Thursday, March 6, 2014

Air travel with toddler?




m smartie


We will be traveling from Phoenix to Hawaii in May with our almost 3 year old daughter. Im looking for some good tips or pointers to make things easier during our travels. Can you please give me your thoughts as to whether or not we should take our childs carseat onto the airplane with us? We have assigned seating in the middle aisle of the airplane for a total of three seats (myself, husband and daughter.) Any other tips would be great as well. Thanks!! Also the two smallest carseats we have are a Britax Advocate, or a Cheaper Evenflo (lighter), which should be take for our overal trip? We are going for 10 total days


Answer
I know a bunch of folks hell bent on carseats on planes...but frankly...1) if you have plane trouble...the carseat isn't going to do you a bit of good. 2) I have never had any luck keeping my child in it. 3) they barely fit in the seats and they are obnoxious to manage.

Bring whatever carseat is safest, regardless of size. Once you get to HI, you install it in the rental car and it's there for two weeks...so it really doesn't matter which one's lighter ...you're ony going to have to deal with it from landing to car pick up anyway.

As far as actual travel....bring a portable DVD, Iphone with videos, small quiet toys, a favorite story and snacks. That's a long flight, so just be prepared to keep them entertained for the entire flight...so my first impulse was to bring brand new videos that they'd never seen, and a few brand new toys and it always took them longer to get bored with the new stuff than the old favorites.

Get there early and board first. They usually let families with small children jump the crowd and get situated before the cattle call of passengers.

Pack a few changes of easy clothes for baby, diaper changes and clothing changes in an airplane bathroom can't be any more impossible and painful than they are now. I used use quart sized zip lock bags to store complete outfits...so all I had to do was grab a ziplock and they had a onsie, pants and socks ready to go. I still do that with wipes and diapers...so I don't have to take a 15 pound diaper bag into a stall with me.

I WOULD gate check a small umbrella stroller if you're bringing one...that way baby can be contained and comfy in the airport and the airline folks will have your stroller waiting for you at the gate when you deboard the plane so that you don't have to run to baggage claim carrying a 30 pound cranky baby.

That's about all I can think of at the moment... If I remember anything else I'll pop back in.

Good Luck and have a great trip.


Ooooh Bring a spare Tshirt for yourself. Had an airsick baby once, with nothing to change into afterward. Have packed myself a fresh shirt, just in case, ever since.

Air Travel With Toddlers?




Rachel


I'm going on a trip with my twins, they are 18months old. The trip starts with a 6hr plane trip, with one stop and then a 4hr car ride. My children have been on a plane, but they were only 4mos old and slept the entire time, and the longest car trip they've been on is 30minutes, so I'm concerned. My son is pretty laid back, but my daughter can get restless quickly. The plane ride we will not have car seats, so my mother and I will be holding them the entire flight. I need all the creative tips and advice to make this trip as smooth as possible.


Answer
Get a portable DVD player and movies that they like. Hope for a nap during the flight, many kids will fall asleep on the plane. Bring snacks, toys that are fun but not obnoxious, and books to read. Pack enough diapers for the both of them and a change of clothes for everyone.




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