBigTime · April 2016

I've only ever flown from OR to CA and back, but the last time I ended up with an empty rows it's a nearly 2 year old and it was SO MUCH nicer to have her own space. I say that even though our early flight caused my sweet babe to fall asleep on my lap as soon as we took off and only wake as we were descending (I don't know if I'll ever get lucky enough to fly so blissfully with a toddler again!). It was so helpful to have space for my thingswhile in the air and for her to play on as we were boarding and waiting to exit.

Des321 · April 2016

Alright flights are booked, man that was painful but that's what I get for waiting until the last second to buy them. I feel much more relieved knowing he will be safer in his carseat and we will hopefully keep our sanity having him confined to a seat which he loves. I will make a list of all the suggestions you guys gave me and will use it when prepping for the trip, thanks again for the tips!
Btw, can anyone tell me the policy for bottles/sippy cups? Can I have them fill his cups with water in flight since liquids aren't allowed?

Roxell · April 2016

@Des321 yes you can have the flight attendant fill the bottle/sippy cup. They will even do half water half juice if you ask. Or you can purchase drinks in the airport after you go through security

TheBorg7of9 · April 2016

Just fill them in the airport after security.

shevaCC · April 2016

Or you can use the water fountain past security.

mrs_hoyahoo · April 2016

What everybody else said. If you're planning to do screen time, I'd consider getting headphones if he's old enough. Otherwise, it's impossible to hear what they're watching and it's a much less effective distraction. I think I started letting my son use a pair when he was around 18 months and we had a cross-country flight. I just took care to make sure the volume was as low as possible.

We use these and they're great: https://www.amazon.com/Kidz-Gear-Wired-Headphones-Kids/dp/B00AXE9YD2. He keeps them on his head and it has a volume limit, so it can't get reach maximum volume for the device.

EvergreenIslandMama · April 2016

Good luck! I too have an active almost 2 year old...the last time he flew without his own seat was one the worst experiences ever! We get him his seat and I second getting a lightweight car seat. We got a Graco Convertible for under $60 and it is sooo light and easy to maneuver. You can buckle it in rear facing to avoid him kicking the seat. My son can't sit still enough at this point to handle a 'big boy' seat for extended period, so it's nice for him to have a car seat on the plane. (My niece, on the other hand, is the same age and will happily sit through a flight in her own seat).

I also second getting bunch of little new toys- I wrap some of them. I also got him a snack 'bento box.' It delights him. I got one those plastic cases used to organize beads of craft supplies and put an individual snack in each compartment. It was a pain in the ass to prepare but he loved it...which made all worth it. Just don't use lot of sugary crap.

I would also check with your pediatrician about benadryl...because sometimes it's nice to have control over naptime.

I probably sound like a crazy lady, but we travel frequently, and after one really bad flight with ds I really want to be sure it never happens again! Sorry about the long post and have fun in Hawaii!

Katemr1146 · April 2016

If you don't want to lug your everyday seat, there's a $45 Cosco seat that is nice and light weight for travel.

You can bring liquids through security if they're for the "baby". It's kind of a PITA though, so I also recommend bringing empty bottles and buying milk or water after security.

I'd be careful with Benadryl if you don't know how your child will react to it. We've tried it twice on flights in desperation both times it just made him cranky and even more wired.

Good luck!!

AdmiralKitty · April 2016

Oh thought of something else! We don't have milk on the planes for kids usually. Definitely buy it in the terminal if that's part of a normal routine. We usually only get 1-2 small cartons intended for coffee and I can't even tell you how upset people get that we don't have it for regular consumption. The FAA doesn't allow us to give out any food or beverages on the ground (unless it's an emergency) so if you want something for your kiddo to drink during take off (which helps with regulating their ears during the pressure changes) just make sure you grab something in the terminal.

mz628 · May 2016

Buy the seat! We have traveled a lot with ds and its worth it every time.

As long as your car seat is fda approved, it will fit.

Enjoy!

fiscally3 · May 2016

We did a 5 hour trip (3 hours, layover, 2 hours) when DS1 was 15 months. My one recommendation, since you are pregnant too, is to really make sure you stay hydrated, even bring some gatorade for the flight (buy it at the airport). Our flight was a 3 hour long red eye, DS fell asleep on me, and I woke up feeling sick. I ran to the rest room and fainted on the way. That airline didn't have gatorade, but the nurse, emt, and ER doctor pushed fluids (flight attendants did cranberry juice & sprite I think?) and getting gatorade as soon as I got off the plane. I was 5 weeks pregnant and just wasn't drinking enough fluids, didn't realize how hot the plane was, and how warm a sleeping toddler was.

muybueno · May 2016

We bring car seats on board for our kids when they are under 3. EVERY time. Otherwise, it's impossible to keep them contained. My advice after 20+ flights with toddlers- don't stress it too much in advance, because it's going to be what it is. I've wasted SO many hours stressing over flights...

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