Help flying with a 13 month old - to England

[Clinya]

We leave for England tomorrow :yelclap: :smiliedance: - i cannot wait. We will be flying with our dd who is 13 months old. Has anyone flown on such a long flight with a child around this age? If so what did you do to keep them occupied?

I cannot wait to go home - lets just hope i can get back on the plane to come back :thumbsdown:

thanks

C

[Manxie]

Wow have a great trip. I flew back to the UK when DD was 8months and again when she was 14months.

Stickers were great, she had fun sticking them onto the traytops and all over the basinette and then pulling them off again.

A combination of a few familiar toys and some new ones. Some people suggest wrapping up toys so they waste time unwrapping them! I took some cr@ppy things that I didnt mind loosing along the way.

Cheap finger puppets from cheap as chips. Those flash cards that they always seem to have on special at Big W. Bubbles are handy to have to blow during stop-overs but I dont know how you'd go with them and the fluid restrictions now.

Books, you can get some small open the flap type ones.

Meal times are always a good distraction, just make sure you vet them first, the Malyasian airline ones were full of sugar hits that I had to snaffle away!

Dont go too overboard DD will probably have more fun looking at what is going on around her. We also found that the best entertainment was the other babies that we were usually sat next too.

I'd recommend packing any toys into two lots, one for first half of the trip and a new lot for the second half. Make sure you hide them all when you get to the UK and then they will be exciting for the trip back to OZ.


Have fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Sheer Bliss]

WOW - I did that trip with a 5month old - a 13month old might be harder to entertain!!

Manxie has some great tips there. If you have an MP3player or similar maybe some Hi-5/wiggles/nursey rhymes to listn too as well, if she will put the earphones on her ear.

This might sound like a crazy idea...but i was stuck for 2hrs in traffic this week, and my DD (2) was entertained by some wipes! I had a packet & gave them to her one at a time, she ripped wiped down her seat etc then ripped them up. A bit messy, but it sure kept her quiet! I'd also pack some of your own food in little sizes so she can snack whenever, although they offer food often on flights, it might not always be suitable. I'd also make sure you pack the pnadol - little ears can be difficult to pop and at least if she is in any pain panadol might help ease it. Have a great time!

[mortixia]

We flew to Boston when my son was about 13 months old. He had 2 long naps on the way to LAX. We took a backpack with new toys he had never seen before, new books and snacks. The novelty of the new toys kept him entertained when whe was awake. It wasnt as bad as I had expected.

[bechope]

i'm doing this trip in Feb to visit family and my daughter will be 11 months old.. I am dreading it so i will be keeping an eye on this post..

[Chickadee]

Flew to canada when DD was 10 months, and back when she was 11 months.

We packed small toys and books for the plane. But she had the most fun, and spent most of the time, playing peekaboo with people around and behind us.

For transit stops I recommend balloons if kids are mobile. Throw a few in your carry on, they take up no space and provide fun and exercise for little ones when you're waiting at the gate. If you're worried about them popping, just let a little air back out after you've inflated them and before you tie it off. That over stretches them so when they do pop it's not so explosive.)

[annb]

im flying to the uk alone with a 2.5yr old and a 6mth old next week....ive flown with the older one to the uk a couple of times and each time gets harder to entertain him!! but my big tip would be dont take to much stuff that you have to keep getting out of the overhead locker as its such a pain! i took some little books and just a couple of toys, take too many and you are constantly having to scramble underneath the chair!
for this trip ive got him some of that crayola wonder colour crayons and colouring book that way i dont have to worry he is going to scribble all over the tray table!
its amazing how much a baby occupies your time on a long flight tho!

[rubyredlips]

great tips there girls...I'm going with my 16 month old and am clueless as to how she will stay put for so long!!!???? She wont stay in her pram if its not moving for more than 10 mins!!!!!!! do they let them walk about heaps whilst youre in the air?


Good luck & have fun to you all!