how to entertaain a 20 month old on a long plane ride

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Forum -> Parenting our children -> Toddlers

How to entertaain a 20 month old on a long plane ride

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rochellee

Sun, Jan 30 2011, 1:54 pm

any ideas of what I can do to keep my baby entetained for 12 hours? I'm afraid she and I will both go nuts! anyone did a flight like this with this age kid? how'd it go?
thanks

mamaleh

Sun, Jan 30 2011, 2:42 pm

My dd was 22months when I flew with her to E"Y. I got lots of 'non-dropables' so that I wouldn't have to keep picking up pieces. A puzzle with attached (via ribbon) pieces, triangle crayons, pad of paper, stickers. I found we didn't need as much as I brought. She had a great time with the stickers & crayons. She also watched a video (one of the channels had something for kids). Between that & sleeping & eating & taking walks, we did fine. BTW I found that taking her car seat made a big difference. It was much more comfy for her than the reg seat so she was able to sleep well. I know most people preffer the bulkhead seats with kids but if you are taking a car seat that doesn't always work, the armrests don't go up and some carseats need the extra width. If you aren't taking a carseat then the arms going up means that she can lean on you or stretch out a little.

mamommommy

Sun, Jan 30 2011, 3:42 pm

We once traveled with our 21 month old dd and, I don't want to scare you, but it was a nightmare. I think where we messed up was that we took an afternoon flight (as opposed to a night flight), so by the time it was "bedtime", she was so overstimulated that she couldn't settle down. She did finally fall asleep, but it was hard.

We didn't bring a car seat, but I agree with the above poster that it probably would've been easier for her to settle down in a car seat.

Bring a lot of nosh, toys, books, crayons, etc... I also like the above poster's idea of 'non-dropables', although my dd enjoyed climbing up and down from the seat dozens of times to pick up her things.

Every kid is different, so hopefully it will go well for you.

yo'ma

Sun, Jan 30 2011, 4:19 pm

I'm sorry, I can't help you because I always make sure to take the red eye Wink

MaBelleVie

Sun, Jan 30 2011, 4:27 pm

It really depends on your child's personality. IME, it was a nightmare, but like childbirth, you forget Wink

If it's necessary, you just do it and get it over with. I know some people who have no problem, but their kids are easier in general.

I've taken both the red eye and day flights, and I wouldn't say one is necessarily easier. During the day, the child is more likely to be happy, but want to be constantly active. At night, the child will probably ultimately sleep a large portion, but until that point, it can be very hard getting an overtired toddler to fall asleep in a strange environment. There's a lot of screaming while the other passengers are trying to sleep.

SingALong

Sun, Jan 30 2011, 5:43 pm

I've flown with kids at various ages and one thing that I felt was important was DISPOSABLE TOYS!!! I didn't want to have to worry about finding that last puzzle piece. things like stickers, coloring books, cheap $0.25 prizes, etc. a slinky. basically I went to the local dollar store for all this stuff, and after the plane ride, anything broken or ost went into the garbage.

rochellee

Thu, Feb 17 2011, 7:28 pm

thanks for your wonderful ideas. I did some shopping for toys and now we're going to hope and pray that it go smoothly.

amother

Thu, Feb 17 2011, 7:41 pm

Benadryl for the toddler, a few glasses of wine for you.

Just kidding. Obviously.

Or in the alternative, get a seat in business class and a seat in coach. You sit in business class by yourself and make your husband sit in coach with the toddler. This works great for my SIL.

sped

Thu, Feb 17 2011, 7:51 pm

amother wrote:

Maybe I will try that with my to - be 11 month old.

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