I'm a veteran flier. My husband works for Southwest Airlines, so we fly a LOT. I think we average 12 or more trips per year. (He averages many, many more)
I have 4 boys ages 11, 8, 4, & 2, and most of the time I travel with them ALL BY MYSELF. That’s right, my husband is already in another city, so he does not help at all. My 2 oldest boys sit in the other rows, so I get to deal with 2 & 4 on my own. Yay.
It’s not so bad though if you take some steps to prepare.
Here are the things that help me when we fly:
Pillow & blanket. Only for long flights, but they can't help it. Lower oxygen & boredom means if you make 'em comfy enough they'll zonk. I always at least take blankets for the younger two on EVERY flight.
BENADRYL! Benadryl is completely safe. My pediatrician is the one who told me to do this. Not kidding. This IS the drug that's in Tylenol PM. Completely safe & non-addictive. Be sure you check with the doc or pharmacist for the correct dose for their respective weights. You may want to pre-test this though – because a very small percentage of children (including my 2nd son) go the opposite way and get hyper when given Benadryl. We learned this at a bad time. On a plane. Try it out near bedtime before you have to go. Trust me. And once they're out - you go to sleep too; take your own dose of benadryl if you need to. :D
HEALTHY snacks. The airlines will give you junk. It's fun at first, but then you want REAL food. And not the crap they dole out. Fruit is always good. My kids LOVE grapes & oranges. Peanut butter sandwiches taste heavenly when you’re starving. Granola bars & real fruit leather work wonders too.
Something to help their eardrums pop:
Drink: No, you can’t bring juice boxes through security anymore. Dangit!! You can bring juice or formula in a bottle, but my kids are past that. So, bring sippies & Sports bottles and fill them with water after you get through security. If you don’t trust the drinking fountain you can go to any of the restaurants & get water from the soda machine. Sippies are also invaluable for keeping the drink the little one gets on the plane contained. The lid & straw they provide always just turn into toys in the hands of my kids.
Something chewy: For the older boys gum works great. But for the little ones? Not so much. So we bring other chewy things. Swedish fish, star burst, taffy, fruit snacks… And they know these are ONLY doled out during take-off, and more importantly during the descent. When I feel my ears starting to pop it’s time to get the snacks back out.
Play the yawning game: It’s easy. I yawn, you yawn. Who can do the biggest yawn?
Sleep: Ah yes, back to the pillow & blanket and Benadryl. The nice thing is that if they’re asleep during descent their ears tend to work it out on their own.
Decongestant (last resort): This one is tricky. It’s a controlled substance (kinda), and the little ones can NOT take the pills. If there is any reason their ears are not popping (like a cold – or stuffy nose – or crying), this is the thing that will bring relief. And trust me, an ear that won’t pop hurts a LOT. I’ve been there. I can sympathize with the poor babies to whom this happens. I ALWAYS bring this stuff. Yes, it’s medicine so you can carry it on even if it’s more than 3 oz.
*warning* This causes most kids to become hyper. So I tend to avoid this one unless I know they REALLY need it and we’ve exhausted the other options. Except in the case of a cold – then it’s absolutely mandatory first. I hate traveling when the kids are sick, so if I know they have a cold when we’re are going I try to reschedule. It’s just not worth it! This is more for when they’ve caught the cold there & you need help coming back.
Oh, and the kids that get hyper with Benadryl will often be the same ones who don’t get hyper when they take a decongestant – and will conk out instead. Yay!
But what to do when they’re awake?
Well, that’s when you break out the entertainment.
Bring your own movie player: DVD player, ipad, laptop, tablet… whatever you have that can play movies. I’ve found for the 2 & 4-yr-olds that they prefer their favorites be with them. The older kids like new ones. Redbox is AWESOME for that (domestically). Rent it at home, return it in the city you visit. Don’t forget the headphones, and the splitter so they can BOTH hear the movie. If the airline provides movies you may still want your own, but if you do want to watch theirs pick up your own headphones and adapter at home. They’re cheap, and then you don’t have to pay every time to use them!
Again, test run is important. Nothing worse than getting on the airplane and finding one of the headphones broken, the splitter not working, the DVD player not playing, and the batteries dying only one hour into the flight. Yes, all those things have happened to me. Actually, all of them happened on the last flight I took with my kids. You’d think I would know better. Apparently not.
Other Electronic toys: My kids like their Nintendo DS’s. Even the 4-yr-old is enamored of this one. Or let them play with a PSP. iTouches and iPhones (in airplane mode) are great for the little ones. Not only do they play videos, but there are lots of free apps that are fun for them to mess around with. Again, if there is sound, plug in the headphones.
Take them for a walk: As soon as the fasten seatbelt light is off, get up and walk the aisles a bit. Be sure to remind the little ones not to touch the other passengers, or walking time is over. This helps them blow off a little steam, and with luck tires them back out. It helps YOUR circulation as well.
Take them to the bathroom: I know, it’s a little gross, but it’s a distraction. And with all the liquids they’ll be taking in (and they DO need them – part of “jetlag” is dehydration) they’ll need to go more often anyway.
Books: Favorites, or something new. Either way, kids love a good story. And when they’re little they often like hearing the same one over and over and over and … bring a healthy dose of patience for this one. Coloring books are also a great diversion in this category too if you have one that likes to color. Mine don’t. (dangit)
Treats: What happened to healthy snacks? Those are great, but sometimes it takes chocolate to calm the kids. I know, bribery is not the best thing in parenting, but in a confined space when you’ve tried everything else it may be a lifesaver. And to tell the truth, I like having a treat! (Peanuts do NOT count as a treat)
Toys: Again, favorites are good here. Be careful of the small ones. They’re hard to find when dropped, especially when the plane tilts to go up or down and the small car rolls all the way to the back of the plane – or at least 10 rows behind you. That was NOT good. Backup toys are good.
Surprises: It doesn’t have to be anything big – really. The trick is to wrap it like a present. A snack, a new book (or old), something from a dollar store – all are good.
Don’t forget yourself!
Make sure you bring entertainment, healthy snacks, treats & drink container for you too! And on a long flight pillow & blanket for you as well. Planes are only pressurized to 8000 ft, and for most of us that is far too little oxygen. If you tend to get altitude sickness like I do (light-headed, headache, nausea) a little caffeine can go a long way. I don’t like colas, so I usually drink a Mountain Dew before I go. A quarter pill of Vivarin would do the same thing though. Sleep also helps kill the altitude sickness.
Any other tips or questions? Please comment!
