Conference moira::parenting

    Good luck!  I flew recently with my then 11 month old (Logan-Orlando)
    and it was not much fun.  
    
    My best recommendation is to see if you can possibly keep them
    up (no nap) until the plane is ready leave.   Give them something
    to drink and snuggle (if you are buying seats for them, then you 
    could put them in their car seats) and with luck they'll sleep
    through most of the flight.
    
    Check out Note #13.40 which has referencs to other good notes to
    look at, particularly 25.*
    
    Tara (whose not planning to travel again until my youngest can sit
          still for more than 30 seconds!)

>Have any of you flown with kids that are this age?  Any suggestions
>on how to keep them busy for 3 hours?  

    We've flown recently Boston to Tampa, but our kids are a little
    older.

    Can your kids chew gum yet?  I forget when they could start
    doing that.  Our kids were real bothered by the air pressure
    changes and had a hard time 'popping' their ears.  Gum helped
    a lot.

    We took a fair amount of snacks along...like small bags of peanuts.
    Your kids will want more than they give on the plane.
    good luck
    bob

    
    
    Good luck!
    
    Once my kids hit the 12 month & walking stage, it was hell in a plane. 
    What I did to make the best of it was to be prepared with juice/water &
    plenty of snacks.  Also, I brought along those fat crayons & paper
    (even if you haven't introduced crayons yet, this may be a good time to
    try), a magna doodle (you can draw what they want you too & they can
    "draw" too), books, age appropriate puzzels.  Remeber nothing that will
    make noice.  I also walked to the bathrooms a couple of times to look
    out the windows & talk to the flight attendants.  If you're really
    lucky they'll nap a bit, so depending the time of your travel, I'd try
    to keep them up longer before the flight.
    
    Again, good luck!!  Beth

    We fly with our kids (now 5 1/2 and 2) at least once a year since all
    grandparents are in Georgia (Logan -> Atlanta is about 2 1/2 hours).
    
    The best we found is like Tara suggested, try to hold the nap until
    they get on the plane.  We've also had a lot of luck with new toys.
    We take the kids shopping a week or so before the trip to buy a new
    "airplane" toy.  It can be a puzzle book, puppet, lacing cards,
    coloring book, anything that we think will hold their attention for a
    while.  The deal is that we buy the toy, but it never gets opened until
    we are in our seats on the plane.  
    
    Another important thing is to plan variety.  We carry a backpack of
    toys for each of the kids.  It contains the new toys, other favorites
    and some snacks.  Also, it does seem to help to take the younger ones
    on walks down the aisles a couple of times during the flight.  Don't go
    with the expectation that the kids are going to be willing to sit in
    their seats for the entire time.
    
    The most important thing is for the adults to not plan on doing
    anything on the plane other than play with the kids and keep them
    occupied.  I've found that my kids are happy just to have Mom's and
    Dad's undivided attention for that long.  
    
    Good luck!
    
    Irene 
    (who flies with her's again in 2 1/2 weeks!)

We went to Puerta Vallarta when Matthew was 13 months.  It was a 6 hour plane
ride.  Believe it or not, everything went great.  We paid the extra money to
buy a seat for him because the plane was almost all the way booked and we
were worried that we wouldn't get a seat for him.  I didn't want to have to
keep him on my lap for 6 hours.  We brought his car seat on which was great
to have a place to strap him into.  He took about a 2 hour nap in his carseat
but he was up the remaining 4 hours.  

The doctor told me to give him something to drink on the way up so his ears
would pop, but not to give him any liquids on the way down because the fluid
collects in the ears and can cause pain.  Just give him a pacifier on the way
down.  Matthew hates his pacifier but we were lucky, he was sleeping on the way
down both ways. The doctor also told me to give him some Dimetap about 1 hour
before takeoff.  We did these and he was fine.  I think the Dimetap might
have made him sleepy which was good.

He was just starting to walk at that time so I walked him up and down the 
aisles alot.  Everyone on the plane knew Matthew.

Have fun.
Doreen

This is too funny.  :)  All the replies have an imbedded 'good luck' in
them.  I think that's a sign.  I like the idea of 'new' toys ... toys that
they haven't seen before.  Oh, and trying to keep them awake before
the flight is another good idea.  Books ... that's another good one.  Both
boys are into books quite a bit.  And IIIII like the MagnaDoodle
idea myself!  ;)

I think they're still too young for gum chewing.  Any other ideas on
how to 'pop their ears' for them?  Although, if we deprive them of
sleep, some yawning will probably take care of that!  ;)

Thanks, Tara, for the pointer to other notes.

Dina, now 3.75, has probably flown more than 15,000 miles.  She loves flying,
especially takeoffs.  Long flights are nonetheless taxing on us.  During our
last flight, when she was almost 3, she spent a lot of time running up and
down the aisles, chasing and being chased by a little boy in the row behind
us.  For a while we ran after her, but due to our exhaustion, we eventually
gave up.  At some point a flight attendant told us we had to keep her in
her seat.  We had to hold her, but she eventually fell asleep on the floor
of the cabin.

When we flew with Shoshana at 19 months, she slept most of the time.  She
was still somewhat in what we call "orphanage mode."  I suspect she'd be
much harder to fly with now.

Ask your pediatrician about giving your kids something to make them drowsy.
Benedryl is a pretty innocuous way of doing this (I wish we'd known it then!)

    Another pointer, if you have access to the Internet:
    
    The Penny Whistle Traveling with Kids Book
    http://family.starwave.com/funstuff/pwhistle/pwtravel/pwttoc.html
    

    I agree with the Dimetapp/Bendryl suggestion (obviously, consult
    the boys' pedi[s]).  Worked like a charm for me when I took my
    daughter (then 13 months) Logan-Orlando, and (at age 2.5) Logan-
    SEA.
    
    Timing is dicey, though; outbound, I took the advice of administering
    the Benedryl an hour before flight time; she nodded off too soon, 
    missing the food and waking up before we landed.  Coming back, I waited
    til we were aboard the plane; by the time she had eaten, the Benedryl
    had kicked in and the full tummy helped her sleep longer, IMO.  (I
    don't remember what she would have been eating from the onboard "food" 
    at 13 months, but I'm pretty sure she was chowing on cut-up people food 
    by then.)
    
    If they can't chew gum, a bottle or sippy cup works (and a game of who
    can yawn the first/the most/the biggest).
    
    Leslie 

> Ask your pediatrician about giving your kids something to make them drowsy.
> Benedryl is a pretty innocuous way of doing this (I wish we'd known it then!)

  But don't try benedryl for the first time just before the flight - not all
kids react the same way.  It does NOT make my daughter drowsy.  It makes her
extremely restless - not something to have happen on a plane.

  My kids have flown quite a bit (annual trips to Sweden).  They behave 
quite differently.  My son usually sleeps, in his car seat when he was younger
or on the floor now.  He is a GREAT traveler.

  My daughter rarely sleeps while traveling.  I once tried to delay her nap
before a flight - hoping she would sleep on the flight.  For her it was a big
mistake, she was overtired and could not fall asleep in the bright cabin.

  Make sure you call the airline and find out what "perks" they offer kids.
Don't assume they'll give you anything without asking.  I've found British
Air and SAS to be quite kid friendly.  USAir also gave us a nice kids pack
once ( I think it was US Air - this was a Boston-Orlando flight).  I've 
also found it worthwhile to order kids meals.


Elizabeth

The previous notes have all the ideas we tried with success!!  Books are
Shruthi's favorite and so I would always buy a couple of new ones and surprise
her on the flight with them!  Magna Doodle was one other surprise that went over
very well!!  We are on our third Magna Doodle toy now!!  She liked to walk the
aisles..that was a big problem on short flights..the air-hostesses seem to be
always walking up and down the aisles, distributing food/collecting garbage
etc..she would get in their way and some of them were not too happy!  Playing
with the lights/buttons next to the seat kept her occupied for a while, on
international flights, listening to music helped!  She has flown so much that by
the time she was 2, she knew the routine very well - when she saw the
air-hostess coming around, she would very politely ask " Can I have some peanuts
please?"!

Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!  These are all great ideas!  I
KNEW I came to the right spot!  ;)  Drugs ... I never thought of
THAT one.  ... and I grew up in the 70's!  :)  (Just kiddin', guys!)
Seriously, Dimetapp is a great idea and we've got enough time
to check their reaction to it before we leave for the trip ... after
consulting their pedis, of course.

Terrel, the 13 month old, is still drinking a bottle once in a
while so we'll probably be able to pop his ears by giving him
a bottle.  Nicholas, 19 months, is drinking out of a sippy cup
so hopefully that'll work for Nick.  Thanks for that pointer.

Nick likes to focus on one particular task for a while so I
think the lacer-upper idea is good.  

Again, thanks to all for your replies.  !!!

bob

    You can also try to give them lollipops as soon as the plane is taxiing
    down the runway.  You don't have to force them to suck it and the
    constant sucking will keep their ears popped all the time.  I have not
    seen one kid that dislikes lollipop (till now).
    
    Just my .02c......
    Jay.

    re -.1
    
    The only time my 5 year old gets Charms Blowpops is on the airplane. 
    It's another treat for her when we fly.  They're round and harder to 
    bite/easier to suck on hard than the normal flat ones.  Tootsie Rolls
    do just at well.
    
    Irene
    

    One thing that no one mentioned here is to bring the 
    umbrella type of stroller(s). In most airports nowadays,
    you end up having to walk "miles" from terminal to baggage
    claim, etc. I always bring it with me up to the last minute -
    at the boarding gate, let the flight crew decide what to do
    with it. Also, since you have two children to keep track of,
    it is a good idea to wear a backup so your hands are free to
    handle tickets, etc.
    
    	Dirce         

Oh, yes!  An umbrella stroller is a must.  If the kids want to walk, you can
use it for your carry-ons.

    To ease the pressure in the ears on the way up, get two plastic cups
    and put paper towels dampened with warm water in them.  Have the kids
    hold them up to their ears during take off.  A vacuum is created so
    there is no ear pain.  I once had to fly with a terrible head cold and
    this worked great for me.
    Tell them they are Mickey Mouse ears!   ;^)
    
    Nancy

    Don't forget some familiar snacks! Depending on delays or what have
    you, the airline may not be able to serve on schedule.  I found it
    helpful when traveling with my two, to have cheerios, crackers, small
    juice boxes and things of that nature.  Hungry kids have NO patience!
    I also used the 'new toy and/or book, crayons" ideas.  Last summer on a
    long car trip (NH to VA) I brought along some modeling wax, and that
    was a big hit with both my 12 and 3 year old.  Not as messy as
    playdough, as you have to work it a bit more to shape it.  I got it
    from the Hearthsong catalogue but I think they carry it in the learn
    and play stores as well.  Have fun!!

Ditto the suggestion for a car seat for them to sit in.  We've found
that our 3 year old was used to "staying put" in the carseat for a car ride
and it carried over to a plane ride.  At least for a few hours.  Before
we caught on (and HAD to buy him a ticket), he was always squirming and
fussy, wanting to be "everywhere" but where we wanted him to be.  Never
napped on board, no matter how we tried to time things...

Charlie

    I took a little different approach when travelling with my son when he
    was about 2 and just walking.  I purposely asked for changes, rather
    that direct route.  This allowed us to get off the plane after a couple
    of hours, let him run around the airport and burn off some energy, get
    some real food to eat (or such as it is in airports) and buy a new,
    very inexpensive toy at the airport shop to keep him occupied during
    tha second leg.  Then we boarded again (very exciting), got settled
    again, got to take off again, and he'd fall asleep again.  It took
    longer to get there, but we both arrived a lot less stressed.
    Sarah

If you're going to be changing planes, leave more time than you would if
you were traveling alone.  We had an hour between flights in Frankfurt,
and with lots of carry-ons and two toddlers, we barely made it.