Flying with kids

[Frequitude]

1. Lots of toys

2. Gravol

3. Sit your 3 year old down beforehand and explain to him what the plane ride will be like. Ask him what he wants for the trip. Explain how long it actually will be. Tell him no whining and explain to him that there are 200 other people on the plane trying to sleep and hating the trip too.



The latter may be the most difficult but also the most important for the other 200 people...

[teamchachi]

Test the Gravol first. It works great on 2 of mine, but gives the third CRAZY energy...

[Jagger]

Lot's of good advice so far.

TAKE EXTRA CLOTHES FOR EVERYONE!!!! That is a must. It was my eldest who threw up three times on a flight recently and ended up wearing his younger siblings clothes that were much too small for him.

The portable DVD player works very well too.

Ignore the moans and groans from the other passengers when they see you. Tell them to suck it up!

Good luck!

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Jagger

Ignore the moans and groans from the other passengers when they see you. Tell them to suck it up!

IMHO- the worst advice you could offer.

As a non-procreator, I have a low tolerance for screaming baby factor. But the one thing that makes it better is if the parents appear to be somewhat understanding or sympathetic. The previous idea of earplugs is a good one- $3 worth of earplugs can go a long way to showing that you are sympathetic, and not incosiderate. And if you were inconsiderate, then this thread wouldn't exist.

One thing I've seen before but don't know how it would be done- I've seen parents get the first row of economy; which gives you a couple of extra feet in front of you to place the baby, give the toddler a chance to stand up without knocking other people over. I imagine that could be booked by either the travel agent or the airline.

[habernac]

Take the non-procreator flight then, ken. I agree with Jagger, they can suck it up. Young children have no idea what they're going through and tend to be scared. You're going to get some fussing. Deal with it. We parents do the best we can.

We flew with our 14 month old son in April, we took a late flight so he would be sleeping most of the time. Looking back, I would probably book him his own seat next time, he wasn't very comfortable sleeping on our laps. But out of 6 hours flight time, he slept 5 of it and did pretty well. Be sure to bring some favourite toys as a distraction.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by habernac

Take the non-procreator flight then, ken. I agree with Jagger, they can suck it up. Young children have no idea what they're going through and tend to be scared. You're going to get some fussing. Deal with it. We parents do the best we can.

Your two bolded statements seem to be in conflict. All I'm asking is that they do the best they can. Being ignorant towards people around you in a public setting is never in vogue as far as I know.

When at a hockey game and you step on somebody's feet, do you say "sorry", or do you just ignore them; or tell them to suck it up?

When you accidentally cut somebody off in traffic, do you give them the "sorry" wave, or shoot them the finger?

Be understanding and you will get the same from me everytime. Show a little consideration and I will do the same. Tell me to "suck it up" and then later when your 3 year old is doing the dance behind me in the washroom lineup, instead of letting the kid cut in I might just give him the same line I was given.

[Jagger]

Originally Posted by ken0042

IMHO- the worst advice you could offer.

As a non-procreator, I have a low tolerance for screaming baby factor. But the one thing that makes it better is if the parents appear to be somewhat understanding or sympathetic. The previous idea of earplugs is a good one- $3 worth of earplugs can go a long way to showing that you are sympathetic, and not incosiderate. And if you were inconsiderate, then this thread wouldn't exist.

Ok, maybe I should add to that. Babies will cry, kids will throw up, and you will do your best to look after them but you will still get the angry looks from some people no matter what you do. You are already having a difficult time without that added pressure. I'm not saying that you shouldn't look after your kids and be inconsiderate, far from it. Just do your best and don't make other peoples attitudes make it worse for you.

[habernac]

Maybe that was a bit harsh, ken, but if you're expecting children to be totally silent on a long flight, you're going to be disappointed every time. Like I said, good parents (I consider myself one) do their best to manage the situation. You won't see my kid running amock through the aisles or anything crazy like that. But I'm also not about to duct tape the kid's mouth shut, which is pretty much the only thing you could do to ensure silence.

[DAN0383]

I've been down to Malaysia... I don't remember the flight times but it was Calgary-LA-Taipei-Kuala Lumpur... Probably about 22 hours in total or so.

[TheyCallMeBruce]

Originally Posted by DAN0383

I've been down to Malaysia... I don't remember the flight times but it was Calgary-LA-Taipei-Kuala Lumpur... Probably about 22 hours in total or so.

I took the same route...if you made it in 22 hours, that's some sort of record. It took me 30 hours.

[OzSome]

entertainment ie:lots of children's DVD movies to keep the kid's busy. Malaysia is a long way and it will take at least 18 hours.

[Bullet]

Thanks for all of the tips. It has been helpful so far.

The night flights are what we are hoping for because our kids seem to sleep pretty good now.

Our oldest is sleeping 12 hrs at a time now granted this is in his bed with no distractions, so we were hoping if he could do between 6-8 hours on the plane we would be in good shape. And our daughter now is sleeping 6-7 hrs at night before waking up. We feel spoiled with her because our son was a horrible sleeper and did not sleep through the night till 18 months old.

I like the ear plug idea, I think we will take a box with us and if/when they start crying we can apologize to the other passengers and give them a complimentary set of ear plugs.

Maybe we will get lucky and sit near other people that are able to tolerate the kids and there noises.

I was thinking that before we get on the plane I would but a used game boy and some games for my son. This would be something new for him and probably keep his attention a little bit longer because of the 'new' factor.

As another poster mentioned showing consideration to the other passengers can go along way.

Thanks again.