Taking 17 month old on 12 hour flight: any tips? Post Reply

[pie81]

We are off on long haul holiday at the end of April and I need tips for the flight to keep us all sane and the flight not too bad for other passengers!

We have night flights both ways but realistically I doubt she will sleep for more than about 6/7 hours each way (she is not a big fan of sleep at the best of times especially if there is more exciting stuff to do).

We don't have a separate seat for her (beginning to regret this!) and she is too old for the bassinets. Airline doesn't have the Britax clip on seat. So she will be on our laps the whole way.

So... how to entertain her? We will load up ipad with night garden and peppa pig and quiet apps but she is a bit too young to focus on TV for that long. We will take lots of snacks as she does love to eat.

What else is good for this age? At the moment she is a bit young for sticker books I think. She's a very busy, active, lively sort of child... it's going to be a nightmare isn't it





Any other ideas please?

[Ruby]

Phernegan

[schoolgatesmum]

Have very very low expectations! I did a 10 hr flight with an 18 month old and we spent most of it walking up and down the plane. When I looked at my watch for the first time and we'd only been flying for 2 hours, I could have cried. I think it's about the worst age to fly with - sorry that's not much help is it?! Saying that, iPads hadn't been invented then so maybe it'll be easier for you? We had a great holiday though!

[Beketaten]

May be obvious, but she will be using the iPad with headphones, right? I really couldn't believe that behind me on a recent flight to Egypt was a little boy watching cartoons, playing music and games on an iPad without headphones. The volume was low, but my row, and presumably the row behind him could still hear and it was incredibly annoying, and this wasn't even a night flight so nobody was trying to sleep. The mother turned it down when I asked her to, but we could still hear.

[claphamama]

We flew 12 hours when my daughter was around that age. Yes, is not the best thing ever but is not as bad as you think. By the time dinner is served, a couple of trips to the loo and ipad playing and it will be time to sleep. We laid her on our laps and she was fine...but husband and I didn't get ANY sleep. A couple of things I would suggest: check in at the airport as early as you can and kindly ask if the flight is full - if not they ALWAYS try to get you a spare seat for the little one (BA definitely does). And ask air hostesses if there is any spare tray of food (children on your laps are not provided a meal on flights but there is always spare). Bring LOTS of snacks/food/drinks. Raisins are great, they take a long time to finish a pack and that's entertainment by itself.
I was obsessed with getting her headphones as I didn't want to bother other people of the flight but they don't sell anything suitable for toddlers - the ones I bought were too big and she wasn't so keen to put them on. Enjoy your holiday!

[123-abc]

Definitely invest in some child friendly headphones.

Think of your flight awake time in 15 minutes slots and try and have an activity to fill them!!

Wrapping up new presents (don't have to be expensive) and letting her open one will keep her entertained. Don't let her see where you are getting them from though else she will want all of them. The key is to make each present last as long as possible and to not produce a new one until she is completely bored!!

I know you said she might be too young for stickers but Jelly stickers are great when flying because you can stick them to the window/table and they will peel straight off!

If she likes using crayons make sure they are square/triangular so they don't fall off the table!

If she is getting bored of being in the seat, going and chatting to the cabin crew can be a great distraction and that area of the plane is usually a bit noisier so might drown out any potential cries!!

Lots of snacks. Even if you think you have too many, add another snack!! I think someone mentioned raisins, anything similar that takes a while to eat is perfect!!

If you have family photos on your phone/ipad this can be a great way to pass the time.

Good luck!

[pie81]

Hi thank you all so much! some great tips here

Headphones, I hadn't thought of that but obviously I can see it would have to be either no sound or headphones. has anyone found any headphones an 18 month old might keep on... ?

What is Phenergan, is that like Piriton? I've been wondering about having that as a back up option but heard it can make some kids go loopy.

Little presents is a good idea and I've never heard of jelly stickers but they sound good. OMG 15 minute slots there are a LOT of 15 minutes in 12 hours...

Thankfully she loves books so we will invest in some small paperback ones like Mr Men maybe. Crayoning is not popular just yet.

Any recommendations for 18 month friendly apps? Ideally ones that are still good with the sound off?

at the moment we are booked into 2 seats on their own, it seemed better than the alternative of being 2 in a row of 4, or should we try to change this? we will do our best to check in early and see if the flight has any spare seats.

think we will book a babysitter for a few hours the day we arrive so we can get a nap ourselves!

[123-abc]

Sorry just re-read my post and wanted to clarify a few things!!

I meant "gel stickers" not jelly stickers. They can also be called window stickers. Ebay and amazon are your best bet for those.

We used groov-e headphones and got them off amazon I think. They were a bit big but we made them work!

When I flew with an 18 month old, the first 45 mins was spent discovering the seat/table/looking out of the window/checking out our seat neighbours! Then we did a lot of peppa, stickers, snacks, looking at photos, flirting with the cabin crew (he literally charmed them!)

Something else he loved was a cup of ice(!!) with a straw. It kept him fascinated for a good half an hour!! Also we did a lot of peekaboo with the complimentary eye mask. And we put his cuddly toy to bed using the complimentary blanket and read it stories etc.

Something that helped was getting on the flight at the last minute; sent family ahead with bags to settle in and then we got on the plane last.

In terms of seats, I think I would stick with what you have.

Also something I forgot to say was make sure you have changes of clothes for both of you. I was lucky enough to be vomited on at the start of a long haul flight and ended up having to wear a men's jumper for the rest of the flight as I just hadn't thought to pack a change of clothes for me in the cabin luggage!!

[papinian]

A couple of weeks ago I did 15 hour flight, 3 hour stopover, then 8 hour flight, with my 20 month old daughter on my lap.

The 15 hour flight was fairly easy as it was an evening departure and she slept for most of it. We don't believe in screens for under 3s so we don't use IPad or anything like that. We had some books that she likes - word books where she can point and I name or I point and she names) and a few story books that she's familiar with. We also had a magnetic game that she enjoyed (Geomag) - that was just fluke as I had done some work for the company and had been given it free and it happened to be in my case.

What I found worst were the mealtimes on the plane. There was just no room whatsoever with her and the tray. I suggest asking the cabin crew to leave the meal in the galley for you to eat after the main meal service. We were flying with Emirates and they were great.

[pigeonpairmum]

It's certainly not the easiest undertaking you'll do, and her age might be a problem in terms of sleep or restlessness, but you can got the first thing right - the night flight. We have done the UK-Aus trip with a (then) 10 mth boy and 2 yr 9 mth girl. It wasn't quite as bad as it could have been - but I did worry about it beforehand. I agree with all the posts about seating, snacks, entertainment (although we do not have computers for our kids...), changes of clothes and the like. I would just say this from experience:

Please don't feel the need to "entertain" her the whole time - the flight will be exhausting enough for you as it is. You won't really rest - but if you can take it in shifts (an hour at a time say), then do so. Wear an eye mask and ear plugs and resist interfering - your session will come soon enough!

Don't rush to change an activity - there is plenty of mileage in looking out the window, looking around, counting how many hats etc. I just kept one eye on what we might do next - without saying anything to ours. Ditto if she starts making a noise, so as "to keep her quiet" - and don't worry about other people around you. If they are decent enough, or parents, they should understand.

The crew will be experienced - call them for help with your food tray etc (we got our dinners in relay rather than tandem - and we had a bassinet). ALso, after the intial 2 hours or so excitement/ novelty of the flight (food, films on the TV etc), the crew will put the lights down and if you anticipate when this might be, then you can do the usual things as at home in terms of sleep cues etc - a little wash down in the toilet (before it gets busy/dirty), brushing teeth, change to PJs/grobag, singing songs in the bulkhead to calm down etc. Each can be a good 15 min activity if not rushed - in fact, I suggest you go deliberately slowly!

Choose your snacks carefully - if possible protein/ milk based to fill the tummy and encourage sleep. Plenty of nappies!!

Oh, and tempting though it is, don't get too stuck into the booze!

Good luck with the flight!

[dudette]

Lordy lord. We did a 12 hour trip when my son was just 2. The night flight out was fine. The flight back was a day flight and he slept for just an hour and then was awake for the rest of it. The worst bit is after 7 hours (London-New York) and you realise you've got another five hours to go. We didn't have an ipad either but did lots of sticker books and lots of walks round the plane. Fortunately we were flying over Africa on a clear day so there was stuff to look at (which kept me amused!). What you need to remember is not so much your daughter getting bored, but you getting bored. You need to plan with your husband beforehand to take it in turns to look after her, otherwise you'll end up bitter and resentful - not a great end to a lovely holiday. Hopefully she'll sleep blissfully!

Not very helpful for you but to anyone else reading this, I'd say 9 months to 3 years is the worst time to take kids on a long haul flight. Once they can start watching films (or even tv programmes) it gets much easier, and young babies sleep, so they're easy as well.

[jo jo]

Aqua doodle, iPad with baby headphones - you can get ones small enough, completely agree with bedroom routine mentioned above - we took our time - a long time doing this and changing into pjs/ sleep bag was a sign it's rest time... Books, stickers and snacks (lots of). Airlines also carry milk so don't panic on that one.

[pie81]

thanks, this is all so so helpful.

bedtime routines - well the flight departure time is 9pm so realistically lights out won't be till say 10.30/11pm - her usual bedtime is 8pm - eek. I guess probably she will nap on the way to the airport so that will keep her going till a later bedtime.

thanks for the tip on the milk! saves me bringing loads of aptamil cartons. will look into the groov-e headphones. We don't let her have the iPad or TV much at home, but that hopefully means it will be all the more fascinating on the flight...

pre agreed shifts with husband is a great idea, I can see that saving lots of resentment and/or arguments on the plane! also great tips about enlisting crew help at mealtimes etc.

thanks again.

[Tots Too]

We have some tips on the Tots Too website about flying with a baby. Although your child is a little older, some of the tips may be useful for you too, see here:
http://www.totstoo.com/blogs/flight-tips-with-baby/
And a heartfelt good luck!

[LocalBatterseaGirl]

I've thought a lot about travel entertainment as we don't have a car and usually travel by train (admittedly easier than the plane!). Take a mirror - this has loads of mileage, a good 15 mins, possibly 30mins - see yourself, mummy, see over the seat, put things on it (pennies or anything small), draw a picture and make 2 of them! Masking tape - sticks to anything and, more importantly, peals off again plus you can draw on it and make 'stickers'. You can also use it to make a roadway for toy cars. Galt magic water coluring books are ace - fill the pen with water and then colour in the pages - by the time you've done the last one the first one's dry again! Melissa and Doug do something similar but the pen's not so robust. I've also used a lot of magazines - cbeebies mag is good and they do monthly specials too. For someone your daughters age night garden or something special magazines are good they come with a toy and the stickers are often quite big - my oldest's nursery teacher commented on her good fine motor skills and I'm sure it was due to all the careful placing of stickers in magazines. I have collected a wealth of travel toys from the front of these magazines (carefully selected, I don't want a houseful of plastic tat) especially the little tea sets and cooking sets, we now have quite a collection. My advice is to take a ziplock bag to put the little bits in for safekeeping (I favour the reinforced ones with actual zips from ryman and the like). Oh, and a magnetic fishing game has some mileage -Djeco do a nice one. Can't think of anore off the top of my head!