kids on airplane

[EmmMOM2]

Anyone have any tips?
We leave in a little over a week with 1 & 4 year old. So far I'm packing a lot of snacks and a bag of "new" toys i bought a bunch from a dollar store as they always seem to play better with new things..

Any suggestions?

[disneyfan328]

the toys will help, and snacks as well. crayons ect worked for us.

I am going to preface my next suggestions as things that have worked for us. Please keep that in mind.

hand held games (my kids have gameboys and leapsters ) games and batteries.
their favorite blankie or stuffed animal

your kids are young, but gum or suckers or juice in a bottle for the youngest - anything that will keep the jaw working to help their ears pop.

music - mp3 player or headset with fun music for them.

My DS gets motion sickness so with the advice from his pediatrician and to avoid him on the flight we gave him one small dose of benadryl about 45 mins prior to flight. It worked great and he was fine. We had the same issue with oldest DD when she was younger and did the same.

We also had an early flight so since we had to wake the kids at 4:30 am to head for the airport even at 6 & 8 yrs old they were both ready for a nap at our 9am flight time.

my DD like just looking at all of the clouds. We played the what shapes do you see and we even saw one that looked like a mickey head!!

[disney99]

something for their ears, we always take a cup from home and purchase juice or milk before boarding the plane..

their favorite blanket, or if they use something to fall asleep with - stuffed animal

hand held games are great, we have also used a small portable DVD player for movies The Polar Express got us just about the enitre way from Dallas to Orlando last year.

we have used the bag of new toys on long car rides, and that has worked well.

[ginger19]

The benadryl did not work for my daughter's ears so we now buy ear planz ( I think that's what they are called). You can buy them at any drugstore and I've seen them at the airport. They sit in the child's ear for the entire flight and really make a huge difference. I would recommend them highly

[Dyanna]

We bought a portable DVD player for our upcoming trip to WDW in Nov for our daughter (5 days shy of her 2nd birthday when we leave WDW to head home) to watch her favorite Disney movies/shows on the plane to keep her occupied.

[thrillme]

Portable DVD player all the way!

[disneyfan328]

The benadryl did not work for my daughter's ears so we now buy ear planz ( I think that's what they are called). You can buy them at any drugstore and I've seen them at the airport. They sit in the child's ear for the entire flight and really make a huge difference. I would recommend them highly

I did not use the benadryl for this. The benadryl was reccomended by my pediatrician for motion sickness. It is the antihistamine in it that helps so even for adults if you have people with motion sickness ( not vertigo as that is a whole differnt ball game ) it can help, It makes some people sleepy so you have to judge which is the lesser of two evils.

I have heard about the ear plans for the kids but have never used them. We just use gum and so far that has worked for us.

[Disney Doll]

Funny story for you. I had packed little backpacks for each of our girls with snacks and toys for the plane ride. We had to split up 2 and 2 on the plane. DH let the oldest who was 5 eat all her snacks within the first 30 minutes. She got sick, but thankfully not until we had landed. Now I am sure to give very specific instructions for DH. Another lesson learned the hard way is that silly putty is not a good airplane toy. It sticks to everything even the hard surfaces and I had to pick it off of the seat arms. This year we are bringing the laptop which will play DVDs. I'm also counting on our baby to take his morning nap on the plane.

[pink]

We used to give my brother a whole stick of starburts and it would take him hours to unwrap everyone one so it was a good way to keep him occupied.

[minnesotafreeze]

A DVD player is the way to go.

[EmmMOM2]

Okay, portable DVD player..... CHECK

I just wish my 1 year old was more fond of TV since she's really the one i'm worried about.

[SamG]

Check 'em with your luggage? I kid, I kid.

Think about taking the car seat... especially for the younger one. Since they're used to riding in the seat, it may make it a little more comfortable. Yes, it's a pain going through the airport with it, but I found a bag with wheels just for pulling through the airport.

Regarding DVD players, game boys, etc... keep in mind from when they shut the boarding door until the plane reaches cruising altitude, those devices need to be turned off. So depending on the length of flight, right when the DVD itself starts (after all the previews), you might need to turn it off again.

Get some of the "color wonder" markers & books for them... the markers can only color on the special paper.

The hard candy is good too (I don't know that I'd trust the little ones with gum). Also, if the youngest is still on a pacifier, that could be a substitute.

[TheRustyScupper]

three words . . .
. . . ben a dryl

[disneyfan328]

three words . . .
. . . ben a dryl

[irish1967]

A slightly different take here.

Make sure your older child knows what to expect with the plane ride, especially the sitting down with the seat belt aspect...

The worst plane ride I have ever been on included an older toddler (not mine ) who saw babies sitting on their parents' laps and decided that he wanted to sit on his mommie's lap as well. Anyway, to make a long story short since that is illegal during take-off and landing, the plane would not take off until everyone was belted into their own seat.

Ultimately, the mother and one flight attendant had to hold him down while another flight attendant had to buckle the seat belt. He screamed from the moment they buckled the seat belt until the seat belt sign went off.

Words cannot describe how awful it was - and as bad as it was for the rest of the passenger, it must have been 1,000,000 times worse for the child (and his poor mother!)

A flight attendant later thanked the passengers around the mother and her some for their patience (the mom and son had gone to the bathroom so they weren't embarrassed) and mentioned that they see this often with younger first time flyers who don't know what to expect.

[mulderxcoltrane]

A DVD player works great! For the little ones, I think new "dollar store" toys will be a good time waster. Make sure to bring some for the plane ride home as well! I bring things that they don't really play with at home, like scotch tape(a roll can entertain kids for a really long time!). Color Wonder paper is also wonderful. We got a really cool toy on etsy.com. It's called an I Spy Bag and is a fabric bag filled with small charms and beads. You have to search for each charm through all the beans. My 2 year old loves it and it's a nice quiet toy- good for church, planes, etc...