Seeking Advice on Air Travel with 2 Young Children

hi Jennifer, I flew on my own (without my husband) with my two kids last May. We flew to Europe (10 hr flight)and then flew 3 shorter flights within Europe.
I did not have a separate seat for my 18 month at the time. I had a seat for myself and for my 5 year old son.
On all flights, the flight attendants and everyone was extremely helpfull to me. They would ask the person sitting next to me to move to another seat, so I would have an empty seat next to my for my daughter to use.
(The people asked to move didn't mind - and it was better for them not to be sitting next to a little toddler)...
I did not have a car seat and I'm very happy I didn't.
It would just be an extra piece to drag around with you.
The airlines gave me a seat belt that attached to my own for the baby. I would hold her on my lap for the take off and landing with the seat belt attached to mine.
One thing I do recommend to bring is the stroller.
Stroller can be gate checked - you can bring it all the way to the plane entrance, collapse it, leave it right there and when you come out - it will be waiting for you. It's a big help to have the stroller at the airport.
As far as entertainment - I brought a lot of snacks, paci, water, and bought some new toys at the dollar store to keep her happy. She slept most of the way
anyway..
Also, bring as little with you as you can. I only had a backpack with diapers, food, and kids' stuff with me, plus the kids and that was enough. If I had to worry about some other things like extra carry on luggage, car seat etc, it would just make things more complicated....
My kids both did really well on all the flights.

Don't forget crayons and something to color on. I bought this awesome little book that has a crayon pack or marker pack attathed to it. So it looks like a book with one of the covers as a crayon box. It folds out. I bring ours every where. It is compact and travels well(it has a handle on the top of it too) They have dora and diego, spiderman. I got it at either borders or barnes and noble. I think i saw it at target as well. As for the car seat i have done it both ways. I prefer the no car seat route. This way you can lift up the arm rest and the child can lay down and sleep fairly comfortable. I always keep the seat belt on, it's just loser so that it allows her to lay down. However, I do suggest that if you need a car seat where you are going to gate check it. You are only allowed a certain amount of luggage. So if necessary gate check it and you won't have to pay. And it won't chance not getting there. I bought a huge duffle bag just for car seats. It has a shoulder strap big enough for easy carrying through the airport. I got ours at

Hi Jennifer
I've travelled by plane with my two children (age 1 and 3 1/2) on several occasions and have done the following:

- Brought small fleece blankets with us. Both kids were lulled to sleep by the humming of the plane, so making them warm and cozy helped them nap.

- Didn't bring a carseat on the plane, because both kids preferred to sit in the big chairs and then when the seatbelt sign goes off, the older liked to play on the floor! No matter what, they won't sit still for long, so lugging the carseat on board didn't add that much value.

- Gave my older child something to drink from a sippy cup during takeoff and landing to help with the ear problem. (Gave the baby a bottle going up and down)

- Brought my sit 'n stand, because vacation can be tiring for the older kid, and they do end up needing to sit sometimes.

- Bought a new sticker book for the older kid and a new toy for the younger one (attention span was longer for the new items)

- And yes, the DVD player always works!

- Whatever bag you use, make sure it's got a lot of pockets so you can compartmentalize everything and access it easily.

- Finally, you sometimes just have to go with the flow and improvise! The flight attendants can sometimes be very helpful in this regard. (If you're flying Southwest Airlines, I have experienced that they are great with kids!)

Good luck and have a fun flight!

Jennifer,

My son is four and we have taken him three times so far to Florida. I would skip the car seat. It is harder for them to kick the seat in front of them without it!

New toys just for the trip are always great to keep their attention. Food also is a good distraction.

Let them move around in the airport before the flight as much as possible. I would bring only the umbrella stroller and try to get them to walk as much as you can to help wear them out.

For their ears, I used suckers for the kids to use during takeoff and landing. They were too young for gum, so it was fun and easy to use suckers instead.

Here's a recent post concerns entertaining kids during airtravel:

http://www.mamasource.com/request/13870358231483678721

And my post:

We traveled to Disney by plane when my kids were almost 3 and 4 1/2. They actually liked to look out the window a lot too so on the way there one sat by the window and on the way back, the other got the window seat.

I brought a bag of snacks and a bag of activities on the plane. I also bought all new stuff to take with (like items from the dollar store so if they were lost, it wasn't a huge investment) and so they'd be new to the kids.

crayons (Crayola twisters that need no sharpening and don't break)
a spiral notebook (small) for each
coloring books
stickers (for paper)
Crayola mess free marker books and finger paints that don't stain clothes, seats, etc.
Fisher Price Doodle Pro (they sell a travel size one)-the pen is attached by string so it can't get lost
Various books with lift flaps and activities to them
Small cars and dolls
iPod with movies and music loaded

fruit chews
granola bars
small ziplocs with cheerios and fish crackers
raisins
fruit leathers
yogurt covered raisins
small individual bags of crackers and cookies

(I packed food to have with us all week and have some left for the trip home too.)

Have fun!