Flying with two year old

Originally we were gonna drive down to Tampa to visit family but found a great deal on airfare so now we are going to fly. JetBlue.

I'm really nervous because I'm not much of a flyer myself. What can I do to make my little guy happy? He will have his own seat and we are bringing his car seat. I'm concerned his ears will hurt and he will be miserable.

Also side question, which car seat would you bring? I have the Graco 4ever and the britax clicktight boulevard. Leaning toward the britax for ease of installation, but it's so darn heavy. Also have a Cosco scenera in my moms car I could bring but my son doesn't really like that seat, and I don't want to make him unhappy.

Any advice appreciated!!

Flying with two year old

We flew when dd1 was 17 months. We were going to Florida. We brought our britax advocate which is huge and heavy. But I wanted our regular car seat. It was so easy. She was set up by the window and dh and I in middle and aisle. She slept almost the whole tie both ways. Give him a cup of whatever he loves at take off and landing to help with his ears.

Brings tons of snacks, iPad new toys, etc. it really will be easier than you think.

Flying with two year old

I fly with my DS a few times a year. Since its jet blue you will have TV so I'd get headphones if you don't already have them. Also I usually buy a new small (noiseless) toy that he doesn't know about until we are on the plane. And some snacks and I buy a drink after security for him. The flight to Tampa is an easy flight. That is the one we do most of the time. Less than 3 hrs.

Flying with two year old

Thanks ladies. Can I bring snacks from home? I know he would eat fruit snacks. Can I bring those tiny Sesame Street juice boxes or are those a no no? I'm not sure he will wear headphones, but I'll get them.

Re: Flying with two year old

Re: Flying with two year old

Not familiar with the graco car seats but my britax is a monster. I would not want to lug it through an airport. We purposely got a cosco scenera as our secondary seat because it's so light for travel. My LO doesn't have an issue using the cosco seat so we didn't hesitate to bring it on flights.

We brought headphones but LO wouldn't keep them on, so we used an iPad with very low volume for shows. The airplane noise drowned out the sound for fellow passengers. I also recommend throwing out your rules for snacking and feeding schedules if you have them. To keep the peace, I was totally fine with feeding LO anytime he asked. i tried to encourage eating and drinking during takeoff to help the ears with frequent swallowing. Bring some new toys he hasn't seen before and save some surprises for the flight home but also think outside the box: toddlers can be entertained by random things. Pack pompoms or cotton balls and ask for plastic cups from flight attendant. Spend time moving objects in and out of cups, counting, sorting, whatever. And if they're thrown, nobody gets hurt and they don't go far since it's a cotton ball. And you don't care if you can't retrieve it. Reusable Sticker books are good, like Melissa and Doug.

If all else fails, there's always Benadryl

Flying with two year old

I usually drug myself up for flights so this will be a first for both of us haha. Thanks for the info!!

Re: Flying with two year old

Posted by CL2012

Not familiar with the graco car seats but my britax is a monster. I would not want to lug it through an airport. We purposely got a cosco scenera as our secondary seat because it's so light for travel. My LO doesn't have an issue using the cosco seat so we didn't hesitate to bring it on flights.

We brought headphones but LO wouldn't keep them on, so we used an iPad with very low volume for shows. The airplane noise drowned out the sound for fellow passengers. I also recommend throwing out your rules for snacking and feeding schedules if you have them. To keep the peace, I was totally fine with feeding LO anytime he asked. i tried to encourage eating and drinking during takeoff to help the ears with frequent swallowing. Bring some new toys he hasn't seen before and save some surprises for the flight home but also think outside the box: toddlers can be entertained by random things. Pack pompoms or cotton balls and ask for plastic cups from flight attendant. Spend time moving objects in and out of cups, counting, sorting, whatever. And if they're thrown, nobody gets hurt and they don't go far since it's a cotton ball. And you don't care if you can't retrieve it. Reusable Sticker books are good, like Melissa and Doug.

If all else fails, there's always Benadryl

Flying with two year old

Little man was 15 months when we flew earlier this year. We fed him and exhausted him in the airport then gave him a dose of benedryl. Honestly, any turbulence rocked him to sleep. He had a lot of fun watching the TV, we brought books, and when he was up for turbulence, he thought it was fun and kept saying "wheeee". We also made sure to have snacks.

There was no way in hell DS would have stayed in a car seat for the flight (and flying in September even though he will still be under 2 we are buying him a seat) and just rented the seat when we arrived through the car rental company.

Message edited 4/9/2016 10:54:54 PM.

Flying with two year old

My LO's slept in their car seats almost the entire flight to and from Orlando. I would take a seat that is easy for you to install. On the plane, you might want to ask for a seat belt extender if you are using the graco forward facing. My DH couldn't unbuckle the plane's seat belt and it had to be cut : )

Flying with two year old

I have flown with DS several times and what worked for us was tons of snacks, ipad, toys and lollipops. He either was on our lap or had his own seat. We flew 14 hrs last November and he slept for 1/2 the flight. When we are flying anything goes he will have anything he wants just to keep him happy which meant tons of lollipops but overall he has done well. Def get toddler headphones or maybe a toddler pillow. 3-4 hrs shouldnt be too bad.

Re: Flying with two year old

Re: Flying with two year old

Flying with two year old

we flew with our almost 2 year old last month to FL. we decided to bring his car seat on the plane for several reasons. although he's not a huge fan of being restrained, we knew that having him out and about would make things tougher. I liked having the option. plus, we used it in our rental car in FL. we decided to pick up a new inexpensive car seat that was super light and I'm so glad we did. we also purchased one of those car seat transporters, that has wheels and you can wheel the child around the airport in the car seat. with all of our baggage, that was a life saver.

I brought plenty of snacks and made sure he was munching away when the pressure change happened. he did great. on the way there, he stayed in the car seat the whole time. eating snacks, drinking and watching his tablet. on the way home, he stayed in the seat for half and was on my lap for half. then the fell asleep at the very end.

Re: Flying with two year old

When we flew with our 2 year old we used the CARES harness instead of the car seat.

Re: Flying with two year old

my 3 year old has flown about 6 times, my 8 month old 2 times.

we bring a portable DVD player and his fav movies, lots of different snacks, stickers, things to color, water wow, etc.

That is a pretty quick flight too and maybe you will get lucky and they will sleep!