Traveling by plane with toddler

Discussion in 'Chatty Pad' started by Tronesia, May 26, 2017.

  1. Tronesia

    Tronesia Tronesia

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    I posted this on my FB and thought I'd ask here too. Has anyone traveled by plane with a toddler? Did you take their car seat, use a harness, or what?

    I am thinking of taking our car seat for him to sit in and so he will be comfortable in the seat he is used to sitting in and we will have it while we drive around the area for while we look for a house. I am also sure he'd get a kick out of sitting like a big boy in a seat, but I want what is safest. The directions for our seat look easy to install; not sure if we want to lug that big thing around or get a smaller harness for him like this (https://www.amazon.com/Child-Airplane-Travel-Harness-Restraint/dp/B0012E4FV8). If I get the harness, I would still have to figure out a safety seat for him while in the rental car.

    Thanks for any help, advice and suggestions. :) And anything to help in general when flying with a toddler...please feel free to share. :D My 9-year old will be easy enough to entertain.
     
  2. bellbird

    bellbird Pollywog

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    i'm not sure this is the same over in the US but when we flew to the UK and DS was in a toddler car seat, the rental for that was as much as the car itself per day so if u can take it with you, it should save some cash ;) Depending on the length of the flight and time of day you go, the novelty of the trip might be enough entertainment value (plus a few episodes of his fave show on an ipad or whatever)
     
  3. jenn mccabe

    jenn mccabe She's OUR sunshine!

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    we would bring the car seats with us too. we figured we needed them to drive around anyway.

    i always bought cheap little novelty toys - new things that I could pull out one by one as needed to keep them entertained. i made sure we we walked around as much as possible before boarding the plane. and i kept a few little snacks for them too. like justine said the novelty of the trip itself was entertainment and then they slept a decent amount too. good luck!
     
  4. jk703

    jk703 CEO of Anything and Everything, Everywhere

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    We've traveled with a infant before, then an infant and toddler and then kid and toddler, lol. I've done both... brought the car seat and the booster seat. It makes it easier to strap them in, and the vibrations sometimes help.

    I would suggest a car seat bag if you opt to bring it. We had a bag that the car seat fit in. We borrowed one first that was a backpack, and then we borrowed another time one with wheels. Both were great. Then we bought the back pack kind, cheaper, and easier to use it like a back pack. And... you can totally fit more stuff in it. We didn't check ours, and used it on the seat, so what we put in it sometimes was stuff for the kids to play with. It was also less hassle with a rental car when we had our own car seat.

    The flight personnel may allow you to at least get on and help you before the rest of the crowd to get situated. Can't hurt to ask. Sometimes they don't let families go on first nowadays, but I would ask and explain your hesitations on getting the seat in correctly.

    As for toddler, bring LOTS of food. Lollipops! Bring toys he likes, allow screen time, and be prepared to bribe! :giggle Also, don't be afraid to walk around, it will pass some time, and most people will be delighted to say hi to a little one. It is hard sometimes to get them back into the seat, so bribery worked for us. A Dum Dum worked, and we had oodles. The other thing we did was unorthodox. We also talked to our doctor about giving him a small dose of Benedryl. She told us the amount at the time, and we followed her directions when giving the dosage. That started our flights with a happy kid, then a nap, a gentle waking and the remainder of our flight was really pleasant. Plus, doing that for us was worth less stress.

    (bags like these: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=car+seat+bag+airplane&rh=i:aps,k:car+seat+bag+airplane)
     
  5. jagruti patel

    jagruti patel Me love cookies! Yum! Yum!

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    we also bring ours. Pain to carry...but worth it!
     
  6. QuiltyMom

    QuiltyMom I'll never run out of things to do!

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    Yes, I did it all the time, so here's my advice. I typically flew alone since my DH had to work, so this is all written from traveling solo with two kids. Sorry if it seems a bit negative, but I've had to deal with it all and *hopefully* this can help you! I'd bring your own car seat since you have no idea the condition of one you could rent at a car rental agency. Your child's safety is #1.

    First:
    NEVER, EVER fly United Airlines with babies and little kids. They absolutely hate children, especially ones that have car seats. (On the other side of the spectrum, Alaska Airlines is about the most family friendly airline I've ever been on, so they have my loyalty!)

    Now, about the flight.
    1. Yes, use a car seat. Having a baby, toddler on your lap only saves money, but it's about the same as having a child on your lap in your car. You'll need to purchase the seat, but the extra cost it well worth it, especially when the United Airlines flight attendants try to convince you to give up your child's paid seat for someone else just so they could seat a business traveler - their bread and butter - on their over-filled flight. This happened 16 years ago, proving UA's customer service has always been absolutely horrid.
    2. The car seats aren't easy to install on an airplane, so please let the flight attendants/gate agents know and ask for pre-boarding status. If they say no, then a) try to find a ground crew member and see if they can help - yes I've done this!, and b) don't apologize when the flight attendants start yelling at you for blocking the aisle putting it in. Be kind and courteous to your fellow travelers and someone should assist!
    3. If your child starts getting incredibly fussy, here's the #1 trick to quieting them down, as a very helpful Alaska Airlines flight attendant did for us: give them a capped empty water bottle with about 7 stir sticks in it. I don't know what it is about it, but it works! It quieted down my kids and kept them fascinated for hours.
    4. I agree with what everyone else is saying: lots of food, new toys, special treats, and access to whatever in-flight entertainment system they may have. It's worth the extra money!

    Enjoy your trip!
     
  7. Tree City

    Tree City Get a stepladder, I'm busy

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    I always took my kids' car seats when flying. (I would never ever ever trust a rented car seat. You have no idea what kind of abuse it's gone through. Plus, germs.) DD was 23 months the first time she flew. DS was about 6m. (The flight attendants on that flight thanked me for buying a seat for him. I feel bad for @QuiltyMom Jan who got pressured to give up her child's seat! That's horrible! I was told how caring I was because I put my child's safety above saving money.) It wasn't until this year that DS wasn't in a car seat on a plane, so for the past 8 years I've been dealing with all this hoopla. I almost always flew alone with my young kids (only once was I with DH and both kids when they were in car seats.) The majority of people are actually very helpful and gracious, both other passengers and flight crew.

    Anyway, some tips:
    1. Buy an airplane seat belt extender! They help make it easier to install the car seat. No joke: the pilot had to CUT the plane's seat belt in order to get DD's car seat out. Somehow the latch got stuck--and this was with a Britax FAA-approved seat! I got one via eBay actually, but you can get them lots of places. Southwest planes use a different buckle than other airplanes, so keep that in mind. Also, some planes have seat belt extenders available, but if a passenger needs it then you can't have it. Anyway, I attach the extender to the plane's seatbelt, then I loop that through the car seat so that I'm able to tighten the car seat via the extender and not the plane's seat belt. The mechanism for buckling/unbuckling the plane's seat belt is NOT car seat friendly cuz you have to pull up on it; how the heck do you pull up to unlatch it when the buckle is inside the back part of a car seat? No joke, I was having such a tough time unlatching DD's Britax car seat (FAA-approved for flying) that the pilot had to come out and CUT the seat's seat belt so I could get her car seat out! I delayed the next flight AND ruined a seat on a working plane! (Well, I didn't ruin the seat; the pilot did. But still!)

    2. This $15 strap makes traveling so easy, as long as you have a rolling carry-on! I LOVE IT! People would stop me and ask what it was lol. If I were business-minded, I bet I could have bought like 10 extra to keep with me and charge $50 each. People struggling would have bought them rotfl!

    3. I've never had a nasty flight attendant or airline, and I've flown Delta, UA, and Southwest. Southwest has by far been the most helpful but you don't preboard; it was fine because the car seat has to go in the window seat (for safety) and even my 6' self wasn't in the way simply cuz I sat middle seat while putting the car seat in the window spot. No biggie, especially with the seat belt extender. Plus, Southwest gave my kids snacks even before takeoff, which really helped EVERYONE enjoy the flight more. :)

    4. IDK how old your toddler is, but hopefully old enough for a sucker cuz it's tough to tell a toddler "yawn so your ears pop" during takeoff/landing. Suckers last a long time, so ears have a chance to pop with the swallowing. DS still gets a sucker and he's 5.

    I could go on, but I think you'll be fine and so will the kids. :) You can plan all you want, but you're not in charge. No one is: the weather and mechanical issues have the final say. So yup, bring snacks and coloring stuff or fave book/lovey (cuz batteries run out on electronic devices. Just sayin' lol).
     
  8. ashleywb

    ashleywb Sand in my toes

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    You've already received lots of great advice.

    We have flown several long international flights with toddlers. I totally agree with the snacks and new toys suggestions. As an added bonus, I wrapped the new items so that I was distributing little presents throughout the flight.
     
    bestcee likes this.
  9. QuiltyMom

    QuiltyMom I'll never run out of things to do!

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    Oops - I never said. I never gave up the seat. They were so mad at me, but I didn't care!
     
    bestcee likes this.
  10. Tree City

    Tree City Get a stepladder, I'm busy

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    Good cuz you shouldn't have to! I wasn't sure from your post, but the simple fact they even asked at all makes me soooo mad.
     
  11. KittyY

    KittyY Who is Dol-say and Gab-anna?

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    I always packed a few of those small Dum Dum suckers - perfect for their little mouths. Also helps them suck to help their ears pop :)
     
  12. Scrapping with Liz

    Scrapping with Liz Crafts for days.

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    I've flown two long international flights with newly adopted toddlers...one of those trips was with 2 toddlers (poor kids, they had only known me 2 weeks!). They had never experienced a car seat before so we never even though of that. I had lollipops, little coloring books, little trinkets, etc... to get out when they got bored (things they had never seen before). They also just loved looking at photos on my phone...so we did that A LOT! We walked a lot & snacked a lot! LOL! Thankfully on both trip the kids slept about half of the time.
     
    bestcee likes this.
  13. Tronesia

    Tronesia Tronesia

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    Lots of good advice to digest! My son is 2 years old and will be 3 in July. I was looking at one of those bags for the car seat and now I know I need to get one. The part I am most nervous about is that our flight is with United. I wanted to avoid them, but besides of a smaller airline, they were the only one with a nonstop flight. I am going to hope and expect the best. I definitely am going to download them some movies/shows on the iPads and get a few surprises for them. Our seats are at the very back of the plane along the same row. Our flight is about 2 hours long,so hopefully, being in a new space will keep the 2-year old pre-occupied enough that he doesn't get too out of pocket. I am going to hope for the best.

    I really appreciate all of you advice/ideas/stories ladies!! I will be glad once we go and get it done...lol!
     
    bestcee likes this.
  14. Celeste

    Celeste I'm moving to Hogwarts!

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    all good advice here!
     
  15. Tronesia

    Tronesia Tronesia

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    Just wanted to report back that..... we had a great flights both times. We flew with United. I was so worried and just tried my best to only expect the positive. Leaving Madison, WI, we did use the carseat on the plane. It actually was quite .. hectic.. trying to carry it around while keeping up with the kids (even with 2 adults). The flight on the way back we decided to check it (since it was free) and it was a late flight (around 8pm), so baby boy slept the whole time nestled into daddy. The people around us on both flights were pretty understanding. A couple of ladies tried to calm him when he got antsy and the flight attendants were ready with extra snacks. So, it went much better than I thought even with a few crying fits. Thanks again for all of your help ladies!! :)
     
  16. Tree City

    Tree City Get a stepladder, I'm busy

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    So glad it went well!
     
  17. bestcee

    bestcee In love with places I've never been to

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    Yeah! Glad it went so well!
     

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