2 Year Old First Time on Plane!

An iPad with games and movies (with headphones), and a drawing app is great for keeping little ones entertained on flights.

We flew to Australia and back with our 22 month old. The trip, with 2 transfers was a total of 22 hours one way, and 26 on the return. You can do it.

Try to pack a silly amount of diapers and wipes, any specialty foods/ snacks, triangle crayons (they don't roll), lolipops if your kid will take them, and an extra change of clothes for everyone.

If you are inclined to "medicate" to sedate, i.e. Benadryl- be sure to test it out before hand, as some kids are more hyper with than without.

Good luck and good cheer,
F. B.

you are taking a brand new baby and a 2 year old on a plane ride? Oh joy!!

EVERYONE needs their OWN SEAT. DO NOT try and save money by having him on your lap.

The baby needs to be in a car seat. Contact the airline and find out if your car seat will fit in their seats.

He should have his own little backpack with simple toys. If you planned it right, departing during a nap time usually helps as well. What do you do in the car for long rides?

Bring his own snacks - check with the TSA website to find out what you are allowed to bring past security.

Good luck!

Bring his car seat. They are much more comfortable in their seat that smells and feels comfortable. Make sure that it is FAA approved ahead of time.
Bring something for him to suck on when you go up and down (e.g. sippy cup) to releive the ear pressure.
Have fun!

Do NOT put your car seat rear facing!!!! In a car rear facing is the rule because higher percentage of collisions are rear impact. On a plane impacts are from the front and facing car seat back will injure your child. Plus, rear facing prevents the passenger in front of you from reclining their seat and can get you kicked off a plane if they complain. Also, do NOT let your child walk the aisles to get the wiggles out! It's dangerous in turbulence and will piss off the flight attendants, who you want on your side in case you need to ask for extra juice or snacks or a pair stick on pilot wings!
That said, games and movies on iPod, tablet, laptop are great, with headphones of course. The only child headphones on the market that allow them to hear over the plane noises noises and fit their ears are by kidz gear on amazon. New small toys and coloring book will keep him more entertained than stuff he already has. And bring lots of snacks!

A flask with your fav drink! Only kidding. Everyone has great ideas. They covered it all. Enjoy.

Get everyone his/her own seat. EVERYBODY is more comfortable that way.

We used to make puppets with the air sickness bags. My daughter is 18 so there was no Nintendo, etc when she was little and I started flying with her when she was about 4 months old.

Just let them have an adventure and if you are nervous, don't show it.

Have fun!

You've probably already booked your flight, but we scheduled ours during our daughter's normal nap time and yes, she did nap. We brought Dum Dum lollies for takeoff/landing for the ear drums. DVD player/Ipad with headphones for SURE. Brand new (so still exciting) small quiet toys. Coloring books. Packable, dry snacks. Extra change of clothing for any accidents, throwing up, etc. And the CARES flying harness instead of a car seat. Enjoy!

Bring small, soft, quiet toys and books. Consider a CARES harness. Do not expect to take the car seat on the plane, but do ask about checking it with the luggage. (We were not allowed to bring our car seat on the plane.) You can get bags for car seats, which I recommend. I would also check the stroller at the gate. My DD was not quite 3 when she flew and she did fine. Better than the older kids. Make sure you do not have liquids in his sippy cup, that you have spare diapers in your purse (if he's not trained) and that you order kids' meals (if they offer them) in advance of your flight.

I agree with the car seat recommendation...not for safety, which is of course nice, but for ease. Your kid is used to the car seat and you can strap them down when you need to. When my kids were 2 I wouldn't let them get out of the car seat unless there was a major diaper issue to tend to. I would change them before and after the flight and once they were strapped in that was it! It made things a lot easier!! Now all that said, I usually traveled with my kids alone, so it was just me and no other adult so I had to be organized and stay sane. If you have another adult, it might be easier. Most seats are FAA approved. It will say right on the side or you can look online.

If your 2 y/o watches TV I would absolutely bring a DVD player or iPad. Other favorites for us are coloring things, things that make noise (the white noise of the plane will make it so that most things won't disrupt the other passengers), play phones, play cameras, keys, magna doodle, squishy things, stickers, bandaids, even magnets if you have them. I would stock up on a bunch of random stuff from the dollar store, etc. that my kids had never seen...that helps.

I also had lots of books on hand. And lots of snacks. Snacks are fun to eat and fun to play with sometimes too! Also don't underestimate the allure of a cup full of ice!

I would for sure pack a change of clothes in your carry on for the 2 y/o.

Have fun!

Make sure he's strapped into his carseat, installed on the plane seat. We rear-faced the kids on the plane until age 3. They also sleep really well! Bring some toys, books, etc.

I don't know what your 2 year old's temperament is like. Our son at that age was incredibly active and we had to walk up and down the aisle OFTEN with him. We'd use the bathroom, say hi to people, walk back, do it again. Our daughter at age 2 was much easier on the plane and would stay seated for most of the flight. Bring a laptop (or DVD player or ipod) and earphones (cheap ones bc 2 year olds break things easily) and have cartoons to play. I pods have all kinds of "games" that 2 year olds would enjoy. At that age each thing lasts 10 seconds so it SUCKS. Take a ton of small containers/bags with different interesting snacks. I would go to a thrift store and bring all these new small toys and books. Anything that might distract for a while. Reading books worked well with my son and he loved to listen to them for a while at that age. Letting him stand in front of his seat for a while helped (once the fasten seat belt sign is turned off). One thing that worked great for my son was this little book where you fill the paintbrush with water and squeeze the bulb to paint the book...and colors would appear. He would painstakingly work on his painting. When it dried the colors all disappear and so it was reusable. I saw these at Kohl's in the past...and Safeway. Art supplies you can use on a plane work for a while but expect the colorsafe markers to drop and roll and it's kind of a pain. That is a hard age...just prepare to suffer and it will be work. Bring a wrap to wear the baby while you walk down the aisle with the 2 year old. Don't forget to bring a sippy cup and a change of clothes or two for the 2 year old. Good luck!